Becoming a resident of the UAE

Getting residency in the UAE is quite a long, drawn out process, and it is bureaucracy at its finest. More paperwork and more passport photos than you can imagine! But it’s a necessary evil as you are limited to what you can do until you have your residence visa. You can’t get a bank account, you can’t get a mobile phone on contract (it has to be pay as you go), you can’t get a booze license, and you can’t buy a car. All things I’ve taken for granted back in the UK.

The process begins by you applying through your employer, who is also your sponsor. They do all the paperwork, but you hand over 6 passport photos! Once that’s complete, you get a form to go for your medical examination which includes an x-ray for shadows on your chest in case you have tuberculosis and blood test for HIV! These cost you just over 30pounds and a further 4 passport photos.

These tests are carried out one after the other in a local hospital, which has absolutely no order whatsoever, no discretion, just from one desk to another for form filling, over to the cashier for paying, back to the desk for a form, in for the tests, back to the desk, over to the x-ray area, and then it’s done! Three day later, back to the hospital for the results! And you get given a form simply saying you are “FIT”. Not sure what it says if you fail any of them! Apparently though, it is rumored that if you do fail you are asked to leave the country straight away! In some cases it is alleged that they escort you from the hospital to your flat, are asked to pack your stuff and taken to the airport and put on the first available flight back home!

So, once you are declared “FIT”, you then take your certificate back to your employer who then passes it on to get processed. But so far no need for more passport photos!

Anyway, I was declared “FIT” the other day (which for those that no me, is probably not a way you would expect me described) and should hopefully have a residence visa in the next few days, then Abu Dhabi is my oyster!!!