Dubai at a Glance

Working in Dubai

Dubai's wealth and modern business atmosphere are impossible to miss.

Expats working in Dubai make up roughly 80% of the emirate’s population. Want to join their ranks? Then make sure to get a good idea on what working in Dubai is like! Our InterNations article on working in Dubai can help you form your opinion with info on the economy, job search, and a lot more.

Expats working in Dubai benefit from an economy which has survived the financial crisis of 2009. To re-stabilize the local economy, the Dubai government keeps up attempts to make the emirate an even more attractive location for its citizens, international businesses, and expats working in Dubai.

Working in Dubai also means experiencing a multicultural, yet traditional society with over 200 nationalities living side by side. Expats who are interested in working in Dubai will find not only a close-knit expatriate community but also employment opportunities and tax-free salaries.

Working in Dubai: Economy

Dubai’s economy has grown significantly in the past 10 years, creating new job opportunities for people working in Dubai. Small and medium-sized businesses in particular receive a lot of support from the government. Dubai’s ideal location between the European and Asian markets offers particular advantages to those working in Dubai.

While in the past, Dubai’s biggest source of income used to be exports of oil and gas, the government is now making efforts to become more independent from this sector, investing in a variety of industries and services. The tourist industry in particular has experienced a huge boost in the recent years as new jobs for Emiratis and expats working in Dubai have been created. Many expats working in Dubai have found positions in trade or the service sector, especially in finance.

Dubai’s free trade zones attract investments from abroad. In these areas, the laws concerning ownership have been slightly changed. While in the rest of Dubai at least 51% of all businesses have to be under Emirati ownership, in the free trade zones, 100% of business ownership can be in foreign hands. Expats working in Dubai are often employed by foreign companies in the free trade zones, falling under a different set of labor laws than their UAE colleagues.

Working in Dubai: Getting a Job

Expats keen on working in Dubai need a sponsor in order to receive a work permit. This sponsor can be a company or an individual assisting them with their paperwork. For most people working in Dubai, their sponsor is their employer.

Expats working in Dubai are often on an assignment, working on a certain project or in an UAE branch office. Those who come to Dubai looking for work on their own may stand a good chance of finding the right job by checking the classifieds section in local newspapers.

Contacting recruitment agencies is another possibility for expats looking into working in Dubai. However, it is important to make sure that you choose registered agencies which do not overcharge their clients. As an individual, you should not have to pay any fee, and companies are only charged in case of a successful placement.

Working in Dubai: Emiratisation

The disadvantage of working in Dubai for an Emirati company (or one outside the free trade zones) is that your job may fall prey to “Emiratisation”: Emirati nationals are placed in professional and leadership positions for important projects, a measure supported by the government to increase the number of UAE nationals working in Dubai’s top jobs.

In the course of Emiratisation, expats may be entirely replaced by Emiratis and hence lose their jobs (and their visa with it). Therefore, expats will probably have more luck finding steady jobs in international or globalized companies when working in Dubai.