Dubai Forums Dubai Expat Forums Dubai Expat Help Forum

quick question.

I've been verbally offered a couple fo jobs and just waiting for contracts to come through... i've a quick question about visa's and sponsering my wife.

from what i understand I will arrive and get a visit visa and i am able to work whilst my residency comes through (sponsered by my future employer). After it has come through i can then sponser my wife.... and this can take a couple of months ??

so whilst i am waiting for my residency to come through and hence being able to sponser my wife, can she work?

thanks for your help in advance.

karl

1. it's illegal to work on a visit visa (as per the fine print at the bottom of the page)
2. the company who is sponsoring you (offering employement) needs to make application to the labour department for your position
3. they also make application on your behalf to the department of immigration for a residency visa
4. once residency is finalised they will send you for a medical, once the medical is concluded your labour card will be issued
5. they used to allow you to start work as long as the employer had made application for a labour card for you. this is no longer the case. they are now more strict and our company has already been inspected this year
6. once you have residency and a labour card you can make application to sponsor your wife (this is subject to certain conditions and minmum salary levels) - off the top of my head a minimum of 4k per month
7. the entire process from being offered a position to having a residency stamp and labour card (for yourself) depends on the pro of the company and how well he knows his way around the system. it can, if the conditions an paperwork is all in order take about 3 - 4 weeks (2 if you are lucky), on the downside, if they don't know what they are doing it could take 2 months
8. you need to have attested qualifications in order to make an application to the labour department, if your papers are not yet atested do them now as it will save you a good 2 - 6 weeks in delays (attested by uae or saudi consulate in the country where the qualification was obtained).
9. if memory serves me you also have to produce your unabbridged marriage certificate (attested as well) in order to sponsor your wife
10. lastly, contracts don't come through. offers come through. a contract is only concluded between yourself and the sponsor (employer) during the last stages of your labour application. just make sure that the contract is the same as the original offer - the legal copy of the contract does not look like a "western" contract or job offer document; the legal copy is always the arabic version so make sure that the translation is correct
11. you can ask your employer to include you offer document in your labour contract (this will have to be translated to arabic), if he says no.... then there may be a reason for his hesitance..... then keep your eyes open!

thanks for the detailed reply.... it looks very complex. I'll sit and digest it all.

k