Expats square up over Forbes UAE snub

Tuesday, 17 January 2012 4:56 PM

The historic Al Bastakiya district in Dubai

Expats in the UAE have come to blows over the Gulf state’s ranking as the least-friendly nation for expat workers, engaging in an online battle during discussions about the report’s viability.

Readers of Arabian Business are split in their views, with a flurry of foreign residents defending the ranking by business magazine Forbes against those who have dubbed it rubbish.

“I believe this article to be on the mark,” said one expat from Canada.

“I would say that Forbes is spot on,” said another. “In South Africa if you spend more than two months in the country you are viewed as a local. In the Middle East where you spend 20 years, you are still an expat.”

A third said: “Clearly everyone commenting on the falseness of this article has never lived in the top three ranked countries.”

The UAE was ranked the least friendly country in the world for expatriates by Forbes magazine based on data from HSBC’s Expat Explorer Survey, which polled 3,385 expats in 100 countries on factors such as economy, raising children and overall experience.

The business title stripped out data in four categories – ability to befriend locals, success in learning the language, integration into the community and ease of fitting into the local culture – to rank the world’s top spots for migrant workers.

The UAE, where an estimated 83.5 percent of the population is made up by expats, Hong Kong and Singapore did not fare well in community integration and befriending locals but performed well in those relating to career prospects and high income, Forbes said.

New Zealand was named the world’s friendliest country for expatriates, scoring highly across all four categories. Some 75 percent of expats polled said they fitted well into the local culture, compared with 77 percent in Australia and 79 percent in South Africa.

The report has triggered a social media backlash from both local and foreign residents, who took to Twitter to voice their disappointment at the result, using the tag #UAEFriendly.

“I have travelled the world and the UAE is maybe the most tolerant place I have settled in. Forbes, rethink your list,” said @giorgiotedx.

The ranking was “grossly misleading,” said @Loulouay.

The Gulf state, like much of the region, heavily depends on foreign workers to fill jobs at all levels of the economy. Expats hold top roles in sectors such as airlines and financial services, with the majority of low-skilled positions taken up by migrant workers.

Dubai, the UAE’s trade and tourism hub, also fared badly in a poll of British tourists last year aimed at identifying the world’s riskiest holiday spots.

Holidaymakers ranked Dubai alongside Mexico, South Africa and Jamaica as the countries they felt the least safe in, the poll by UK travel agency sunshine.co.uk found.

The Gulf emirate welcomes an estimated one million British visitors each year.

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Posted by: Lumlumette Sunday, 15 April 2012 5:12 PM[UAE] - UAE

I lived in Canada for 12 years. I moved there as a permanent resident, was granted the same rights and had the same obligations as Canadian born citizens, except the right to vote on a federal level until i got my Canadian Citizenship.

Never have I ever lived with the insecurity of, or been called an expat. This by itself is a form of discrimination.

Afterall, when we move to any country to settle and make a living, we are investing our lives, efforts, building our careers, and consistently developing ourselves to excel at what we do, which in turn contributes to the wealth of that country, be it, intellectual, financial, etc. To be called an expat and be looked at as a second grade citizen is simply outrageous to me, why? simply because what I am inputting is far more than what I am getting in return. The least we should be granted is this sense of security, and be looked at as an asset to this country rather be told "if you don't like it leave!"

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Posted by: Bassil Tuesday, 24 January 2012 2:06 PM[UAE] - UAE

One of the mantras of UAE locals is - "If you don't like it leave." This confirms just how unfriendly this place is and how little locals care about making their visitors feel at home.

Even as an expat Arab I don't feel accepted - how people from Europe or the US must feel is beyond me.

Posted by: Salvatore Wednesday, 25 January 2012 9:00 AM[UAE] - UAE

@ Telcoguy, in a hotel you get services and if you don't like it you just checkout. In Dubai you must pay but don't expect any services. The Hotel analogy doesn't apply in this case if you have invested money in a businesses based on sold vision or in a property based on glossy brochures and visa and rights promises. Still you can check out bu the cost is much higher than a Hotel

Posted by: charles Wednesday, 25 January 2012 8:53 AM[UAE] - uae

Prescient comment Bassil.
Thanks for sharing!

Posted by: Telcoguy Tuesday, 24 January 2012 9:21 PM[UAE] - UAE

Easy. While being a guest in a hotel, you are not supposed to befriend the hotel's staff.
This way we are all happy.

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Posted by: Ricky Tuesday, 24 January 2012 8:13 AM[UAE] - Europe

Locals come first, expats come second. No one can deny that.

Posted by: Margaret Tuesday, 24 January 2012 2:06 PM[UAE] - India

Open you eyes guys,you can lost you residency duo to any small health issue!There is '0' tolerance for curable diseases like TB (even old) , hepatites ......There are many people who spent more then 10,15,20 years in this country and now they need to leave...like me:(
https://www.change.org/petitions/to-stop-the-discrimination-of-asian-workers-on-past-health-issues-and-minor-abnormality

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Posted by: Muhammad Monday, 23 January 2012 6:21 PM[UAE] - Saudi Arabia

Forbes should change the name from UAE to Saudi Arabia, as Saudi Arabia fits perfectly to such list on No.1 spot.

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Posted by: Sam Friday, 20 January 2012 11:20 AM[UAE] - india

One does not call a hotel a home, however comfortable, luxurious and safe it may be.
Same is the case with Dubai its like one big hotel with lot of hidden costs and dangers. People from every country possible live in dubai but hardly they ever inter mingle.
bur dubai is for indian's, springs medows for the whites and wannabe whites, locals live in mirdif or jumeriah.

So in a nutshell dubai is hotel enjoy your stay and like in a hotel you cannot make it your home and live for ever. Beware of the hidden costs

Posted by: Dave Tuesday, 24 January 2012 4:03 PM[UAE] - Qatar

Abusidra your comment raises a very erroneous point that people use, i.e. if you earn money in the UAE, it is as if you get the money for free ! You get the salary because of your work and if it is a multinational company paying you, its the company paying you not the country the company is in. A very basic difference which people dont understand.

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