Permanent residency for long-term GCC expats - official

Posted by: Fahd Khalfan Sunday, 29 April 2012 8:18 AM[UAE] - UAE

Don't all the expats know well in advance that they are here to earn a decent living not to become permanent settlers? The current laws are just fine, any law to upgrade the status of the expats will further exasperate the demographic imbalance which already poses a great risk to the identity of the country and its citizens.

Posted by: Fahd Monday, 30 April 2012 8:08 AM[UAE] - UAE

Its not that the expats are refugees, i mean they all have countries to return to sooner or later.

Posted by: Ashar Saturday, 28 April 2012 3:33 PM[UAE] - Pakistan

I totally agree with this article.there should be some law to allow for these people to set in.If the foreigeners are given the saudi nationality,they would ultimately form a part of the saudi establishment and can put their skills to better use of the country. GDP,GNP and Aggregate Expenditure all is bound to rise if this happens.on top of that , more foreign investment will be attracted to Saudi Arabia. People would establish more colleges and universities which will not only boost the economy but also train more locals for the future.

Posted by: Prad Saturday, 7 April 2012 7:55 PM[UAE] - Canada

Not sure why Non-GCC people are clamoring to get permanent residency in Dubai. Sure, it means a lot more stability and greater options in terms of employment options. But what happens to the average expat who earns about AED 8,000 to 15,000 a month with hardly any savings ? How would he expect to live in an increasingly expensive country after he retires ? Even if, he manages to complete the mortgage of an apartment during his working life, where is the income for him to sustain his life with regular outgoings and escalating medical costs ?

Dont get me wrong, I think Dubai is a fabulous city to live in, especially when you're young...but one needs to look at the bigger picture. I guess this is why Dubai will always have a transient foreign population...the Emiratis need not worry too much about foreigners taking over. Life in Dubai loses its shine to an expat as soon as he stops working.

Posted by: Telcoguy Sunday, 8 April 2012 10:08 AM[UAE] - UAE

The last median salary published was 3000 dirhams significantly lower than your average 8000 to 150000
I lack any good estimate, and Dubai distributions are more skewed than the US/Europe ones but I doubt more than 10% of the expats make over 8000 dhms per month. Unless of course your average definition excludes the blue collar workers, who are probably over 75% of the total expat population :)
The rest of your post I think is fairly correct, but I think that the ones asking for permanent residency are not so much the employees but a relatively large (at least when compared to the local population) base of entrepreneurs mostly from India and Iran but also other Arab countries like Jordan and Palestine.
I personally think that forcing this people out is detrimental to the long term economical well being of the UAE, but I can see how allowing a more entrepreneurial foreign community would go down with the local population.

Posted by: Yasser Saturday, 7 April 2012 11:08 AM[UAE] - UAE

@ Pride, many Emaratis and Gulfers feel like strangers in their own land. May be a lot has been achieved but at the cost of our identity, language, heritage, security, existence, that is a very high price to pay pal.

Posted by: Prad Saturday, 7 April 2012 7:55 PM[UAE] - Canada

@Yasser - no doubt that opening your doors to the masses of foreign workers has lead to the dilution of your heritage and identity..and I sympathize with you. Whether this has lead to the Emirati community being tight knit...I'm not sure. As for the language, sooner or later you would have had to embrace English since its the global language of commerce. Saying that your very existence is threatened is, in my opinion, a far stretch.

But one thing is for sure, foreign employment has ensured that Dubai is on the world map. Despite the devastating impact of the recession, Dubai is still being mentioned in some of the current Western TV serials. The West has come a long way from the notion that the Arabian Gulf consisted of only Saudi Arabia ! This is thanks to the visionary UAE leaders allowing their land be developed by external parties. Not sure how far the economic progress would have been otherwise. I am looking at countries like Yemen, Syria and Libya with tiny foreign populations.

Posted by: Pride Friday, 6 April 2012 1:23 AM[UAE] - Uae

As an Emarati, living in Dubai's multi cultural society for the past 44 years, it is very disappointing to read the silly inflammatory and completely irrelevant comments being posted on this subject. A few frustrated and bitter individuals, both local and expat, are passing some hurtful comments, which do nothing but cause unnecessary offense. To both sides of the story. The reality is that, we the locals, have always interacted and lived with the expatriates from all over the world, going way back in history. And what a great result we have achieved! Just look around! Together we have created this little haven if peace and prosperity that we all love so much. I hope that this debate will reflect our interdependancy, and become constructive rather than offensive.

Posted by: Mazz the Buzz Saturday, 7 April 2012 11:07 AM[UAE] - UAE

Pride, you are so correct, lets have a balanced constructive discussion, take the positive points, rather than just finding faults.