Customs regulations and information guide for Dubai

M_Svcs_Customsregulation_UnitedArabEmirates.pdf

%21United%20Arab%20Emirates.pdf

Dubai properties - financial and legal help to secure your home in Dubai

The market for freehold Dubai properties is still in its infancy and, as such, will undergo many changes in the coming years. When you look at a property for sale in Dubai there is financial and legal information that will help you arrive at a decision about whether or not to take the plunge.

Your individual circumstances and taste will determine which home in Dubai is right for you. However, you should be armed with as much knowledge as possible in order that the deal proceeds smoothly and you avoid the pitfalls associated with buying Dubai properties.
Financing the purchase of Dubai properties

How do you plan on financing your purchase? Most people require a loan to buy and before you start looking at property for sale in Dubai you should find out how much you can borrow. You should also think about what impact this will have on your finances and what you can afford to buy.

You can elect for either a Dubai mortgage, secured on your home in Dubai, or a UK mortgage, secured on assets at home. There are advantages and disadvantages to either method of financing the purchase of Dubai properties. Do your homework and evaluate which option is best for you in your hunt for a home in Dubai.
Legal services and documents concerning property for sale in Dubai

Do I need a lawyer when I am viewing property for sale in Dubai? What other legal services in Dubai are required when purchasing Dubai properties? Anyone new to the market for Dubai properties should seek professional advice before signing any legal documents when buying a home in Dubai.

As with major purchases anywhere, buying Dubai properties is not without risks. Professional advice is always best to help you avoid problems caused by inheritance and currency issues.
What else do I need to know about Dubai properties

The property market and legislation in Dubai is unlike almost anywhere else in the world. The system of freehold ownership of Dubai properties has only been in operation since 2002. Allowing foreign owners to register their properties is an even more recent inception.

Property for sale in Dubai is generally of the highest order. A few large construction companies are responsible for building Dubai properties and foreigners are not allowed to own land. This means buying a plot, acquiring planning permission and building your own home in Dubai is not possible.

If you are to be receiving a pension in Dubai then there are steps you must take to ensure you can receive it in the city and do not lose out.

Taking professional advice is the best way to keep yourself right at all stages when buying Dubai properties. Buying a home in Dubai is not something you should rush into and you should bear this in mind when viewing property for sale in Dubai.

Visa information when moving to Dubai.

If you are moving to Dubai you are required to obtain a work permit and residency visa. Although you are able to legally buy a Dubai home without these documents your activities in the country will be restricted and you will not be able to stay there. Once you are in receipt of your Dubai visa you will be able to open a bank account, register for electricity and water and generally settle into your new life.
A Dubai visa for visitors

UK residents are entitled to a 60-day visitor Dubai visa, which they can obtain free on arrival in the city. This can be renewed for a further 30 days for a fee of around £85. Residents of a further 33 “privileged countries”, including the United States, Germany and Australia, can obtain a one-month non-renewable Dubai visa on arrival, costing in the region of £15-20.
Dubai visa for those buying a Dubai home

Those planning on moving to Dubai must obtain a Dubai visa for residence. Buying property in Dubai entitles you, and your immediate family, to residence visas in accordance with the latest immigration regulations. If you have already secured employment before moving to Dubai your employer should take care of the process of acquiring a work permit and Dubai visa.

Family visas are only available to those earning more than Dhs 4000 per month (approx £750).

Most visas are valid for three years, at which point it must be renewed if you are to be allowed to stay in Dubai.

Before being granted a residence visa, and establishing your Dubai home, all applicants are required to undergo a medical and obtain a health card, which must be renewed yearly.
Dubai visas for women moving to Dubai

Married men, who obtain a Dubai visa, may sponsor their wife and children for residency. However, a married woman cannot simply do the same if she wants her family to join her in her Dubai home. Women doctors, nurses and teachers are exceptions to this and are generally permitted to sponsor their families, allowing them the opportunity of moving to Dubai.
Costs of obtaining a Dubai visa

The only costs associated with a residence visa for moving to Dubai come from the cost of obtaining a health card (approx £56). A penalty charge of Dhs 25-100 (£7-19) will be applied for every day a visitor overstays.

Before accepting a position in UAE and moving to Dubai, it is advisable to check that your employer will sponsor your Dubai visa. You should then establish whether you are able to sponsor your family for residency allowing them to join you in your Dubai home.

Relocating to Dubai with Overs International

Relocating to Dubai – moving to Dubai and into your property in Dubai

Moving house can be a stressful experience at the best of times so relocating to Dubai is fraught with extra complications. However, Overs International carry out international moves every day and can help you when moving to Dubai.

Take time to choose the best way of getting yourself, your family and your belongings safely to your property in Dubai.
Relocating to Dubai – the options

The distance to Dubai restricts the options of how to get there and how much of your belongings you can take with you personally. Flying is your only real method of getting there and how much you take with you when moving to Dubai will depend upon airline luggage restrictions. It is recommended you take no more than clothing, other essentials and a few valuables to your property in Dubai initially.
Relocating to Dubai – the professionals

International shipping companies will deliver goods to Dubai from anywhere in the world. Air freight is another option for those moving to Dubai but it is far more inexpensive than by sea.

You must also think how to get the goods to your property in Dubai from the airport or port. In this case, Overs International, a professional moving company, who will deliver the goods door-to-door might be a better option. The prices charged vary greatly so it is a good idea to receive a few quotes if you are moving to Dubai.

However you choose to transfer your belongings when relocating to Dubai it is a good idea to carry out some research into the various options. Moving to a new property in Dubai can be expensive so it is advisable to make as many savings as possible, no matter how small they may be.
Relocating to Dubai – what to take

Some people choose to take nothing, or as little as possible, and start anew, others bring as much as possible to recreate the feeling of home. Our advice would be to take as little as possible with you to your property in Dubai and get rid of as many electrical appliances as you can.

Think about what clothing you really need for the climate. Consider the storage space in your property in Dubai and whether hefty furniture need be moved vast distances. Consider what can be replaced after moving to Dubai and what items are of particular sentimental value to you.

When relocating to Dubai remember to keep the following with you:

* Passports
* Other important legal documents such as birth and marriage certificates
* Bank books/cheque and credit cards
* A number of passport-sized photographs
* Several photocopies of all the above

Oh, and enough money to get home – just in case!
Relocating to Dubai - pets

Pets moving to Dubai with you can do so provided they are healthy and their inoculations are all up to date. There is no quarantine in Dubai but cats and dogs must have an up-to-date rabies jab if they are to join you at your property in Dubai. They must also wear an ID tag and will be destroyed if found wandering around unidentifiable.

All of this must be considered before moving to Dubai. Relocating to Dubai is a big move but if all goes to plan the move to your property in Dubai can be pain-free.

Working in Switzerland

Unless you've got strong family connections or have a very successful business trackrecord, the best way to move to Switzerland is to find a job with one of the many large multinational companies based in the country. If you've got good qualifications and are offered a job by one of these companies then they will normally take care of acquiring a work permit for you. The job search will be tough though unless you can make yourself available for interviews in Switzerland - often as many as two or three interviews will be required before you're offered a job.

A great way to go about finding work in Switzerland before you've actually landed in the country is to get in touch with one of the recruitment agencies or headhunters. Be sure to emphasise that you're ready to go to Switzerland within a week or two for interviews - you might not even get a response if you send an email from Australia saying that you like the idea of working in Switzerland in a few months time. You need to convey the message that you are serious about moving to Switzerland and are ready to do what it takes to get a job there.
Recruitment agencies and Swiss employment portals:

Swisslinx
ElanIT
Harvey Nash
Boch + Partner
www.jobs.ch
www.monster.ch
JobPilot.ch

What's it really like living in Switzerland?

Many people think of Switzerland as a country full of mountains, watches, chocolate, banks, gold, and people loaded with money. To a large extent those swiss stereotypes are actually quite true; Switzerland is indeed a beautiful mountainous land, swiss watches and chocolates are some of the finest in the world, and Switzerland's stable government combined with successful banking, insurance and pharmaceutical industries have given rise to a large middle to upper-middle class.

The prospect of a safe and wealthy life in a land of great natural beauty, culture and clean streets lures many foreigners into seeking permanent establishment in Switzerland. But do these foreigners get what they come for and are they happy with their new lives? Really it depends on a little luck and a lot of effort, but for many people the answer is no. The main stumbling blocks are cultural integration and money.

Is it really that hard to integrate successfully with the swiss and the swiss way of life? Swiss people in general are sincere and hard-working but fairly reserved and not very outgoing. Most swiss people will be happy to talk to you if you ask them a question, but don't expect anyone to come up to you and start a conversation in a bar, and don't expect to be invited to dinner by workmates. Most foreigners quickly give up on forming strong relationships with the swiss and instead fall back on the support of their expat communities - and that's normally where they stay. Of course one's chances of integration are much better if one learns to speak the local language, but that's no mean feat in the german speaking part of the country since there are many dialects of swiss-german and swiss-german itself is a spoken-only language.

But friendship making isn't the only social or cultural difficulty experienced by most foreigners. The swiss have many rules and idiosyncrasies and most of them aren't written down! Things like extreme punctuality and cleanliness, being forbidden to make any noise after 10pm, starting work at 7am, and not being allowed to do any work at all on sundays (including cleaning your house). Many neighbours wont hesitate to call the police if you temporarily park in their parking space. Add to that the fact that non-europeans need to wait 10 full years before applying for permanent residency or 12 years before applying for naturalisation. This means that they can't start their own businesses, they need to re-apply for residence permits when changing jobs, they need special permission before purchasing residential property and they aren't even allowed to live outside of the district where they are first granted work.

With all of the cultural difficulties when living in Switzerland, surely there should be one thing that isn't a problem; money. But despite Switzerland's great wealth, many immigrants find themselves to be financially stressed for their first few years in the country. Jobs tend to be fairly well paid by international terms, but swiss cities are some of the most expensive in the world and swiss people have already had many years to establish themselves financially.

This article isn't intended to scare you away from considering a move to Switzerland! Rather it aims to highlight the fact that coming to Switzerland isn't an express ticket to riches, happiness and a perfect life. Many economic immigrants decide to pack up their bags and go within their first few years in the country. But there are many more that learn to adapt to the swiss way of life and once they've done that they can be truely happy here. Switzerland is, and always will be, a country full of mountains, watches, chocolate, banks, gold, and people with money.

Thinking of Moving to Spain....It beats Australia!

Thinking Of Moving To Spain?? - It Beats Australia, New Zealand and Canada Every Time !!!

There are lots of expat forums online and many of them discuss returning to the UK. Nearly all the discussion focusing on people returning to the UK is based on Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It can make for very sad reading when you discover that many people feel that they are 'trapped' in these countries and literally counting off the days until they return. The ones who return home report back to the forum expressing their relief at making it.

It is very rare to find similar feelings of desperation from expats in Spain. Of course, many people do return to the UK from Spain as it isn't for everyone. Their main reasons are mainly due to not being able to find work or ill health.

However, it appears that Australia and New Zealand, in particular, really fail to live up to people's expectations. It goes against the notion that it should be easier to relocate to the English speaking countries for obvious reasons. One would think that language and culture are irrevocably linked so integration into these countries should be easier than Spain. Not according to the information out there. In fact, it seems that due to their preconceived ideas about Australia being a friendlier, sunnier version of the UK, when they are faced with the reality, people suffer from quite serious culture shock.

The idea that Australia, New Zealand and Canada will be easy culturally is probably why such people never consider Spain, despite it being closer to home. Once the novelty of the sun and the big house wears off this culture leaves them longing for the familiarity of Britain. In the end they discover that the big house with a pool and year round sun doesn't make you happy but people rather than places are what is needed in life. However, to get to see these people ie family and friends costs a lot of time and huge amounts of money to fly backwards and forwards to good old Blighty!

This isn't the case in Spain where flights are more frequent and a fraction of the price. In fact, it would be quicker to get from Spain to the UK than to fly from one side of Australia to the other. It takes such an extreme experience of relocating for them to realise how English they actually are and how they miss the essence of all things English including the humour, the countryside, smells, sounds, history, buildings, the cities, the realness, to quote just a few.

Those who move to Spain do not have this yearning inside because they have the peace of mind that they can be part of it within a couple of hours. Many of those who return to the UK from Australia and the like, can't wait to get back to their supermarkets for the variety and clothes shops for the quality. Those who live on the Costa del Sol craving a day on the UK high street can nip into Gibraltar for a Marks and Spencer and Morrison's fix. Do you realise how envious that would make the average Brit in Canada or New Zealand.

The number of fellow expats living on your door step in Spain is enough for a regular dose of live British humour and a connection with others on a similar cultural wavelength no matter how keen you are to integrate into Spanish society. If you get bored of sun and beach in Spain, it isn't time to return as it is in Australia. Australian towns are all much of a muchness and it's not worth travelling for hours to another town which is full of the same standard department stores as the last one. However, Spanish towns and cities are exciting and steeped in history. You can visit somewhere new and interesting every weekend if you want to.

When people move to Spain after holidaying for many years they have a pretty good idea of what they are letting themselves into. There is enough information about the country online, people already have friends there and they are just generally better prepared than those who seek out far flung places. It is easier to do your homework on a country on your doorstep than one on the other side of the world.

Their expectations are more realistic as they are aware that Spain is bureaucratic, can be frustrating and is lacking features that we take for granted in life in the UK. We accept its downfalls and we know it isn't going to be a paradise. But many people end up living in Australia without even visiting it for a holiday just assuming that anything that is better than the UK. Sadly, so many of those that head to the other side of the world are disillusioned by what they find.

The truth is wherever you live in life you will need some kind of routine and whether you are a mother with children or self employed working from your home, much of your everyday life will be the same no matter where you live. We all get into a daily grind wherever we are but the important thing is having people around us that we can relate to and some token of familiarity for comfort. If everything you have ever know is stripped from you, you can be left feeling empty and that emptiness is what makes people what to return home to a place where they feel comfortable regardless of the weather and the bad press.

Overs International