Dubai Airport Free Zone has launched a "talent pass" freelance licence category to attract global media, education, technology, art, marketing and consultancy professionals to the emirate.
This initiative will further boost the free zone's business environment and strengthen Dubai’s position as a global destination for innovators and talent, DAFZ said in a statement on Sunday.
The talent pass will enable freelancers to obtain a three-year residence visa and allow them to rent commercial office space in the free zone that offers flexible costs and remote services.
License holders will have access to the free zone’s customers, who range from international companies to small and medium enterprises as well as entrepreneurs. They will also have access to the free zone’s digital platform that allows them to contact customers for easier access to work, contracts and services.
The free zone is home to more than 1,800 companies in over 20 economic sectors, with multinationals making up more than 30 per cent of those businesses.
The free zone has already signed a preliminary agreement with Dubai Culture and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs to launch the new licence category.
A signing ceremony was attended by Mohammed Al Zarooni, executive chairman of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority, Mohamed Al Marri, general director of GDRFA and Hala Badri, director general of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.
“This MoU supports our strategic plans for supporting the national economy by enhancing the role of commercial, investment and creative sectors in enhancing the emirate’s gross domestic product, and enables us to contribute to reinforcing Dubai’s position as a creative hub and an incubator for talent,” Mr Al Zarooni said.
The talent pass will enable Dubai’s business community to benefit from the expertise of global creatives, specialists and professionals, he added, saying it gives them the flexibility to access diverse business services at competitive prices.
The preliminary agreement creates the framework for co-operation to process licences, visas and other services that support innovators in establishing, operating and growing their business in the emirate, the statement said.
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The initiative follows Dubai’s strategy for the creative economy that was launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, which seeks to double the contribution of the creative sector to Dubai’s gross domestic product.
It also aims to increase the emirate’s ability to attract creative individuals, investors and entrepreneurs, as well as local, regional and international investments.
DAFZ will evaluate and process applications for the talent pass and issue licences to practise commercial activities within the free zone. Dubai Culture will support the cultural visa for licence holders, encourage talent to join the free zone and tap regional and global markets through awareness and communication programmes, the statement said.
“Co-operation with public and private entities has always been a key priority within our strategy to promote cultural mobility and develop the emirate’s creative and knowledge-based sectors,” Ms Badri said.
The talent pass licence will enable Dubai’s business community to benefit from the expertise of global creatives, specialists and professionals
Mohammed Al Zarooni,
executive chairman, Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority
The GDRFA will promote the free zone as a preferred destination for global businesses and the emirate of Dubai as a business-friendly environment that provides talented individuals with the opportunities to expand their reach to a large consumer market, the statement added.
“This supports Dubai’s plan to create an incubator ecosystem that provides opportunities for creative talent to develop themselves and expand their business,” Mr Al Marri said.
The talent pass is part of a portfolio of six licences offered by DAFZ, which includes the commerce licence for commercial activities such as import, export, re-export and general commerce activities.
The free zone also offers: an industrial licence for light manufacturing activities and packaging and assembly; an e-commerce licence for online trading of goods and services and a licence issued in partnership with the Department of Economic Development, allowing DAFZ-registered companies to apply for the department’s licence without the need for an office space outside the free zone. Dafz also issues a services licence for a range of service-based companies, according to the statement.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Specs
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Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)
Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)
