More young professionals and start-ups are choosing Dubai as their home – with newly relaxed visa rules and a fast vaccine programme among the key drivers.
The National spoke to the founder of a German homeware brand, a British software company, and a Lithuanian travel agency, along with other digital remote workers who made the move.
Several visited during the height of Europe's winter lockdowns and have now decided to return.
“There were a lot of people who came here last autumn and stayed for several months because of the restrictions in their own countries," said Fred Roeder, managing director of London-based Consumer Choice Centre.
Dubai is experiencing a tectonic shift at the minute, with more highly skilled professionals starting to call it home
Fred Roeder, Consumer Choice Centre
“There was nowhere else to go that offered the same freedoms in Covid times.”
Now many of those visitors are making the move permanent.
"Dubai is experiencing a tectonic shift at the minute, with more and more highly skilled professionals starting to call it home," he said.
Mr Roeder, a respected health economist, produces a regular global resilience ranking of how well countries fared in the pandemic, which last week ranked the UAE second in the world.
It also recognised the Emirates for performing significantly better with its vaccination campaign than European Union countries.
The campaign, which delivers doses to people of all ages at the same time, means new arrivals can get the shots as soon as their visa residency documents are ready, which typically takes three or four weeks.
“Even though there is a lot of freedom you still see people sticking to the rules, you don't see as many people in other countries keeping their masks on," said Mr Roeder, a German who now too is based in Dubai.
The government's decision to grant resident visas for working remotely make it an even more desirable location, especially for younger people.
The most recent figures available, from Dubai Tourism in late March, show 1,700 people had applied for its remote working visa - the application link is here - with most accepted. For the first time, it allows people to live in the Emirates and work for a company abroad that has no base here.
In addition, 16,000 foreign travellers opted to take advantage of the city's free visa extension in January, Dubai Tourism's chief executive Issam Kazim told CNN Travel. Traditional visa routes working for domestic companies, self-employment and founding a start-up business are still popular.
German homeware founder finds a new home
Berlin resident Hanna Achilles-Auferoth, 34, plans to make the move to Dubai soon.
“I was there from February to April and now plan to move there permanently soon,” said the founder and chief executive of Achilles Berlin, a luxury lifestyle and homeware company.
“Dubai is an extremely attractive proposition for an e-commerce entrepreneur.
“When I was there I saw how easy it was to work remotely. I was impressed by how it was open for business meetings in restaurants, which was not something I could do in Germany.”
Ms Achilles-Auferoth already has one of the new remote work visas. The nature of her business means her employees do not need to be based in one location.
“We have a team of 10 but we all work remotely around the globe,” she said.
“It’s a very attractive prospect to be based in Dubai.”
Dubai's sunshine beats a Lithuanian winter
Edmundas Balcikonis relocated to Dubai in December to work temporarily while his home country, Lithuania, was under lockdown.
Mr Balcikonis, 34, runs a travel software firm called Eddy Travels, and despite the disruption caused by the pandemic, found his stint in Dubai was successful.
He plans to return to Lithuania soon to tie up loose ends before making the switch to Dubai permanent.
“Nothing was happening anywhere except in Dubai, so I decided to work from there instead of being in lockdown by myself at home,” he said.
“Being able to go to business meetings in person gave me great confidence in the market here.
“It made me decide to make the move to Dubai full-time.”
UK resident Edward Batrouni, 41, stayed in Dubai – working remotely – with his wife and two children, from December to April.
“We ended up staying longer than we first expected,” he said.
“My company has offices globally and Dubai is a perfect hub for me to operate from.”
He now plans to return and make it his family’s permanent home.
"I knew the UAE was at the forefront of innovation and were digitising as many processes as they could," said the founder of software company Zenitech.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Ashes 2019 schedule
August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's
August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley
September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford
September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval
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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
The years Ramadan fell in May
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
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Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Fighter profiles
Gabrieli Pessanha (Brazil)
Reigning Abu Dhabi World Pro champion in the 95kg division, virtually unbeatable in her weight class. Known for her pressure game but also dangerous with her back on the mat.
Nathiely de Jesus, 23, (Brazil)
Two-time World Pro champion renowned for her aggressive game. She is tall and most feared by her opponents for both her triangles and arm-bar attacks.
Thamara Ferreira, 24, (Brazil)
Since her brown belt days, Ferreira has been dominating the 70kg, in both the World Pro and the Grand Slams. With a very aggressive game.
Samantha Cook, 32, (Britain)
One of the biggest talents coming out of Europe in recent times. She is known for a highly technical game and bringing her A game to the table as always.
Kendall Reusing, 22, (USA)
Another young gun ready to explode in the big leagues. The Californian resident is a powerhouse in the -95kg division. Her duels with Pessanha have been highlights in the Grand Slams.
Martina Gramenius, 32, (Sweden)
Already a two-time Grand Slam champion in the current season. Gramenius won golds in the 70kg, in both in Moscow and Tokyo, to earn a spot in the inaugural Queen of Mats.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
