So there were a couple of rich kids back in my school in Pakistan. I check out their Twitter/Myspace/Facebook/Orkut, and seems like they all live in Dubai in some way or the other. What I don’t get is how are they actually in Dubai so much? I thought Dubai was pretty strict with visas for people with the hara passport? If you didn’t have any reason to be there, you had to get a visit visa. These people seem to be in and out of Dubai all of the time, driving fancy cars, houses, etc etc.
Also, what I don’t get is, how are there so many fashion designers based out of Dubai. Again, aren’t they very strict about work visas? Or can any fashion designer just setup shop there and be based out of Dubai? Maybe their husbands have full time jobs and they are on family visa, but again, I thought they had restrictions on foreigners running businesses and such.
And this thread is about rich/well off people, no need to bring up teendabbywalas, mazdoors, tandoorchis, bawarchis or yourselves who are usually getting the shaft in terms of pay, living, facilities and everything else.
Not sure about now, but if u had a decent amount of money getting dubai residence permit was no biggie 6-7 years ago. and by decent I dont mean massive amounts.
Not sure about now, but if u had a decent amount of money getting dubai residence permit was no biggie 6-7 years ago. and by decent I dont mean massive amounts.
That must have been awesome. Live in Dubai, and Karachi is just an hour and a half away. Leave in the morning, grab lunch, shopping, be back for dinner.
My question is about now. I know it used to be easy to get if you had $$$, and could afford to "lease" a house, but then they reversed that policy all of a sudden. "Lease" is in quotes because you weren't actually buying, just leasing for a long term.
So there were a couple of rich kids back in my school in Pakistan. I check out their Twitter/Myspace/Facebook/Orkut, and seems like they all live in Dubai in some way or the other. What I don't get is how are they actually in Dubai so much? I thought Dubai was pretty strict with visas for people with the hara passport? If you didn't have any reason to be there, you had to get a visit visa. These people seem to be in and out of Dubai all of the time, driving fancy cars, houses, etc etc.
Also, what I don't get is, how are there so many fashion designers based out of Dubai. Again, aren't they very strict about work visas? Or can any fashion designer just setup shop there and be based out of Dubai? Maybe their husbands have full time jobs and they are on family visa, but again, I thought they had restrictions on foreigners running businesses and such.
And this thread is about rich/well off people, no need to bring up teendabbywalas, mazdoors, tandoorchis, bawarchis or yourselves who are usually getting the shaft in terms of pay, living, facilities and everything else.
not sure about the latest situation in Dubai but people were getting resident permits upon buying properties and that was the reason that a lot of people from Pakistan started enjoying their time there. Plus getting a resident permit of Dubai qualifies them for applying visa from there for countries and thus reduces hassles for EU, UK and USA visas.
Buying property ( certain real estate not all ) entitles you to a 99 yr residence permit and a lot of Pakistanis did invest in real estate when the going was good.
Once you have a residence permit you cannot stay out of the country longer than 6 months which might explain their frequent trips to dubai .
The residence visa thing is not so easy any more. The visas that were processed few years ago, are not being renewed anymore, unless strict requirements are met.
That said, if a father has a decent job, he can simply sponsor his wife and kids, enabling them to stay and travel in and out at will. Secondly, opening a business is not that expensive. The licensing process costs a limited amount a year, and all you have to do is show a decent investment amount, which is possible for most middle and upper class Pakistanis.
Even if all of the above is not the case, it takes just a couple of hours for one to get a visit visa to Dubai. Visas are denied only if there is some legal issue with the applicant. Under normal circumstances, visas are easy to get.
they are not handing out visa's because you own property, that was a huge marketing scam, and when buyers complained, Shaikh Maktoom gave an interview and said if you buy property in London they dont give you residence, so why should it be different here? also to get a lease (either short term or long term) you have to provide your residence visa (all gas and elec connections also require the same). There are only 2 ways you get a residence visa, either through the company you are working for, or you set up your own company. Once you have a residence visa its not diffucult to sponser direct family (wife, kids) and they live their on your sponsership.
The visit visa system is very easy, if you are a residence you can sponser family for 1,3 or 12 months at a time, at a cost.
as for your friends who hop over from Karachi, the ticket cost from dubai to anywhere in Pak other than Karachi is almost double, and visa versa
