Job Discussion Forums

[knautica]

I'm planning to apply for ESL jobs in the UAE.

If I manage to get work there, can my Philippina wife get an entry visa to join me?

Thanks for any information.

[boyscout]

Sure, no prob. But just bare in mind she may often be mistaken as your house-maid (or worse) and treated like a second-class person in shopping malls, cinemas, etc,.

[Badar Bin Bada Boom]

Halt! Grammar Gestapo! Show me your papers. Filipina becomes Philippina? Bare in mind?

In any case, I'm not sure whether average Emiratis can tell the difference between young Chinese women and Filipinas, but the Chinese I was married to and living with in Dubai 1997-2002, as well as her visiting sister, were not scorned by locals. Rather, they were followed around by slack-jawed Early Humanoids because of their beauty. They turned the UAE into a nation of needy, neolithic stalkers.

[knautica]

Thanks very much for your very helpful replies. 

[nomad soul]

I'm not sure how the other posts have been helpful, but you might try posting your question on one of the numerous general expat forums for more exposure. Do an Internet search on expat forum uae. But I suspect there won't be any major problems getting her a visa.

[veiledsentiments]

It may depend on your employer. With the better employers (the ones that require MAs and sufficient related experience) it shouldn't be a problem. With the lower level employers, it may be more problematic as they may not have a good record with the labor ministry and getting proper visas.

But, at places like HCT or ZU or UAEU, there were marriages of every possible international combination.

VS

[Gulezar]

[sliderama]

I also have a filipina spouse (I'm canuck) and can tell you firsthand there is no problem in this regard. Plenty of authentication/attestation to get thru (make sure marriage docs etc are watertight!) but with persistence all will be processed duly.

There are 600 k + legal pinoy here in the uae (maybe 1 M total?) so it's not as bad as some make out, yes there are some who treat them as nannies, my wife finds it prudent to adapt her fashion sense to make sure she dresses up than down to distinguish her from domestic workers (tho in fact she has many as friends) then she gets treated as a madam rather than other.

The country basically couldn't run without the pinoy OFWs (imo), the service sector especially needs them as they have excellent English, fantastic customer relations skills, can add, are polite, etc., and personally I much much prefer to deal with a pinoy OFW than almost any subcontinental.

So in a nutshell, I think your wife would be very comfortable here (tons of pinoy food, restaurants, etc...) and it's a mostly pleasant part of the world overall (and rather handsomely compensated in general for westerners) in which to live for mixed-marriage couples (and their kids).

hope it helps...

[veiledsentiments]

[nomad soul]

Ditto from me! Ironically, some of my better Saudi students practice their English each day with the friendly Filipinas who maintain and clean our campus.