Job Discussion Forums

[ExpatLuke]

Hello, I was hoping someone could help me with a few questions. For awhile now, I've been considering the thought of moving to UAE to teach, but I think I have several things counting against me.

First of all, I don't have my Masters. I have my Bachelors in TESOL, which has allowed me to get jobs quite easily in SE Asia. Would this exclude me from getting Uni jobs in the UAE?

Second, I would want to bring my Vietnamese girlfriend with me. Are there any laws against unmarried couples living together? She speaks excellent English and fluent Japanese (with a 4 year degree in Japanese)... are there any job prospects anyone would know of for her?

I have about 3 years teaching experience. 2 years in Vietnam, and 1 in the US. While in the US I taught academic English to mostly Saudi students (some Iraqi as well).

[nomad soul]

[veiledsentiments]

[Desert Camper]

ExpatLuke, not possessing a Masters will certainly preclude your being considered for any tertiary level position; it is a standard requirement here now. Indeed, many of my colleagues are working on their second or third (relevant) Masters and it is also becoming increasingly common to have holders of (again, relevant) doctorates on foundation/academic bridging ESL programs at the UAE's largest universities. One of my colleagues is currently completing her third doctorate!

As regards your Vietnamese girlfriend, I think you have to bear in mind that, under Islam, there is no such concept as 'girlfriend' and/or 'boyfriend'. Rather, people are single and then they are married, and there is nothing in between the two statuses. That is, there is no 'interim position'. The most important and immediate practical ramification of this is that you would not be able to sponsor your girlfriend so she would have to come on a tourist visa, which would entail her having to keep exiting from the UAE in order to obtain a new visa. How frequently she had to do this would depend on how long immigration gave her on each tourist visa, which as I understand it depends on the passport the applicant holds.

Also, the very jobs that one can be employed for depend on one's nationality so you would, assuming you got married before coming, have to check with immigration to ascertain what categories of employment your girlfriend would, in theory, be able to apply for.

Regarding (presumably, long-term) 'cohabitation', my advice would be to forget it. It is not as easy to hide as some people would like to believe, and the punishment for non-compliance is somewhat Draconian to say the very least. This is not to say that there are no unmarried couples living in sin, as it were, and this is not to say that 99.9% of those breaking this particular law do not get away with it 99.9% of time. However, every now and then there is an absolute horror story in the press when that unfortunate 0.1% of the population that one 0.1% of the time is 'caught' and charged, and has the book thrown at them. As much as I personally like the UAE and the Middle East in general, this is certainly not the best place in the world to fall foul of the law.

Even being alone with someone of the opposite gender to whom you are not married and who is not a close relative (son/daughter, father/mother, brother/sister, etc.) is illegal and people are occasionally prosecuted. Take a look at the story below, from The National, of a woman who was charged with 'beautifying the sin' (the crime of engaging in romantic but non-sexual liaisons) after being found alone with her male driver:

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/courts/woman-denies-beautifying-the-sin-claims-she-was-set-up

Notice that the judge confirmed that they should not have been alone. You can, I am sure, imagine what would happen if someone were to report you for actually living with someone to whom you were not married.

[ExpatLuke]

Thanks for the info. It sounds like now is not the time for us to move to the UAE. Maybe in a few more years when we're married and I have my Masters. It's too bad because a big draw for us wanting to go there was so we could save some extra money to get married and for me to study.

[nomad soul]