Living in Dubai

Essential Documents

As you would expect during an international move to any new city, you’re very likely to find a long ‘to do’ list waiting for you when you arrive in Dubai. You’ll be doing a lot of driving around, form filling, and waiting in queues in government departments. Just keep your sense of humour handy, bear in mind that language barriers can sometimes delay things, and soon all the boring red tape will be a distant memory.

Typing centres
Many of the processes you need to go through when moving to Dubai involve going to a typing centre. These are found all over the city, and are within or close to many of the government departments that require the use of them. Often the required application forms need to be collected from a typing centre, and the relevant department will not accept a form that hasn't been filled out correctly. You will need to take along all the relevant documents and pay a fee.

English vs Arabic
Always keep in mind that any document written in Arabic is the legally binding one. Therfore many institutions require that application forms are completed in Arabic. If you're worried you can employ the services of a legal translator.
 
Passport Photos 
If you need passport photos (and you will need them) then you also need to know where to go. Grand Stores (grandstores.com) has branches throughout the city and can take your picture and provide the correct size photos. Look out for Kodak outlets in all shopping malls which can shoot a passport picture or print passport-sized photos from your own snaps.
 

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