Hello

I need some helpful advice here if possible.

I want to bring my Thai GF to UAE when I go to work on 2 year contract, but I have heard that there could be some visa difficulties with this.

I don’t really want to get married, so I thought of having a Buddhist wedding ceremony and then trying to bring her as a spouse. I am not sure such a marriage would be recognized for visa purposes, or even checked upon by the visa issuing staff.(not sure what documentation they check)

Maybe someone can advice or has better ideas…….Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated.

Am also off to the UAE this week on a short term contract with the chance of an extension.

The rules I have seen say that you must get the company you work for to sponsor your Wife, a

girlfriend cannot be sponsored. You could use Tourist visas, obtainable upon landing in the UAE.

More info here

http://crap-free.com/dubai-expat/#cost

You receive no paperwork for a Buddhist marriage so it is not recognized for Visa purposes.

Edited January 31, 201016 yr by beano2274

You are in a Muslim country and they take a dim view of what your talking about. The only way is to legally marry her.

For marriage you have to go through a lot of hurdles for visa - they are muslim states and Dubai has become less tolerant with foreigners. A friend of mine who managed the bar in a hotel and his fiancee (who worked for an airline) could not live together. They both had separate rooms. Another friend who was in a shared house with some Egyptians got in trouble with his company when they reported him for bringing a lady back to the house. They found a bra behind the sofa and assumed it was him - it was in fact his boss, a local! It caused a lot of trouble and fortunately they were removed. Last year they changed a lot of visa requirement although I think mainly for residency eg homeowners. It caused chaos, a lot of people that had lived there for years (having bought a house/flat and retired) suddenly had around a month to apply for the new 3 month visa or they would be considered illegal immigrants.

If she wants to visit for a couple of months at a time it should not be a problem. My Thai girlfriend joined me for a month in the UAE whilst working in Abu Dhabi. The way we did it was for Etihad to sponsor her. I think you will find Etihad or Emirates will sponsor a passenger if you book the ticket with them. I don't remember the cost but in the grand scheme of things it was minor. YOu can also extend it when there by visiting immigration - best to use a local from your company as they go straight to the front of any lines of foreigners there may be. When she leaves you have to send a copy of her leaving stamp from passport control and then you are supposed to get some money returned. I haven't had any money returned yet but you might need to be in the UAE to claim it. The Hotels can do it but the Sheraton we stayed at was a waste of time. Airlines were the best route for Tourism visas.

Edited January 31, 201016 yr by wkbglobal