What You Should Consider When Moving to the UAE With Your Family?
Suppose you’re planning to move to the UAE with your family. In that case, there are several important factors you should consider before making the move, such as housing and housing allowances, daily commute, and schools for your children.
Due to the emirates being almost tax-free, the UAE is considered an expat haven. In this article, we will talk about some of the things you should consider, especially if you are planning to relocate there with your family, and how expat health insurance can help enhance your time in the UAE.
Before Taking the Job in Dubai
Before accepting an attractive job offer in Dubai, be sure to ask your future employer what benefits will be provided. Having bonus benefits on top of group medical insurance can drastically change your quality of life and help you with planning your budget.
Here are some benefits to look out for before moving to the UAE:
1. Housing Allowance
Rent is one of the major expenses for both individuals and families moving to Dubai. Not only are the prices for a decent-sized apartment high, but expats also tend to hire and pay a rental agency to help them find the right apartment.
Checking with your employer-to-be if they can cover a certain amount of your rent or rental agency fees can save you a lot of money in the long run.
If you’re looking for an apartment in Dubai, check out our guide on “Renting an Apartment in Dubai as an Expat.”
2. Transportation Benefits
With average temperatures in the emirate oscillating between 25 to up to 40 degrees Celsius, driving is really the only humane option to navigate through the city. Some employers offer their newly headhunted employees company cars or at least fuel cards to ease the financial burden.
Ask your future employer if you can count on any of these benefits.
3. Childcare Benefits
Childcare benefits can be a significant advantage for expats moving to Dubai, particularly when it comes to school tuition. Many international schools charge substantial tuition fees, which can be a considerable financial burden for families.
The public schools in Dubai are not available to expatriate children, meaning your options are private and international schools, and those come with a high price tag, and quite often a long waiting list too.
Research the school fees in advance and see whether you can count on your company to cover part or even the full cost of your children’s education, as school fees may consume a big chunk of your salary.
4. Health Insurance
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As an expat health insurance specialist in Dubai, we’d like to focus on this point a bit more. Since health insurance in Dubai is mandatory, you and your entire family must have compliant health insurance in order to reside in the emirate.
Your employer must provide you with health insurance, however, your company is not legally bound to extend its cover to include your family. The benefits provided might also not be as comprehensive as what you wanted/needed. So, what exactly should you know about Dubai health insurance?
Consider the cost of healthcare in Dubai
The basic DHA-compliant medical plan is very basic, and might leave you having to pay out of pocket for even GP visits. Many new expat families are surprised by the high cost of healthcare in Dubai, as they’ll usually choose to receive medical care in private clinics and hospitals.
The private sector also has better service standards (e.g. English speaking staff), which is not always found in public hospitals in Dubai. Making sure that you have comprehensive expat medical insurance is crucial for the safety of your bank statement and your family’s health.
Consider the cost of international health insurance in Dubai
The second thing you should take into consideration is that in case your employer won’t offer your family health insurance, you are then responsible for arranging coverage for your dependents, and that, too, can cost a lot. In fact, in this article, you can find out the cost of health insurance.
With family medical insurance plans in Dubai costing on average about USD 14,635 in 2018 (per family of 4), you might want to know about it in advance, and if necessary, know your options, such as:
Top-Up Your Basic Plan
One way to offset the insurance gap between the basic DHA plan, or any family medical insurance that doesn’t meet your needs, is to top-up your existing expat medical insurance with certain benefits that you think are crucial for you, for example, dental or vision benefits, or simply extending your coverage limits.
Stay Insured with Pacific Prime Dubai
Securing family medical insurance in Dubai via a broker, like Pacific Prime Dubai, comes with many advantages. An experienced insurance advisor will help you compare hundreds of medical insurance plans and explain the process of securing the best-suited one.
You’ll also get to know all about how healthcare in the emirate works, which hospitals are the best, and why it’s actually better to buy an international health insurance plan while residing in Dubai.
We hope that this feature helped shed some light on your understanding of what to expect from your future Dubai employer if you want to relocate here with your whole family.
We wish you luck in negotiating housing, car, or transportation, and school allowances, as well as a proper family medical insurance plan. If you’d like to learn more about the latter, feel free to contact our team to get impartial Dubai health insurance advice and free quotes for starters!
Born and raised in the cultural melting pot that is Hong Kong, and having studied at an international school, Vista has developed a multicultural perspective that he uses in his writing and strives to connect to people of different backgrounds.
In his free time, Vista enjoys immersing himself in different worlds, from video games to light novels and movies. His hobbies help him expand his writing style by putting himself in the point-of-view of different people and characters.
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