Half a Million People Became Dubai Residents in H1 of 2014

Dubai maintains its position as one of the most popular Asian destination for leisure and work, according to numbers from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs. There has been a 30% increase in the new visas in the first half of the year with more than half a million people applying to become Dubai residents.

The figures were released in the August edition of “Manafez Dubai”, the official GDRFA Dubai newsletter. According to them, the number of issued residency visas in the first half of the year has jumped 30% from the same period in 2013. From 436,993, the new visas have increased to 570,917 so far this year, an impressive number of people, considering this is only during the first six months of this year. The news comes as a surprise to Dubai residents who complain about the high cost of living in the emirate – prices are increasing and there has been a constant rise in residential rents, as well. At the same time, salaries hardly change, and many expats have been forced to look for smaller and cheaper apartments. Others are moving to neighboring emirates and some even opt to leave the UAE and return to their home countries.

Apparently, this doesn’t stop the thousands of people constantly arriving in Dubai and the UAE, looking for better opportunities and jobs. The country’s labor market is extremely attractive, especially to workers from the region, from Southeast Asia, as well as from the UK and Ireland. The UAE is also a busy transport hub seeing more than 21 million people entering and exiting the country during the first half of the year. The number of passengers reached 21,865,088, which is an increase of 8.14%, compared to the same period last year.

The increasing visas and passenger numbers reflect the country’s growing tourism sector and its increasing international popularity. This growth is expected to remain steady in the future, especially after the launching of the GDRFA and its package of new smart services. As part of the Smart Government initiative, the 28 new services will allow tourists, Emiratis, residents and companies to access various government services from their smartphones and tablets. And another 30 services will be launched soon. This move is expected to make residents’ communication with government agencies better and travel to the UAE a lot faster and easier for visitors.