Is Sunday the new Friday in the Emirates?
On 1 January 2022, the UAE joined in line with the international business world by changing its working week to coincide with the Monday-Friday model adopted by the rest of its major Western trading and business partners, signalling to the entire world that the Emirates are continuing to move in the right direction, changing traditional customs if required.
The UAE now has a four-½-day working week after the shift, with the weekend starting on Friday at noon and lasting until Sunday. This move is designed to continue efforts to make the UAE a highly attractive destination for foreign investment and ex-pats alike.
The move bolsters the reason so many high-net-worth individuals are relocating to the Emirate or at the very least, are considering buying a home. Dubai, yet again, has stolen the march on the rest of the Gulf countries who will retain the traditional Friday-Saturday weekend.
The benefits to both UAE residents and its Western partners are immediately obvious – business and banking transactions and general business communication are enhanced through sharing a common working week.
For all the sports lovers out there, we will now be able to watch international sporting events on TV which mostly occur on Saturday and Sunday.
This move is a natural consequence of the UAE Government’s commitment to making life here easier for ex-pats – there are no doubts any longer that the country’s focus is now on attracting and retaining global talent.
Other moves have seen the introduction of special UAE visas - the Golden Visa, the Retirement Visa, job-seeker visas, and multiple-entry tourist visas.
The UAE Golden Visa enables visitors to live, work and study in the UAE on long-term residence visas which will be issued for 5 or 10 years and with automatic renewal.
The five-year Retirement Visa allows citizens from around the world to live in the emirate provided they meet certain criteria such as UAE property ownership, a fixed deposit of Dh 1 million in a local bank or have a fixed monthly retirement income of Dh 20,000.
The job seeker visa enables foreigners to enter the UAE without or are seeking a job. The visa will allow them to stay in the country for up to six months while they look for work.
Finally, multiple-entry tourist visas can now be issued for 30 days or 90 days for single or multiple entries. Tourist visas can be extended for 30 days twice, without the need to leave the country.
Facilitating the working visa process has seen an explosion of companies offering flexible freelance visas, encouraging remote working that vastly expanded over the pandemic period.
There have been other changes, too, that boost Dubai’s image as the world’s best open city.
New movies will now be released in cinemas without any censorship. The decision means that adult and explicit content will not be cut from film content. It comes as part of the introduction of a new 21+ age rating on top of the previous 18+ category.
Dubai has had its share of knockers over the years, attempting to undermine the success of the city in establishing itself as the world’s global hub. The fact that it has succeeded exposes a truth here - those who bet against Dubai will always lose.
While I have shared many benefits above, the working week change has not been universally experienced as a comfortable transition. Many of us ex-pats remain a little confused about the change of weekend days and I think it may take some time to adjust.
Is Saturday or Sunday the new Friday now?
Postscript: What has happened to the infamous Friday Brunches?
Only two restaurants in Dubai TimeOut Magazine’s top 20 Brunch venues for 2022 are listed on Sundays with the vast majority opting for Saturday. So, for now, at least, it really does seem that Saturday is the new Friday in the Emirates.