[geff82]

As an alternative I want to mention the very convenient Dubai Internet City, which is a free zone next to the Dubai Marina district. I was there, left a good impression on me, and the also have no big problem when you trade with other non-freezone companies in the UAE. Microsoft, Oracle and IBM all have a place there.

[happyslobro]

Ditto, relocated there from Doha. It is conveniently close to a large cluster of AirBnBs, which helps out big time while waiting for a resident's permit.

[geff82]

How long did it take you to get a resident's permit? Seemed to me like this process would be quite fast.

[happyslobro]

It probably could be fast, if you have all your ducks lined up. UAE immigration wanted me to go back to Canada to pick up a fresh notarized copy of my educational and criminal records.

I really don't understand why this kind of thing can't be done over a video conference, and then printed, stamped, scanned, emailed, printed locally. But, I got a nice little trip to my hometown out of it, so whatever.