[9][10] The United Arab Emirates attracts immigrants from all over the world; this may be because UAE nationals prefer to work for the government or military.
[11][12] The country's relatively liberal society compared to some of its neighbours has attracted many global expatriates, including people from the Western nations.
[14][15] However, since the late 2010s, an influx of high-net-worth individuals significantly increased the cost of living, especially housing and private school fees.
[15] Lower-paid expatriates are less affected by the local inflation as they work in manual professions such as construction and cleaning where their employers pay for their rent, electricity and transportation.
17, an expatriate can apply for UAE citizenship after residing in the country for a period not less than 30 years providing that person has maintained a good reputation, has never been convicted of a crime and is fluent in Arabic.
[19] Bahrain is also a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); this membership enables Bahraini nationals to enter the UAE without restrictions.
[25][26][27] Kuwait is also a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); this membership enables Kuwaiti nationals to live and work in the UAE without restrictions.
Many Lebanese are involved in business and the media as plastic surgeons, businessmen, managers, salesmen, artists, presenters, hairdressers, TV hosts and news anchors.
[33] According to the Times of Oman, the United Arab Emirates is the most popular destination for Omani students who choose to study abroad; its close location and sharing of the language and culture makes them more comfortable at places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the border town of Al Ain.
Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are neighbouring Arab states and part of the Gulf Cooperation Council; according to agreements, the citizens of each GCC member can live and work in any of the six countries without a visa and other restrictions.
[44] Internet cafés, hotels, coffee shops, restaurants and import-export businesses are all testimony to the Somalis' entrepreneurial spirit.
[59][3] Until signing a normalisation agreement in September 2020, the United Arab Emirates did not recognise Israel due to the Palestinian conflict, and therefore Israeli passport-holders were not legally allowed to enter the UAE.
[74] Many contribute significantly to various sectors, including domestic work, housekeeping, labor roles, aviation services, and hospitality, showcasing their diverse skills and dedication.
[98] Japan also maintains a sizeable trade presence in the UAE through representative offices of multinational corporations and organisations; as of 2007, there were an estimated 105 Japanese companies operating in the Jebel Ali Free Zone alone.
[98] According to registrations based with local embassies and consulates, the community has been growing at an average of 20 percent per year, much larger than the population during the 1980s when only a few hundred Japanese expatriates lived in the country.
[100] The United Arab Emirates received a small contingent of South Korean migrant workers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but it was never a major destination.
[105] Won Ho Chung is a famous Arabic language comedian of South Korean origin who is based in Dubai.
[114] Sri Lankans in the United Arab Emirates have grown to a population of over 300,000;[115][116] they mostly form the country's large foreign labour force.
[116] Most expatriates from Sri Lanka, along with other immigrants from the Indian subcontinent, tend to be found in Dubai, although sizeable communities are existent in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al-Ain and Ras al-Khaimah.
[117] However, their population fell in 2009 due to the downturn in the economy of Dubai, as retrenched Australian expatriates with underwater real-estate loans fled the country to avoid debtor's prison.
[120] A small Fijian community numbering in the hundreds exists in the UAE, based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and other places.
Most Fijians in the UAE can be found working in retail, tourism and hospitality, as nurses,[123] pilots,[124] seafarers, teachers, hotel workers, sportspeople, and in other jobs.
[136] New Zealand-born Samoan rugby player Apollo Perelini has been based in the UAE for a couple of years, where he coaches at the Elite Sporting Academy in Repton School Dubai.
[141] Argentines in the United Arab Emirates are 2,000 and form the third largest community of Argentines in the Middle East (after Lebanon and Israel) and are mainly expatriates (bankers, pilots, stewards and technicians[citation needed] working with the two main airlines in the country) and professional footballers playing in the UAE Football League.
[144] Brazil also has a large business presence in the UAE, with representative offices for several construction companies, exporters and banks.
They work in multiple sectors including hospitality, tourism,sports, security, oil and gas, customer service, advertising and other industries.
However, after the 2008 UK recession, another 120,000 United Kingdom nationals emigrated to the UAE to find work, doubling their numbers within a period of just four years.
The Greek Orthodox Church of the UAE is under the jurisdiction of the Antioch Patriarchate; the current bishop is the Metropolitan of Baghdad, and Kuwait Constantine.
To serve the community, Latvia opened an embassy in Abu Dhabi in September 2014, its first diplomatic mission in the Persian Gulf region.
Some locals insist that as much as half of the Palm Jumeirah, the first of the city's scheduled three human-made islands, which is already handed over, will eventually be owned by Russian speakers.