A recent study by Nestpick on 75 major global cities often cited as ‘most livable destinations, ranked Dubai as the 2nd best city to work from home just after Melbourne. The report used factors such as Costs and infrastructure, Legislation and freedoms, and Livability to compare and rank cities in their work-from-anywhere index. Furthermore, Nestpick’s Work-from-Anywhere study used data to compare cities and determine the cities that are most attractive to foreign-employed workers, and the availability of infrastructure and legislation in place to make it easy for them to live and work there.
According to Omer Kucukdere, the founder and CEO at Nestpick, he said the global pandemic has caused many people to ask the question “Is it really possible to work from anywhere?” He added, “What we’ve seen through our study, however, is that technology and employers have moved faster than infrastructure, with many legal barriers still in place for migrants who want to bring their jobs with them.”
Additionally, Working from home and digital nomading is not a new thing, but the emergence of the pandemic in 2020 has accelerated this trend rapidly over the last 12 months, however, only a few countries have policies designed to attract foreign-employed workers. Instead, most counties only offer visas to those who take jobs on location, therefore missing the opportunity to bring high-wage earners to their cities without the need to generate new jobs.
The UAE is one of the very few countries that quickly took advantage of this trend to create a fresh new residency visa type to attract these foreign-employed workers. In October 2020, Dubai launched a new immigration program that enabled overseas remote workers and their families to relocate and live in Dubai while continuing to serve their employers in their home country.
What does this mean for Dubai property investors?
Dubai is currently targeting a population of 4.8 million by the year 2040, these visa policies are part of the government’s strategies to achieve this landmark. With more population influx of digital nomads and their families, a spike in demand for residential properties is expected in the coming years, especially as more and more people are expected to work from home.