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Serving
Students at
Santa Ana
College and
Santiago
Canyon College
United Arab Emirates
Business Tips
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Business
Tips
Islamic
ideals and beliefs provide the conservative foundation of the country's
customs, laws and practices. The U.A.E. is a modern, developed country,
and tourist facilities are widely available.
Travel
Advisories and Visas
A passport
and visa are required for entry into the U.A.E. Multiple-entry visas
for business or tourism and valid for up to ten years are available to
US passport holders from U.A.E. embassies abroad. Sponsors are not
required, but applicants may be asked to provide an invitational letter
to confirm the purpose of travel. These visas do not permit employment
in the U.A.E.
With 2-3
weeks advance notice (sometimes less), a local sponsor (company, major
hotel or U.A.E. Government agency) can arrange for a transit visa valid
for a single stay of up to two weeks. Local sponsors (companies or
individuals) can also arrange for visitor visas valid for one month with
extensions possible of up to three months upon application.
Punctuality
American
business visitors are expected to be punctual for all appointments and
it is most important to respond to all fax and other communications promptly.
As is the case with the business practices in many Middle Eastern countries,
meetings can often run late and projects may experience postponements and
extensions.
Business
Hours
The regular
workweek is from Saturday to midday Thursday. Most private businesses
are also open on Thursday afternoon. Working hours vary. Federal
government offices are open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday through
Wednesday. Commercial outlets reopen in the afternoon from about
4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
The Islamic
calendar uses lunar months of 28 days, so an Islamic year of 12 months
is only 354 days long; holidays will thus be on different dates by the
Western calendar every year. Paperwork should carry two dates, the
Gregorian (Western) date and the Hijrah (Arabic) date. Check with
your sponsor as to which holidays will be observed by the persons
you intend to meet.
Holidays
Aid-al-Fitr-The
festival of breaking fast.
This
is a three-day feast celebrating the end of the fasting of the month of
Ramadan.
Aid-al-Adha-The
feast of the sacrifice.
This
is a three-day festival beginning on the tenth day of the month of Zul-Hijiair.
List of
Holidays 2001
New Year's Day
January 1
Waqfa
March 4*
Eid Al-Adha
March 5-6*
Islamic New Year
March 26
Prophet's Birthday
June 4*
Shaykh Zayed's Accession August 6
Ascension Day
October 15*
U.A.E. National Day
December 2-3
Eid Al Fitr
December 16*
* U.A.E.
religious holidays are dependent upon the sighting of the moon and may
vary from estimate.
Disputes
American
citizens involved in financial disputes with a local sponsor or firm may
experience travel restrictions which are rigidly enforced that prevent
the individual from leaving the U.A.E. for any reason until the matter
is resolved. A local sponser may hold an employee's passport; however,
this is not a U.A.E. legal requirement. Avoid contractual/labor
disputes by clearly establishing all terms and conditions of employment
in the labor contract at the beginning of any employment. The U.A.E.
ministry of labor has established a special department to review and arbitrate
labor claims; a list of local attorneys capable of representing Americans
in such matters is available from the consular and commercial sections
of the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the U.S. Consulate General in Dubai.
Avoid
taking photographs of anything military in nature.
Links
to More Information
Dress
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