I'm sure you have heard the proverb "Things happen twice in your life..." well in my case, I guess somethings happen much much more than twice...
Visa officer: So you live in Dubai?
Me: Yes but...(rudely interrupted)
Visa officer: So, where's your UAE residence visa then?
Me: Well, I'm actually on tourist visa here but (rudely interrupted)
Visa officer: Well then you cant apply for your visa from Dubai, where are you a resident?
Me: Well, I have an Indian passport but my wife and I have never lived in India
Visa Officer: ummm...well then your not residents of India
Me: Umm....not exactly, we are Non Resident Indians but we were born and raised in Dubai..
Visa Officer: Alrite, so where do you live then?
Me: (OHHHH GODD not this same conversation again)
It's conversations such as the above OR the long wait on the visit/tourist visa line in the Dubai immigration arrival terminal OR the fact that I need a visa to enter a country that I call home that remind me of our biggest challenge....
You see, you could live in Dubai all your life or have been born here but you are never a permanent resident. My folks moved to Dubai from India in the late 70's in search of a better life and 35 years later are now facing the rude reality that they will have to "return HOME to India" at some point in the next few years once they retire and can no longer be employed here. How can moving back to India be returning home when they have spent more time in Dubai than in India? Through the decades in Dubai, they helped their families back home migrate to Dubai as well; growing up in Dubai, I had more cousins and aunts/uncles in Dubai then I did back home in India...for me, India was that regular 45 days summer school break I spent away from home aka Dubai visiting relatives and my grandparents!
Even after spending close to a decade in the US, I was drawn back to Dubai with my family, friends and fantastic job prospects here....wait, did I mention we pay ZERO taxes....I was in paradise moving back to Dubai in 2008 and loved the 4 years I spent here thereafter....and then came the move to Switzerland for IMD....
My wife and I were considering job prospects in Dubai post MBA and the first thing we realized was that moving back to Dubai would mean setting ourselves up for a similar experience as our parents and hence for the time being atleast, we have decided to enjoy traveling and exploring...
It's tough to be told that you are a tourist at home or a temporary resident at best...it's a hidden feeling of unrest that pops up every once in a while. But, nobody can take away our memories of growing up here and nobody can tell me that Dubai is not home....except the visa officer and a 1000 others I guess :-)
I promised to talk about the post MBA journey in the previous post but we'll get to that next time...for now, I can tell you that my wife and I are headed to Dublin end of March for the next journey and I start my new job on March 24!!!
Until then from my beautiful glimmering city of Dubai (my home for now and forever)
Vikas
Visa officer: So you live in Dubai?
Me: Yes but...(rudely interrupted)
Visa officer: So, where's your UAE residence visa then?
Me: Well, I'm actually on tourist visa here but (rudely interrupted)
Visa officer: Well then you cant apply for your visa from Dubai, where are you a resident?
Me: Well, I have an Indian passport but my wife and I have never lived in India
Visa Officer: ummm...well then your not residents of India
Me: Umm....not exactly, we are Non Resident Indians but we were born and raised in Dubai..
Visa Officer: Alrite, so where do you live then?
Me: (OHHHH GODD not this same conversation again)
It's conversations such as the above OR the long wait on the visit/tourist visa line in the Dubai immigration arrival terminal OR the fact that I need a visa to enter a country that I call home that remind me of our biggest challenge....
You see, you could live in Dubai all your life or have been born here but you are never a permanent resident. My folks moved to Dubai from India in the late 70's in search of a better life and 35 years later are now facing the rude reality that they will have to "return HOME to India" at some point in the next few years once they retire and can no longer be employed here. How can moving back to India be returning home when they have spent more time in Dubai than in India? Through the decades in Dubai, they helped their families back home migrate to Dubai as well; growing up in Dubai, I had more cousins and aunts/uncles in Dubai then I did back home in India...for me, India was that regular 45 days summer school break I spent away from home aka Dubai visiting relatives and my grandparents!
Even after spending close to a decade in the US, I was drawn back to Dubai with my family, friends and fantastic job prospects here....wait, did I mention we pay ZERO taxes....I was in paradise moving back to Dubai in 2008 and loved the 4 years I spent here thereafter....and then came the move to Switzerland for IMD....
My wife and I were considering job prospects in Dubai post MBA and the first thing we realized was that moving back to Dubai would mean setting ourselves up for a similar experience as our parents and hence for the time being atleast, we have decided to enjoy traveling and exploring...
It's tough to be told that you are a tourist at home or a temporary resident at best...it's a hidden feeling of unrest that pops up every once in a while. But, nobody can take away our memories of growing up here and nobody can tell me that Dubai is not home....except the visa officer and a 1000 others I guess :-)
I promised to talk about the post MBA journey in the previous post but we'll get to that next time...for now, I can tell you that my wife and I are headed to Dublin end of March for the next journey and I start my new job on March 24!!!
Until then from my beautiful glimmering city of Dubai (my home for now and forever)
Vikas
