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Dubai - Customs/Laws regarding VPN use and use apartments if unmarried

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PhantomOf ThePits

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May 12, 2021
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#1
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Hi,

I heard and read over the years some stories about UAE customs/laws and Expats getting into trouble.

How is it 'on the ground' for UAE residents regarding:

- being in the same apartment and unmarried (I heard before in theory it was forbidden, but seems to have changed recently)
- use of VPNs
- other things one usually does being an expat based on what is 'normally allowed' in Western countries?

I understand many things are tolerated and so -- but I just want to know if there are laws prohibiting it as otherwise it maybe used against you in a tail event being a UAE resident

I'd be happy to hear from your experiences.

Tahnk you
 
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#2
If you live peacefully , mind your own business , keep your political opinion to yourself, do not fight with anybody, enjoy life Dubai is best for you.

- being in the same apartment and unmarried (I heard before in theory it was forbidden, but seems to have changed recently)
Click to expand...
Nobody can check each and every bedroom , police does not have time or resources for checking who sleeping with whom.
Most of the horror stories because when couple fight one partner goes to police and than trouble started . It is not about the law change or not.
One couple jailed for doing "something" on open beach at Madinat Jumeirah that's why they deported. If they do in their home country they will also go to jail.
So do not worry about this things.
Famous "Balcony" incident , If girls does not come in balcony , There will be no problem. It is stupid act to posing naked on balcony in any country.
Basically you are inviting trouble.
Do whatever you want to do in closed door. Nobody is going to checking on you in closed door.


- use of VPNs
Click to expand...
Top app on play store are VPN ones , Law says does not use it for Criminal activities.

- other things one usually does being an expat based on what is 'normally allowed' in Western countries?
Click to expand...
Everything , Do not do anything extreme.
Just Do not make fight with anybody. If someone treat you badly just ignore him/her, Dubai is not place to pick up fight.

Dubai is victim of his own success. So many new expat worry when they planning to arrive in Dubai due to some bad news and fake Propaganda.
When you come to live Dubai. You will discover world of opportunities. You change your mind.

Each and Every country has Good and Bad People.
 
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#4
azb1 said:
Just Do not make fight with anybody. If someone treat you badly just ignore him/her, Dubai is not place to pick up fight.
Click to expand...

Yup can't emphasize this one enough. From first hand experience do not make problem or have misunderstanding with landlord out there. See here on my experience.


PhantomOf ThePits said:
- being in the same apartment and unmarried (I heard before in theory it was forbidden, but seems to have changed recently)
- use of VPNs
Click to expand...

See this post on subject below:

Martin Everson said:
Article 1 of Federal Law number 12 of 2016 on the Cybercrimes as, any person who is found using a fake computer network protocol address by using a false address or a third-party address with an intention to commit a crime or prevent its discovery shall be subject to temporary imprisonment and a hefty fine of UAE Dirhams five hundred thousand (AED 500,000) to UAE Dirhams two million (AED 2,000,00). However, the TRA has clarified that VPN can be used by companies, institutions and banks to gain access to internal resources are not unlawful, provided such access is not done for any illegal purposes. The UAE Government restricts the access to pornographic, dating, gambling and any content which is culturally or religiously offensive in nature or contrary to the UAE laws. As per the UAE Government, the following are deemed to be illegal use of VPN:

  1. Any content provoking online fraud, deception, theft, etc.
  2. Any content which is impersonating in nature for fraudulent purposes;
  3. Any content which permits access to others’ bank statements, accounts, date, credit or any other electronic card numbers or any electronic payments, and any confidential information;
  4. Any content which infringes one’s right to privacy, like any content or website which provides the devices for phone tapping, theft or publication of any private information; and
  5. Any content which has the information from the public or private organizations.
In UAE, some of the legal ways to use VPN services by individuals to use the blocked apps or geographically restricted content/websites is through the telecommunication services such as Du and Etisalat VPN packages, which permits the users to use mobile data or Wi-Fi to make video and audio calls internationally or access to the websites as permitted by the governing authority through the telecommunication services, any other usage of VPN which is contrary to terms and conditions set by the Cybercrime law and TRA shall be deemed to illegal use of the VPN. However, the core of imposing such strict restrictions on the usage of VPN by the UAE government is to prevent access to sacrilegious content.
Click to expand...


azb1 said:
If you live peacefully , mind your own business , keep your political opinion to yourself, do not fight with anybody, enjoy life Dubai is best for you.
Click to expand...

This is absolutely key to enjoying your time in Dubai. Remember public protest and all political parties are banned in Dubai. So do not take up any sort of activism or campaign for human rights as this maybe seen as an attempt to undermine the kingdom. Do like 99.9% of all foreign residents in Dubai just stay ignorant about human rights, smile and keep shopping at those air conditioned malls.

P.S Do not criticize Dubai on social media the way I do at least not without a VPN as their defamation laws are harsh. Very worse case they could Jamal Khashoggi your a*s as gulf states don't like criticism.
 
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#5
Martin Everson said:
Yup can't emphasize this one enough. From first hand experience do not make problem or have misunderstanding with landlord out there. See here on my experience.
Click to expand...
Laws have changed. Bounced cheques are no longer a crime. Last years I was paying the landlord via bank transfer but yes it is exception than a rule, most LL consider cheque as some sort of better payment guarantee than a bank transfer (paid upfront!).

I agree about not picking up the fights but honestly the locals are usually very well behaved and they are not picking up fights either. They know their status in the society and the government is taking well care of them. My previous LL was top 100 wealthy Emirati and he was the best landlord I had. Money was not an issue to fix anything even major, he even asked us if we want to have a swimming pool built for which he will pay.

I am really surprised they let you out of the country half naked lol
 
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#8
Living together without being married is fine now, the law was recently changed. However, having sex without being married is not.
Many expats have had issues with this when a pregnancy was discovered too late. I believe hospitals have to report unmarried pregnant women.
There was also recently an American tourist who had a medical problem. The blood tests showed marijuana, which he claimed he had used legally in the US, before coming to Dubai. He was sent straight to jail.

VPNs are legal for cases like connecting to your company VPN. They are illegal for committing crimes or unblocking services that are blocked by the UAE government.
For example, WhatsApp calls are blocked because WhatsApp refuses to pay the "telecommunication provider license" that would be required to offer such services in the UAE.
If you use a VPN to make calls over WhatsApp, that's illegal.
Chances of being caught are probably very close to zero, unless you're actually committing a crime.

Things like kissing in public or holding hands is not allowed. It's not super strict, but just don't do it.
Do not under any circumstances write negative things about a specific company or person on the internet/social media. It can be considered defamation/cyber terrorism.
Also be aware that it's quite common to have to pay a fee to cancel a service/subscription.

To be honest, I think those are all very fair things. Just be aware of them, keep a low profile and you can have a great quality of life.
 
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#9
JustAnotherNomad said:
Living together without being married is fine now, the law was recently changed. However, having sex without being married is not.
Many expats have had issues with this when a pregnancy was discovered too late. I believe hospitals have to report unmarried pregnant women.
There was also recently an American tourist who had a medical problem. The blood tests showed marijuana, which he claimed he had used legally in the US, before coming to Dubai. He was sent straight to jail.

VPNs are legal for cases like connecting to your company VPN. They are illegal for committing crimes or unblocking services that are blocked by the UAE government.
For example, WhatsApp calls are blocked because WhatsApp refuses to pay the "telecommunication provider license" that would be required to offer such services in the UAE.
If you use a VPN to make calls over WhatsApp, that's illegal.
Chances of being caught are probably very close to zero, unless you're actually committing a crime.

Things like kissing in public or holding hands is not allowed. It's not super strict, but just don't do it.
Do not under any circumstances write negative things about a specific company or person on the internet/social media. It can be considered defamation/cyber terrorism.
Also be aware that it's quite common to have to pay a fee to cancel a service/subscription.

To be honest, I think those are all very fair things. Just be aware of them, keep a low profile and you can have a great quality of life.
Click to expand...
thank you very much, very helpful.

Yes, I'll be more cautious at the beginning and then see how everything works out.

From your experience, which apps work in the UAE without being illegal?
- Telegram
- Signal
- Zoom
- Skype
- Microsoft Teams

WhatsApp I understood writing is ok, just calls illegal as they dont want to pay the TelCo provider license.

Have a good evening
 
#10
Exactly, chat apps work fine.
Zoom and Teams works, I believe Skype might work, too. They pay the license fee.
I'm not sure about Telegram, I've never used it to make calls.
Strangely, calls over Signal and FaceTime have worked for me in the past. But if you buy an iPhone in the UAE, FaceTime will not work, not even outside the UAE. Unless something has changed and Apple has decided to pay the fee.
 
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#11
I've taken countless of prostitutes to both high end hotels and airbnbs in Dubai. I think if you live and stay in westernized Dubai and dont go to the provinces you should be fine with anything you do.

Just dont kiss or pda in public, and dont piss of the locals and u'll be fine. And dress respectfully (this is more for the women). I've seen a slutty-dressed woman in Dubai Mall getting yelled at by local women in burqas. Also seen obvious ladyboys in Dubai.

Dubai is very open. As long as you mind your own business and dont put it on display in public.
 
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#12
keep a low profile and you can have a great quality of life.
Click to expand...

That't It . If you have money and enjoy life it is key motto for today's world.
By showing off You are inviting trouble for yourself.

original.webp
 
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#13
JustAnotherNomad said:
But if you buy an iPhone in the UAE, FaceTime will not work, not even outside the UAE. Unless something has changed and Apple has decided to pay the fee.
Click to expand...
Apple has changed the way FaceTime shows up on UAE bought devices. It all depends on your country settings on the iPhone. If you change to outside of UAE, the FaceTime will show up.
 
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#15
PhantomOf ThePits said:
thank you very much, very helpful.

Yes, I'll be more cautious at the beginning and then see how everything works out.

From your experience, which apps work in the UAE without being illegal?
- Telegram
- Signal
- Zoom
- Skype
- Microsoft Teams

WhatsApp I understood writing is ok, just calls illegal as they dont want to pay the TelCo provider license.

Have a good evening
Click to expand...

I used Viber to make audio/video calls without a VPN... no issues..
For all other apps just use a VPN and it will work fine...
 
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#16
PhantomOf ThePits said:
thank you very much, very helpful.

Yes, I'll be more cautious at the beginning and then see how everything works out.

From your experience, which apps work in the UAE without being illegal?
- Telegram
- Signal
- Zoom
- Skype
- Microsoft Teams

WhatsApp I understood writing is ok, just calls illegal as they dont want to pay the TelCo provider license.

Have a good evening
Click to expand...
The owner of Telegram Pavel Durov is living in Dubai currently. I'm sure that telegram is working there.
 
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#17
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#18
Alenka said:
The owner of Telegram Pavel Durov is living in Dubai currently. I'm sure that telegram is working there.
Click to expand...
It's working but not the calling feature. It is shaped once you try to talk to someone.
 
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