Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates are migrants or descendants of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

living in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

. 679,819 Filipinos live in the UAE, of which 450,000 live in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

, and they form 6.1% of the whole UAE population, and they form 21.3% of the population of Dubai. Dubai is home to the largest population of Filipinos in the UAE, followed by

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...

and

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is bordered to the east by the Omani ...

. In 2007, Filipinos in the UAE sent more than US$500 million in

remittances A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes with ...

back to the Philippines.

Filipino workers

Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates are primarily migrant overseas workers employed in the architecture, construction, cargo shipping design engineering, energy, information technology, marketing, medical, real estate, retail, telecommunications, and tourism sectors or as domestic helpers. The Philippine

Department of Labor and Employment The Department of Labor and Employment ( fil, Kagawaran ng Paggawa at Empleyo}, commonly abbreviated as DOLE) is one of the executive departments of the Philippine government mandated to formulate policies, implement programs and services, a ...

also has two Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) in the UAE, in

and

. These offices, as well as agreements between the Filipino and UAE governments, have set the monthly minimum salary for OFW's at US$400. Because of the high number of Filipinos in the UAE, OFW's have called more direct flights from the UAE to the Philippines.

Population decline

The

global financial crisis of 2008–2009 Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

took a toll on the working Filipino population in the United Arab Emirates, with 3,000 Filipino workers losing their jobs in December 2008 alone. The overall population shrank by 20% at the end of 2008 as compared to the end of 2007. The Embassy of the Philippines in the UAE asked laid-off Filipinos to register, because of the possibility of job openings in nearby

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

. However, the decline could also be attributed to new visa and passport requirements that the government of the UAE instituted midway through 2008, affecting up to 20,000 Filipinos. Those with expired visas were stranded on the

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian island of

Kish Kish may refer to: Geography * Gishi, Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, a village also called Kish * Kiş, Shaki, Azerbaijan, a village and municipality also spelled Kish * Kish Island, an Iranian island and a city in the Persian Gulf * Kish, Iran, ...

, and at

Al Buraimi AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

near the Oman/UAE border. 300 Filipinos had fled to the Philippines because of the stranded Filipinos and 65 Filipinos received tickets free from the Consulate of the Philippines.

References

{{Immigration to the United Arab Emirates

Asian diaspora in the United Arab Emirates Philippines–United Arab Emirates relations

Filipino workers

Population decline

See also

References