Several families are moving from Asia to the UAE in recent months in view of the country's successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that had made it one of the most attractive destination for expats. According to estate agents, schools and recruitment experts, the UAE is witnessing an influx of highly paid professionals who were tired of lockdowns, home schooling and new waves of Coronavirus cases.

Families are seeing Dubai as a good option to relocate, noting its high vaccination rate, return to in-person classes and resumption of economic activities.

The UAE has won international recognition for its proactive strategy against COVID-19, with Abu Dhabi ranking on top on the new global ranking of 50 cities for their COVID-19 response. Dubai was placed fifth on the list.

44-year-old Alex Urquhart, a British mother of three, was living in Singapore for 11 years before she planned on relocating to Dubai. She noted that her family decided on moving to Dubai in 2022, but moved this summer itself in view of the pandemic.

"Life in Singapore was really restricted, and we had friends in Dubai telling us the situation was under control, and that was a real pull for us. Then Singapore went into another lockdown and we just thought it was going to be lockdown after lockdown. Also, Dubai is so much closer to home and with a negative PCR, we can just hop on a flight and travel," she added.

Speaking with media, Dubai recruitment expert David Mackenzie underlined the same sentiment. He noted that various European headhunters from Singapore and Australia have approached his company looking for job opportunities. Mackenzie, managing director of Mackenzie Jones Group, pointed out that there has been a 20 percent increase in the number of people coming from Singapore.

"They are either worries because they're fed up with lockdown, and people are leaving Hong Kong because of the Chinese takeover, plus property prices there are skyrocketing," Mackenzie said.

Dubai is offering similar benefits of tax-free living, nice weather, good environment for kids and English as a standard language for expats.

Since March 2020, Singapore has closed down the borders due to its zero-COVID policy. The authorities have been implementing regular social lockdowns to keep infection in check.

Travel to and from Hong Kong has also been minimized since the start of the pandemic. Furthermore, incoming passengers are required to quarantine for 14-21 days in a government facility. These restrictions are resulting in an increased exodus of people from the island states to the UAE.

Dubai estate agent Harry Tregoning of Tregoning Property highlighted that there has been a 60 percent increase in enquiries from expats looking to move from Asian countries to the UAE this year.

"I've had dozens of enquiries from expats in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia who are looking to move, and there're so many families we've run out of big villas for them," said Tregoning.

Dubai schools are also witnessing the influx of expatriates from Asia with admissions enquiries increasing over the summer. James Monaghan, the principal at North London Collegiate School, stated that the number of people attending the institute's online "meet the principal sessions" has increased by 75 percent during July. These include mainly families and overseas people willing to move to Dubai.

"We have seen a shift this summer, with an increase in enquiries from countries experiencing tighter restrictions. This has come particularly from areas where students have been online for extended periods, including China and India," Monaghan. 

The National