How Dubai and Kuala Lumpur compare on cost, visas, working hours, weather, internet and safety. Every figure comes from our city guides and tools, checked and dated there.
Dollars and pounds at today's exchange rate. Download speeds are the typical figure from each guide, which says where it comes from: some are for the city, some for the whole country, so treat a small gap as no gap.
Rent, a coworking desk, a cheap lunch on each of 22 working days, and getting around: the same four costs our budget calculator uses. The rent figures aren't always the same kind of figure (some are furnished one-beds, some are averages across every size of flat), so read the note under each.
$3,150 to $5,580£2,370 to £4,190 a month
$465 to $1,030£349 to £773 a month
Dubai virtual work residence
The catch. The permit assumes your work comes from outside the UAE. Landlords usually want a year's rent in advance, often in one to four cheques.
DE Rantau Nomad Pass
The catch. It does not cover Sabah or Sarawak, and MDEC's own FAQ says remote work is taxable after 60 days in the country.
See where your own income stands in every country. Check your income
A 9am to 5pm day in the employer's city, shown in local time, for today's date, so it allows for the clocks changing.
Different hours or another employer city? Use the time-zone planner
The average high in °C each month, coloured by the rule on our best-time page: green is a high of 20 to 32°C with under 150mm of rain; red is a high of 38°C or more or under 12°C, 250mm of rain or more, or 33°C or more with 150mm of rain or more. Hover over a month for its rain.
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai | 24° | 25° | 30° | 34° | 38° | 40° | 42° | 42° | 40° | 37° | 31° | 26° |
| Kuala Lumpur | 33° | 33° | 34° | 34° | 34° | 33° | 33° | 33° | 33° | 33° | 32° | 32° |
Dubai: seasons and events · Kuala Lumpur: seasons and events
Level 3: reconsider travel
Level 1: normal precautions
The US level is for the whole country, as the State Department sets it, and some countries have stricter advice for particular regions.
From each city guide, word for word.
A salaried remote employee earning at least USD 3,500 a month from a company outside the UAE who wants a self-sponsored year with no personal income tax. The permit is fast and cheap, you can bring family on it, the metro works, and October to April is some of the best weather anywhere. If you are happy treating the city as somewhere you work in air conditioning and play outdoors for half the year, it is very easy to live in.
Anyone whose income is mostly from UAE clients, or irregular. Anyone who cannot put down a year's rent up front. Anyone who resents being told what they can post online, how to behave in public or which medicines they can carry: a rude message or a trace of cannabis from a trip elsewhere can mean prison. Anyone gay, because same-sex relations are a crime. Anyone who needs to WhatsApp-call home. And anyone who wilts in heat: from June to August the average daily high is over 40 degrees, and the state bans outdoor work at midday for three months.
Tech freelancers and remote employees earning USD 24,000 a year or more who want a legal, cheap, one-to-two-year base in a big city. The pass costs RM 1,080, plus RM 360 a year. You can live in a furnished one-bed in Bangsar or Bukit Bintang for about RM 2,100 to 2,400 a month, rent a hot desk for RM 400 to 700, and live by the rail line without a car.
Non-tech workers earning under USD 60,000 or outside MDEC's listed roles, anyone who wants the time to count towards permanent residence, and anyone hoping the pass keeps them out of tax: MDEC's own FAQ treats remote work as taxable from day 61. People with asthma in a haze year, between June and October. LGBT+ couples who want to live openly, because same-sex acts are illegal under federal law. And anyone choosing Mont Kiara without a car, who will spend every day in a Grab in traffic. And budget for moving in: about RM 8,800 up front on a RM 2,000 flat.
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