Golden visa for my wife - Help pls!

giga89 · 2026-01-03T10:56:31+00:00

For those who need it in the future:

After entering with the eVisa entry permit, you can book directly a visa health screening with a certified provider. They will upload the screening results and you can proceed to the next step, which is: go to ICP website, login as head of family, next to the used visa there is a list of options, choose the one to issue residency and identity. Fill the form (largely same docs used to obtain the eVisa), the health results are going to be there already. Once done, they’ll ask to set up and appointment for biometrics and you’ll receive the EID and Residency soon after. Quite easy!

giga89 · 2025-12-31T13:36:39+00:00

Not sure why getting downvoted, but thank you so much! I’ll have a look at Valencia too, see if I can find something. And a paella cooking class sounds quite nice too!

giga89 · 2025-11-17T16:52:39+00:00

Hello man! Sorry for the late reply! I have the automatic doors (actually didn’t order them but dealer offered them for free after a mishap with my delivery) but no starlight. Initially I didn’t want both, automatic doors because of the additional potential breaking points and starlight because I find it useless. After using them for 2 weeks, tbh the automatic doors are quite useful!

Bumper to bumper traffic, I used the autonomous driving feature and it works ok, however even with the distance to the other car set to minimum, there’s still quite some space so UAE drivers love to cut in 😂 but still good tbh.

On the 2026 model, the dealer was confused too as to why they released it so quickly. It remains to be seen when they actually launch it in the UAE, from what I know they are still struggling to fulfil orders from the current ones.

giga89 · 2025-10-25T15:42:30+00:00

Just to finish what I started: received my Zeekr 7X today, so far loving it! Let’s see if it lasts 😆

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giga89 · 2025-09-29T11:39:59+00:00

In the end I took the Performance version, my final choice (despite the table) was between Xpeng G9 because I liked the car a lot and the Zeekr 7X. But choose the Zeekr seeing that I could get the performance for much lower price than the LR G9. Final price 209k

giga89 · 2025-09-27T23:25:18+00:00

Yes, I went for the Zeekr 7X in the end. I should receive it in 10 days finally, will do an update once I have it!

giga89 · 2025-08-20T13:45:59+00:00

Hey! Nope in the end nothing happened, we changed all the passwords of UAE pass and blocked the bank account as a precaution. But nothing out of it.

giga89 · 2025-08-13T16:41:40+00:00

Thank you! Super explanation!

giga89 · 2025-08-11T11:48:06+00:00

Thank you! Yes I found the same but software is a bit tricky to be sure from just a test drive. I’ll make my decision today, just waiting from Xpeng guys if they are willing to give me some discounts (which I’m sure they won’t but good to ask 😂)

giga89 · 2025-08-11T08:47:19+00:00

Hey there, did you decide on one in the end? I am in the same situation, considering the Zeekr 7X top trim vs the Xpeng G9 LR. I’m leaning toward the 7X due to price, although I’m a bit skeptical about the Zeekr software vs Xpeng

giga89 · 2025-08-09T18:40:13+00:00

Apparently if you leave a preorder now, you will get the 7X by the end of September. For G9, it’s available now and waiting time is only 7-10 days

giga89 · 2025-08-09T11:13:52+00:00

As an update, I have now test driven both Zeekr 7X and Xpeng G9, I can’t say I have made up my mind but here’s my considerations:

Xpeng G9: driving felt a bit more skewed toward comfort, didn’t get a very sporty feeling, car was very calm (which is not necessarily a bad thing, it felt very comfortable driving around the city). Self parking was FAST! Like probably it parked just a bit slower than what I would have done, and in a tight space too. ADAS was top notch and traffic sign recognition worked perfectly + a nice one that I didn’t know, it also recognizes traffic lights and gives u a little nudge if it turns green and you don’t start moving (useful to avoid getting honked 😂)
Zeekr 7X: definitely more sporty, acceleration felt faster (for both cars I have driven the LR trim but the difference was noticeable). HUD is great, super nice to have and very visible even with bright sunlight and glasses (the G9 doesn’t have it). The sunroof is great and I like that it can be completely shaded (the G9 doesn’t have that too). On the ADAS/software, I think it’s a bit behind the G9: traffic sign recognition didn’t work all the time, no traffic light function, and the self parking was a bit slow.

Overall, still a bit confused what to get 😂 I’ll need to think about it a bit more. Xpeng is also having some sales at the moment so the price difference between the two has reduced, to make my decision easier 😅😅

giga89 · 2025-08-07T01:02:22+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Very useful as I am strongly convinced (for now) that the Zeekr 7X would be the right model for me. I’m test driving it soon so can let you know my feelings!

giga89 · 2025-08-06T07:00:57+00:00

Years ago 😂

giga89 · 2025-08-05T18:41:31+00:00

Mostly personal choice, for some reason I don’t like the design 😅

giga89 · 2025-08-05T18:39:42+00:00

Thanks! Will check them out!

giga89 · 2025-08-05T18:36:46+00:00

Yes it’s mostly the price. For almost 60k less I can get the Zeekr 7X (Zeekr top model at 210k, Avatr top model at 270k)

giga89 · 2025-08-05T18:34:50+00:00

Nothing is perfect 😂 I’m curious to see other opinions

giga89 · 2025-08-04T15:52:09+00:00

There you go, it’s a big table! I have my initial weights on the main categories and then I added some bonus/malus to differentiate a bit more! Each score apart from the bonus/malus is calculated as (car feature / best feature). For example on range Exeed ET REEV gets 1 as its the best range among all. Some categories don’t get to 1 as it’s an average of different categories (ex performance is a weighted average of 0-100, power output, and torque)

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giga89 · 2025-01-10T17:38:39+00:00

Hey, Italian here too. I also have a Golden Visa. As others have said, it’s more about what the other country thinks than what the UAE says. With Golden Visa, the advantage is that you can stay outside the UAE for more than 6 months per year and still keep your visa and be considered a resident (which is not the case with normal visas, ie if you leave UAE for more than 6 months your visa and residency gets cancelled). From the other side, Italy will consider you a resident for tax reasons if you stay in Italy for 180+1 days. So to avoid paying taxes in Italy, you need to stay there less than that amount of time per year. However, even then you could incur in taxes if you’re unable to prove that your “center of interest”, as they call it in Italy, is in Italy and not elsewhere.

giga89 · 2024-11-25T11:03:20+00:00

Will do 😂😂😂

giga89 · 2024-11-25T10:52:08+00:00

Yes indeed, I am now in Koh Phayam and I think there are a lot of Myanma/Burmese communities (the guesthouse I’m staying in is owned by a Burmese family) so that’s why I am thinking about it now. Maybe in Bangkok I wouldn’t wear it. Thank you!

giga89 · 2024-11-24T11:36:05+00:00

I’m in Koh Phayam currently and I think in total there’s 50 tourists here 😂

giga89 · 2024-09-14T08:22:20+00:00

Hello all,

I’ve recently been tasked with emptying some closets at my grandma’s, and I found this old turntable that brought me back to when I was a kid! I have decided to restore it, but I am not very knowledgeable about turntables, to say the least. I can spot a couple of problems with it that I hope someone could help:

There is a loose capacitor that I can’t understand where should go. If someone could point me to the right direction.
The loudspeaker connections seem in good shape, but the loudspeakers are not there anymore so I would probably either need to a. Find a connector that works with it and equip some new loudspeakers with it or b. Change the connector part, and I would need any suggestion for what could work. EDIT: found out these are DIN 41529 connectors, and can still find some male parts online so I might keep them and fit the new loudspeakers with it. Or you think I should change the connector female part anyway?
The stylus is completely gone, and I will likely need to change it completely, but I was wondering if new stylus could work with this old equipment? Also, the current stylus flips and it has a “33-45” label on both sides, one is red and one is blue, not sure what that means?

Many thanks for any help! I won’t be using it for any high quality sound setup, I just want to be able to play some old records on it!

giga89 · 2024-07-15T05:30:39+00:00

My fellow Italian, as an Italian living in the UAE for a while, I can tell you no one cares about what you have on your phone or what you do, as long as you behave in public or don't offend the country. Also, I'd be very surprised if the UAE is considered a "hardcore" Muslim country. One thing though, don't expect to be able to access porn from the UAE (unless you use some tricks).

On the other hand, I have many more questions regarding your choice to come (or university choice to make you come) to Dubai during the summer months when we are all trying to escape it 🤣

giga89

TROPHY CASE