Originally Posted by
HGHUA
Not always easy to get a local cc. Differs by country but they don't want u charging it up and leaving the country. No guarantee u will pay them back.
In Canada and Singapore, I could get a credit card easily (on the same terms as the locals) as soon as I got my permanent residence (not entirely sure about the UAE, as I have not lived permanently there.)
(and for Singapore, even with only a FIN, I could get a credit card with local banks, though there was a higher income threshold than for citizens/permanent residents.)
(and even for Singapore, I have seen posts on hardwarezone about people doing exactly that.)