Yes I know some expats who have retired in Dubai but I doubt if any labourer will be allowed to do so.
2) Re Japan's immigration: I thought Germany used to have "guest" workers for it's factories who were there for as long as their work permits lasted and no citizen rights.

And this from another subscriber

I note you state in your comment that it is impossible to retire in Dubai when you stop working. This is no longer the case. The Dubai government has recently introduced new legislation that will allow anyone over 55 to remain in the country provided they qualify under certain monetary thresholds.

Eoin Treacy's view

Thank you both for these insightful comments which certainly helped to boost my knowledge. Germany’s guest worker program was originally designed to rebuild the country after the WWII but the net result was that the workers stayed and the country now has a 3 million strong ethnic Turkish population.