For everyone calling home from the Emirates
App calls won't connect from the UAE? Dial the real number.
Voice and video calls on many internet apps are restricted in the UAE. Kalum doesn't depend on those apps — it uses your connection to place a normal phone call to a real number, anywhere in the world.
Start with $4.99. No subscription. Credit never expires.
Why the call fails — and what Kalum does instead
In the UAE, voice and video calling over many internet apps is restricted. Messages, photos and voice notes usually go through perfectly well; it's the live call that fails. That catches people out, because everything about the app looks like it's working.
Kalum isn't an app-to-app call, so it isn't part of that equation. It uses whatever connection you have — home WiFi, office WiFi, mobile data — to place a genuine telephone call over the international phone network. What arrives at the other end is an ordinary incoming call.
That matters most for the people you're most likely to be calling. A parent with a basic handset, a landline at the family home, an office switchboard: none of them need an app, an account, a smartphone or an internet connection. Their phone simply rings. See how Kalum works →
Where people in the UAE call
The Emirates is overwhelmingly a country of expatriates, and these are the destinations that come up most. Every rate is the one the app shows you before the call starts.
- Call India from 7¢/min
- Call Pakistan from 19¢/min
- Call the Philippines from 25¢/min
- Call Bangladesh from 8¢/min
- Call Egypt from 25¢/min
- Call Nepal from 36¢/min
- Call Sri Lanka from 35¢/min
- Call Jordan from 32¢/min
Indicative rates in USD, updated August 8, 2026. Rates vary by destination and can change, and mobile and landline numbers in the same country can price differently. The rate the Kalum app shows before you dial is the rate you pay (Terms §5.3). Calls are billed per minute, rounded up, with a one-minute minimum — Terms §5 has the full billing details.
Calling India or Pakistan in particular? India from the UAE → · Pakistan from the UAE →
Somewhere else entirely? See all destinations →
Common questions
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Why won't WhatsApp calls work in the UAE?
Voice and video calls on many internet apps are restricted in the UAE. Where that applies, an app-to-app call may not connect even though messaging and the rest of the internet work normally. Which apps this affects can change over time.
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How is Kalum different from a calling app?
Kalum doesn't place an app-to-app internet call. It uses your connection to dial a regular phone number over the phone network, so the call reaches any landline or mobile abroad. The person you call needs no app, no smartphone and no internet on their end.
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Do I need a VPN to use Kalum in the UAE?
No. Kalum places a regular phone call to a normal number rather than an internet app call, so there is nothing to configure on your side — you dial and it rings.
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What does it cost to call home from the UAE?
Rates are per-destination and you see the exact per-minute rate in the app before you dial. You add prepaid credit starting from $4.99 — no subscription, no monthly fee, and your credit never expires.
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Can I call landlines, or only mobiles?
Both. Kalum reaches landlines and mobiles in more than 200 countries, which matters when you are calling a parent or a family home that has no smartphone at all.
Calling into the Gulf instead? WhatsApp calls blocked in the Gulf →
Their phone rings. That's the whole trick.
Download Kalum, add $4.99 in credit, and dial any landline or mobile in 200+ countries. Pay only for the minutes you use.