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Dubai has been particularly attractive to Egyptians, offering them a modern Western globalized lifestyle in an Arab and Muslim country. Despite the growing interest for the Gulf, few recent academic works have studied Arab migrants. What kind of foothold do Egyptians establish for themselves in the Emirates, even though they are « impossible citizens »? Are their transnational connections all the stronger for the local government’s refusal to integrate them? How do they experience the super-diversity of these cosmopolitan cities? After questioning the existence of an Egyptian community, we show how some Egyptians after extended sojourns abroad develop a feeling of belonging to the city — but not to the country or the Gulf region —, and how a transnational Egyptianness emerges, especially for second generations. We also examine to what extent the intensification of transnational practices since 2011 is a response to the growing migration insecurity.