Moving from the UK to the UAE: what senior candidates should know

I spent four years recruiting in Dubai, and I've since placed senior people into the Gulf from the UK. The candidates who settle well are rarely the ones who negotiated the biggest number. They're the ones who understood the whole package and planned their exit from the UK properly.

This is a practical guide, not tax or immigration advice. Rules change, so check the official sources linked below, and take professional advice on your own situation.

The UAE government's own portal is clear: "The UAE does not levy income tax on individuals." VAT at 5% applies to most goods and services, so it isn't a tax-free country, but your salary isn't taxed there.

What many people miss is that moving to the UAE doesn't end your UK tax residence on its own. That depends on HMRC's Statutory Residence Test. One way to be treated as non-resident is to work abroad full-time, averaging at least 35 hours a week, and spend fewer than 91 days in the UK in the tax year, of which no more than 30 are working days. In the year you leave, split-year treatment can divide the tax year into a resident part and a non-resident part. HMRC asks you to tell it when you leave, using form P85 or the SA109 pages of a Self Assessment return.

If you're planning regular trips home, count your working days. A few board meetings in London can matter more than you'd expect.

Many older guides tell expats to pay cheap voluntary Class 2 National Insurance while abroad. That is no longer possible for time abroad from the 2026 to 2027 tax year. You can apply to pay voluntary Class 3 contributions, currently £18.40 a week, if you've lived in the UK for 10 years in a row or paid 10 years of contributions. It's worth checking your record before you go.

Under the UAE's labour law, Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, an employer may not charge a worker the fees and costs of recruitment and employment, and nobody can work without a work permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. In practice, your employer arranges your work permit and residence visa, and can't pass the recruitment and employment costs on to you. I don't arrange visas; your employer does.

UAE offers are usually split into a basic salary and allowances, typically for housing and transport. The split matters.

• End-of-service gratuity is calculated on basic pay. Under the labour law, it's 21 days' basic wage for each of your first five years, and 30 days for each year after that, capped at two years' wages. You need at least a year's continuous service. A low basic salary with high allowances reduces it.
• Health insurance: check who it covers. In Abu Dhabi, employers must insure employees and their families. In Dubai, employers must insure the employee, but cover for dependants is the sponsor's responsibility, which is often you. Since January 2025, employers across the UAE have had to provide health insurance before issuing or renewing private-sector residence permits. If you're moving with family, negotiate their cover explicitly.
• Schooling. For many senior moves, school fees are the largest cost after housing. Dubai's education regulator, KHDA, froze private school fees for the 2026 to 2027 academic year, but fees still vary widely. Ask whether an education allowance is included.
• Notice periods are shorter. UAE law sets notice at between 30 and 90 days, the same for both sides. That's useful when you leave the role, but your UK notice period will still apply when you join.

The UAE's Golden Visa offers long-term residence without an employer sponsor and lets holders sponsor family. Criteria vary by route and emirate. In Abu Dhabi, for example, the skilled professional route requires a bachelor's degree and a monthly salary of at least AED 30,000, for managers and professionals in specified fields, and grants 10 years' residence. The federal portal lists the current categories; check with the UAE's official Golden Visa page or the relevant residency authority before you rely on it.

1. Get the offer in writing, broken down: basic salary, each allowance, bonus, flights home, education, health cover for each family member.
2. Ask how the gratuity is calculated and whether the employer runs a savings scheme instead.
3. Plan your UK exit: your Statutory Residence Test position, form P85, pensions and National Insurance.
4. Talk to someone who has made the move in your sector. I'm happy to put you in touch where I can.

If you're weighing up a move to the Gulf, we can talk privately. Nothing goes anywhere without your agreement.

• UAE Government portal, Taxation.
• GOV.UK, Tax on foreign income: residence, updated October 2026.
• GOV.UK, Tax if you leave the UK to live abroad.
• GOV.UK, Voluntary National Insurance, updated September 2026.
• UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, English translation published on u.ae (unofficial translation), Articles 6, 43 and 51.
• UAE Government portal, End of service benefits.
• UAE Government portal, Getting health insurance, updated September 2026.
• KHDA, Dubai private school fee freeze 2026-27, May 2026.
• Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Golden Visa for skilled professionals, updated October 2026.
• UAE Government portal, Golden Visa, updated July 2026.