Moving to Dubai from the UK: The Steps in Order

Most moves from the UK to Dubai follow the same order: a job offer, a residence visa your employer sponsors, a UK tax exit, then a home, a bank account and, for a family, schools and insurance. This guide puts those steps in order, with the time limits that apply, and links to the guide or tool that covers each one in full. It is written for someone moving for a job. If you are setting up your own company, start with the Freezone guide.

Last reviewed 3 November 2026. Sources are listed at the end, and each says whether the page was opened or read from search results quoting it.

The headline picture

1. Check the offer is worth it for your household

The UAE has no personal income tax on individuals ^[1]No plans to introduce income tax on individuals (UAE Ministry of Finance statement, reported by Gulf News). What decides whether the move pays is what is left after rent, school fees and the cost of the move, set against what your household takes home in the UK today. The Landing Check works that out from your answers, using HMRC's 2026/27 rates for the UK side.

Two offers with the same monthly figure can be worth different amounts once you split basic pay from allowances. The UAE job offer guide explains what to look for, and the Package Decoder splits a written offer into its parts. If the job could be in either city, the Dubai vs Abu Dhabi guide compares employers, costs and schools.

2. Sign the contract, then let your employer start the visa

Do not resign from your UK job until the UAE contract is signed and your employer has applied for the entry permit. The steps after that run in this order:

1. Entry permit. Your employer applies for an employment entry permit. You must enter the UAE within 60 days of it being issued ^[2]Residence visa for work (Dubai.ae, the Dubai government portal).
2. Medical fitness test. In Dubai it is done at a centre approved by the Dubai Health Authority ^[3]DHA medical fitness test, cost and process (Takween Advisory, September 2026).
3. Emirates ID biometrics. Since 11 April 2022 the residence permit and the Emirates ID are one process. There is no visa sticker in your passport; the Emirates ID is the proof of residence ^[4]Emirates ID replaces the visa sticker (Gulf News).
4. Residence visa issued. A residence visa for work runs for 2 years and can be renewed ^[2]Residence visa for work (Dubai.ae, the Dubai government portal). The Emirates ID costs AED 300 for two years ^[5]Emirates ID issuance service (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, ICP).

You need the Emirates ID for most of what follows, so ask your employer how long each step takes at their end. The visa timeline tool shows the steps with who does each one.

Documents to get ready in the UK

UK documents for a UAE visa are legalised in three stages: an apostille from the FCDO ^[6]Get a document legalised (FCDO, GOV.UK), then the UAE Embassy in London, then the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs once you arrive ^[7]Frequently asked questions, attestation (UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Your degree certificate is the usual one; for a family, your marriage certificate and your children's birth certificates as well. Ask your employer which documents it needs before you pay for any of them, and start as soon as the offer is signed: the visa timeline tool allows up to 15 working days plus post for the apostille ^[6]Get a document legalised (FCDO, GOV.UK).

3. Tell HMRC you are leaving, and pick the date with care

Whether you still pay UK tax on a Dubai salary depends on whether you are UK resident under the Statutory Residence Test ^[8]RDR3. If you leave to work full time abroad, split-year treatment can divide the year you leave into a UK part and an overseas part, and the overseas part is taxed as if you were not UK resident ^[8]RDR3. The UK day counter counts your UK days against the test.

If you will not file a Self Assessment return for the year you leave, tell HMRC with form P85 ^[9]Get your Income Tax right if you're leaving the UK (P85) (GOV.UK). The UK tax guide covers the residence test, split-year cases and the P85 in full. The leaving the UK checklist puts the rest in order: ISAs, National Insurance, a home you let out, student loans and Child Benefit.

4. Find somewhere to live

Book somewhere to stay for your first weeks, then look for a long-term home once you are there. Dubai rent is usually paid in 1 to 4 post-dated cheques, all handed over when you sign, and fewer cheques can bring a lower rent ^[10]All about paying rent in Dubai (Bayut) and How to pay rent in Dubai (Gulf News). That is market practice, not a legal rule, so ask for the rent at each cheque count in writing.

The tenancy is registered with Ejari, the Dubai Land Department's system ^[11]Register or renew an Ejari contract (Dubai Land Department). Opened 26 October 2026.. If you plan to sponsor your family, keep the registered contract: an Ejari tenancy contract is among the documents a sponsor provides ^[12]How to sponsor your wife for a UAE residence visa (Gulf News). The Property guide covers deposits, agent fees and the signing timeline, and the first-month cash calculator adds up what leaves your account in the first month and what you commit in cheques.

5. Open a UAE bank account

Rent cheques are drawn on a UAE account ^[10]All about paying rent in Dubai (Bayut) and How to pay rent in Dubai (Gulf News), so open one before you sign a lease. Some accounts open in an app with a scan of your Emirates ID: Mashreq's NEO is one ^[13]NEO savings account (Mashreq). Ask each bank what it can open before your Emirates ID is issued, and what limits apply until it is. The Banking guide compares the banks and what each asks for.

6. Health insurance, there and here

Every Dubai resident must have health insurance that meets at least the Dubai Health Authority's Essential Benefits Plan ^[14]Compliance with Essential Benefits Plan (Dubai Health Authority, Health Insurance Law No. 11 of 2013). Your employer insures you. If its plan does not cover your family, you insure them as their sponsor ^[14]Compliance with Essential Benefits Plan (Dubai Health Authority, Health Insurance Law No. 11 of 2013), so ask about family cover before you accept the offer. The Health insurance guide shows what to check on the plan.

Once you no longer live in the UK, NHS hospital care is based on residence, so you can be charged for it on a visit home ^[15]Planning your healthcare when living abroad (NHS).

7. If you are moving with children

Check school places for your children's year groups before you accept the offer, not after you arrive. The school finder shows fees and inspection ratings for named schools by your child's age, and the Family cost gap guide sets school fees and rent against the allowances in an offer. If one partner will look for work in the UAE, the Partner career guide covers that.

8. Your first weeks

• Driving licence. A full UK licence can be exchanged for a Dubai licence without a test, for AED 1,050 including the eye test ^[16]Driving licence exchange, service 121 (Roads and Transport Authority). You need your residence visa and Emirates ID first ^[16]Driving licence exchange, service 121 (Roads and Transport Authority). The Driving licence guide has the steps.
• Pets. The Pets guide covers the UAE import permit and the UK export health certificate for a dog or cat.
• Time outside the UAE. A residence permit can be cancelled after six months outside the country ^[17]Residence permits cancelled after six months outside the UAE (Littler). Search results., so plan long stays back in the UK with that in mind.

What this guide does not cover

• Setting up your own business: the Freezone guide.
• Visas that do not need an employer: the golden visa checker.
• Moving to Abu Dhabi or Sharjah: most steps match, with different authorities. The Dubai vs Abu Dhabi guide sets out the differences.
• Moving back: the Returning to the UK guide.

It is planning information, not legal or tax advice. Check visa and document rules with your employer, who applies for the visa.

Next steps

1. Run the Landing Check with your UK salary, your offer and your household.
2. Count your UK days with the UK day counter before you set your leaving date.
3. Add up your first month's cash with the first-month cash calculator.