The salary that matters is the one that leaves your household at least as well off as it is in the UK, after rent and school fees on both sides. The tables below show that figure, a month, for common UK salaries and households, worked out with the same calculation as the Landing Check. This guide does not quote an average Dubai salary: the averages published online come from recruiters and salary sites that do not say how they were collected, so they cannot tell you what your household needs.
Last reviewed 3 November 2026. Every figure in the tables is calculated from the datasets in the Sources list, at their latest checked dates.
The salary a UK household needs in Dubai
Each row starts from a UK salary, where you live in the UK and who is moving. It counts UK take-home pay after income tax and National Insurance [1], less UK rent and council tax for the area [2]. On the UAE side it counts rent [3], the housing fee charged on rented homes [4] and, for the family, school fees [5], converted at the current exchange rate [6]. The figure is the monthly package, in cash, that keeps you level. The smaller line adds the cost of the move spread over two years.
| Where in the UK | Household | UK pay a year | UAE package needed a month | Run it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outside London | On your own | £40,000 | AED 16,000AED 18,000 to also repay the move in 2 years | Check with your figures |
| London | On your own | £60,000 | AED 18,500AED 20,500 to also repay the move in 2 years | Check with your figures |
| Outside London | A couple, partner not working | £60,000 | AED 21,500AED 23,500 to also repay the move in 2 years | Check with your figures |
| London | A couple, partner not working | £80,000 | AED 23,000AED 25,500 to also repay the move in 2 years | Check with your figures |
| Outside London | A family with two children (7 and 11, mid-range schools), partner not working | £80,000 | AED 41,000AED 45,000 to also repay the move in 2 years | Check with your figures |
| London | A family with two children (7 and 11, mid-range schools), partner not working | £100,000 | AED 40,000AED 44,000 to also repay the move in 2 years | Check with your figures |
| London | A family with two children (7 and 11, mid-range schools), partner not working | £150,000 | AED 49,000AED 53,000 to also repay the move in 2 years | Check with your figures |
The same households in Abu Dhabi
| Where in the UK | Household | UK pay a year | UAE package needed a month | Run it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outside London | On your own | £60,000 | AED 20,500AED 22,000 to also repay the move in 2 years | Check with your figures |
| Outside London | A couple, partner not working | £80,000 | AED 25,000AED 27,000 to also repay the move in 2 years | Check with your figures |
| Outside London | A family with two children (7 and 11, mid-range schools), partner not working | £100,000 | AED 41,500AED 44,500 to also repay the move in 2 years | Check with your figures |
What the figure counts, and what it leaves out
The figure is a package, not a basic salary: a UAE offer usually splits monthly pay into basic salary, housing, transport and other allowances, and the total is what has to reach the figure. Two offers with the same total can still differ, because your end-of-service gratuity is worked out on basic salary only. The How to Read a UAE Job Offer guide explains the split, and the Package Decoder breaks an offer down for you.
There is no income tax on salary in the UAE [7], which is why the UAE side has no tax line. The costs that replace it are rent, usually paid a year ahead, the housing fee and, for families, school fees.
Food, bills, transport and leisure are left out on both sides. Add your own figures in the Landing Check if they differ much between the two countries.
Why the answer moves so much
- Children change it most. The calculation counts UAE school fees and no school costs in the UK, as for a state school place, so the family rows need far more than a couple on the same UK salary. If an employer pays school fees, enter that allowance in the Landing Check and the figure falls.
- London changes it the other way. UK rent in London takes a bigger share of UK pay, so a London household keeps less in the UK and needs a smaller UAE package to match it. In the Dubai table, a London family on £100,000 needs slightly less than a family outside London on £80,000.
- A working partner lowers it. The rows assume the partner does not work in the UAE. Pay that a partner earns in the UAE counts towards the figure in the Landing Check.
Work out your own figure
- Run the Landing Check with your salary, city and household; any row in the tables opens it with those answers filled in.
- Compare a specific offer with your UK pay in the salary comparator.
- Add the one-off cost of moving from the Cost of Moving to Dubai guide.
Teachers and nurses can start from their pay scale instead: see Moving to the UAE as a Teacher and Moving to the UAE as a Nurse.
Sources
The tables are calculated by Landed's money answer from these datasets. Each dataset's checked date and caveat are on how it works.
- UK income tax and National Insurance, 2026/27: Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK), as used in Landed's salary maths. Checked 3 November 2026.
- UK rents and council tax by area: Private rent and house prices, UK (Office for National Statistics) and Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2026 to 2027 (MHCLG).
- UAE planning rents by emirate and household size: Property Finder, dataHabibi (Dubai Land Department contracts) and Bayut, named per figure on the cost of living page. Asking rents, read from search results.
- Housing fee on rented homes: the Dubai Municipality housing fee (Bayut guide) and the ADDC municipality fee page for Abu Dhabi, as listed on how it works. Read from search results.
- School fees by year group and tier: school fee pages and Khaleej Times fee reports, as listed on how it works; see also the school finder.
- Pound to dirham: European Central Bank reference rate via Frankfurter, times the Central Bank of the UAE's 3.6725 dirham peg, checked monthly.
- No UAE income tax on salary: UAE Ministry of Finance statement, reported by Gulf News. Read from search results.