Moving to Dubai from the US, Canada or the UK

For remote workers, people with a UAE job offer, retirees and investors. The main Dubai visas, the money each one asks for, and what no income tax does and does not mean for you.

Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its residence visas are issued by GDRFA Dubai, the emirate’s residency office. They are quick to process and come with no UAE personal income tax. The trade-off is that every UAE visa is a renewable permit. The UAE has no general route to permanent residence or citizenship for foreign residents, so plan for renewals, not settlement.

The main ways in

US, Canadian and UK citizens use the same routes.

Remote work visa (Virtual Working Programme). This fits employees and business owners who work remotely for a company outside the UAE. You need monthly income of at least USD 3,500, proof that you work remotely for an entity abroad, and UAE-valid health insurance. The visa lasts one year and can be extended a year at a time. You can sponsor family members for the same period. One secondary source claims the threshold has risen to USD 5,000, but no official source confirms that. GDRFA lists the visa fee as AED 200 plus 5% VAT and small service charges.

Work visa or Green Visa with a UAE employer. This is the usual route for people with a job offer. Your employer applies for a two-year work visa, and you need an employment contract and a work permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). Graduates earning at least AED 15,000 a month in a skilled job may qualify for a five-year Green Visa instead. The Green Visa does not depend on your employer to sponsor it.

Retirement visa. This fits retirees aged 55 or over. You must meet one of three money tests:

• fixed income of at least AED 240,000 a year, or
• savings of at least AED 1,000,000, or
• UAE property worth at least AED 1,000,000.

The visa lasts five years and can be renewed on the same terms. GDRFA Dubai also lists 15 years of service before retirement. It is unclear whether you need both the age and the service record, or only one. Check with GDRFA before you apply. Many older articles quote outdated figures. Abu Dhabi’s residents office lists this category as currently unavailable through its office, so this route is for Dubai.

Golden Visa for investors. This fits people who can put AED 2,000,000 into UAE property, a UAE bank deposit frozen for at least two years, or a UAE company. GDRFA Dubai grants it for 10 years. The federal u.ae site describes property-investor Golden Visas as five years, so check with the issuing emirate. Holders can sponsor a spouse and children. They can also stay outside the UAE for longer than the usual six-month limit.

Freelancers can look at the freelancer Green Visa, whose income rule needs confirming. See every route below for full details.

Money and tax

The UAE levies no personal income tax on employment or investment income. That does not mean you stop paying tax at home.

• US citizens stay liable for US tax on worldwide income wherever they live and must keep filing. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and foreign tax credits can reduce what you owe.
• UK and Canadian citizens stop being taxed at home only if they break tax residence under their home country’s rules. UK and Canadian pensions may still be taxed at home, depending on residence and treaty rules.

Speak to a tax adviser in your home country before you move.

Visa fees are modest, but they stack up. For the retirement visa, GDRFA lists AED 200 to apply, AED 2,280 for the five-year residence and AED 575 for a five-year Emirates ID. Applying from inside the UAE adds AED 500. Medical tests, typing-centre charges and health insurance are extra, and we have not captured their cost.

Timeline and your first weeks

1. Pick your route and gather documents. You need a passport valid for at least six months for the remote work visa. Retirees need six months of bank statements and an official letter on their income source.
2. Apply through GDRFA Dubai. If you apply from abroad for the remote work visa, you receive an entry permit valid for 60 days to finish your residence formalities. GDRFA lists 48 hours for the visa issuance step itself.
3. Do the medical test and Emirates ID. These steps come after the visa is issued and add time.
4. Move any deposit on time. Retirees using the savings test must move the AED 1,000,000 to a UAE financial institution within 60 days of residence being issued, unless it is invested in the UAE.

What catches people out

• No path to permanent residence. Long-term security comes from renewable permits such as the Golden Visa. Each renewal needs you to meet the conditions again.
• Remote work means foreign work. The remote work visa does not cover UAE employers or UAE clients.
• Each emirate runs its own office. These rules are for Dubai. Other emirates process their versions through the federal ICP, with their own fees.
• Frozen means frozen. On the Golden Visa deposit route, you cannot withdraw the money while the permit runs.

This is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Confirm each requirement with GDRFA Dubai before you apply.