Moving to United Arab Emirates: the complete, honest guide
No income tax, fast residence visas and a famously efficient bureaucracy. The United Arab Emirates makes arriving easy. Here is what it really costs and how to ship your home there.
Tax free pay and a quick setup, in exchange for a renting, expat life.
The United Arab Emirates draws people for a simple, powerful reason: salaries are paid without personal income tax, and the residence process is among the fastest in the world. For a skilled professional, that combination can mean a real jump in take home pay and a settled visa within weeks of signing a contract. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the two main hubs, each with a different feel, Dubai faster and more commercial, Abu Dhabi steadier and more institutional.
It suits career focused movers, families chasing safety and good international schools, and entrepreneurs who want a low friction base between Europe, Africa and Asia. The infrastructure is new, the airports are world class, and English works almost everywhere.
Be honest with yourself about the trade. Residence is tied to your visa, which is usually tied to your job or your property, so this is not a place you drift into permanent settlement the way you might in Europe. Most expats rent rather than buy, schooling is a major private cost, and summer heat is genuinely extreme. Read the local laws and social norms before you arrive, because they differ from what many newcomers expect.
Residence comes through a job, property, or the Golden Visa.
Almost everyone in the United Arab Emirates holds residence through a sponsor, an employer, a property purchase, or a self sponsored Golden Visa. The Emirates ID card that follows is your key to banking, housing and services.
Your company sponsors your residence visa and Emirates ID, usually valid for two years and renewed with your contract. Family sponsorship is then available once your salary meets the threshold. This is how the large majority of arrivals get settled.
- Sponsor
- Employer
- Valid
- 2 years
- Family
- If salary qualifies
- Setup
- Often within a month
A self sponsored residence of up to ten years for investors, skilled professionals on a high salary, entrepreneurs and outstanding talent. As of 2026 a common route is a qualifying property of two million dirhams or a monthly salary at or above thirty thousand dirhams.
- Valid
- Up to 10 years
- Salary route
- From 30,000 AED / mo
- Property route
- From 2,000,000 AED
- Self sponsored
- Yes
Remote work and freelance permits let you base yourself in the Emirates while earning from abroad, and free zone company setups bundle a residence visa with a business licence. Useful for the location independent.
- Income proof
- Required
- Free zone
- Bundled visa
- Term
- 1 to 2 years
- Source
- ICP and GDRFA
Personal effects move easily, but the prohibited list is strict.
Used personal effects and household goods that clearly belong to you and accompany a residence move are treated leniently and usually clear with little or no duty, though a customs deposit or inspection is common. The standard rate of customs duty on general goods is five percent, applied to new or commercial items rather than your worn in furniture, so a clean inventory that reads as a household, not a shipment for sale, is what you want.
The list of prohibited and restricted items is where the United Arab Emirates is genuinely strict, and it catches people out. Alcohol cannot be shipped in your household goods. Pork products, certain medications, some art, printed material and anything deemed offensive to local values can be seized. Even common over the counter drugs from home can contain controlled substances here, so check before you pack a medicine cabinet.
Most sea shipments arrive at Jebel Ali in Dubai, the largest port in the region, or Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, then clear and deliver by road. You will need your passport, your residence visa or Emirates ID in process, and a detailed valued inventory. Pets require an import permit from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment plus vaccination records, and cars can be imported but must meet Gulf specification standards.
Tax free, but the headline salary meets real costs fast.
The tax free salary is real, but housing, schooling and a car absorb a large share of it. Rents in Dubai and Abu Dhabi rose sharply through the mid twenties, and a family sized apartment in a good area is a major monthly commitment, often paid in a few large cheques across the year rather than monthly. International school fees per child can rival the rent. A car is close to essential outside the metro corridors.
Against that, day to day costs can be modest if you live like a resident rather than a tourist, groceries and domestic help are affordable, and there is no income tax or council tax eating your pay. The trick is to negotiate a package, not just a salary, and to price in housing, schooling and a car before you decide the move adds up.
Indicative 2026 figures in US dollars, drawn from aggregated cost of living panels. Your city and lifestyle will move these a lot. Treat them as direction, not a budget.
Your first month checklist
Your first month revolves around the Emirates ID and a bank account. Once your employer or sponsor processes the residence visa, you complete a medical test and biometrics, and the Emirates ID arrives, which then unlocks a salary account, a tenancy contract and a phone line. Keep your passport and entry permit to hand throughout.
Register your tenancy through the local system, Ejari in Dubai, set up utilities and cooling, and sort school places early because good ones fill fast. If you are sponsoring family, confirm your salary meets the threshold and gather attested marriage and birth certificates before you arrive, because attestation from your home country is slow to arrange later.
How to choose a mover for United Arab Emirates, without the guesswork.
We never rank or recommend individual companies. Instead, here is the neutral checklist a careful mover uses to judge any firm bidding on this route.
Industry affiliation
Look for membership of FIDI or IAM. Both vet members on financial stability and handling standards, which matters when your goods cross a border.
Real corridor experience
Ask how many moves the firm has run into United Arab Emirates in the past year, which port or airport they clear through, and who their agent on the ground is.
A binding pre move survey
Insist on a video or in home survey and a written, binding volume. A quote built from a guessed cubic metre figure is the most common cause of a surprise final bill.
Insurance terms in writing
Read what the cover actually pays. Confirm whether it is full replacement value, what the excess is, and whether owner packed cartons are covered.
Reviews that name the route
Weight reviews that mention this destination and customs clearance, not just a tidy van on collection day. The hard part happens after the goods leave.
Like for like quotes
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The things people ask before they commit.
How much does it cost to move to the United Arab Emirates?
Is salary in the United Arab Emirates really tax free?
Can I ship alcohol in my household goods to the United Arab Emirates?
How long does shipping to the United Arab Emirates take?
What is the Golden Visa and do I qualify?
Do I need a residence visa before I ship my belongings?
Moving to United Arab Emirates from your country.
Choose your origin country to open a corridor guide built for that route into the Emirates, with the shipping lane, the customs notes and the cost range.
Britain, Ireland and the Low Countries
German speaking and Central Europe
The Nordics
Southern Europe
North America
The Gulf and Middle East
Asia and the Pacific
Other origins
Last reviewed: 25 March 2026. We refresh this guide as costs, customs, and visa rules change.