Relocating to Dubai: A Private Client Guide

A private relocation to Dubai is, at its core, a sequencing problem. The individual decisions — residency route, corporate structure, school, neighbourhood, bank — are all manageable. The difficulty is the order. Get the order wrong and each decision constrains the next. Get it right and the move is a six-month workstream that ends with a family that feels at home from day one. This is the sequence we run with private clients.

Step 1 — Home-country exit

Before any UAE step, the home-country exit is mapped with the client's existing adviser. UK clients: Statutory Residence Test, split-year, temporary non-residence rule, pension lump sum timing, residence-based IHT tail. Canadian clients: section 128.1 departure tax, deemed disposition, ongoing source income. EU clients: exit tax, CFC and trust rules. Without this work, every UAE decision that follows is built on uncertain foundations.

Step 2 — UAE residency route

The right route — Golden Visa, company-sponsored or property-investor — is chosen against the client's profile, the corporate structuring decision in step 3, and the timeline. For most founders, company-sponsored residency is the bridge; the Golden Visa is the end state.

Step 3 — Corporate structuring

Where the principal's residency runs through a UAE entity, the structuring decision is consequential. Mainland LLC versus DIFC versus ADGM versus IFZA, Meydan, RAKEZ or DMCC; sole shareholder versus holding company; activity selection (which determines both licensing cost and corporate tax classification); substance requirements under Cabinet Decision 100 of 2023. Each choice has downstream banking and tax consequences.

Step 4 — Banking

The KYC and SOF files are prepared in parallel with residency. Once the principal's Emirates ID is issued, we walk the file through the chosen institutions — typically one retail relationship, one corporate relationship, and a private banking relationship for investable wealth.

Step 5 — Housing and schooling

Community selection (Emirates Hills, Palm, Dubai Hills, District One, Downtown towers), rent versus buy in year one, school applications and home setup all run in parallel from the moment the move is committed. Leading British and IB schools — GEMS Wellington, Repton, Brighton College, Dwight, Cranleigh, NLCS Dubai — are assessment-led, oversubscribed at most year groups, and require applications six to nine months ahead.

Step 6 — Settlement and ongoing administration

Emirates ID, medical insurance, driving licence conversion (35 nationalities are eligible for direct conversion), vehicle registration, household setup, domestic staff sponsorship and Ejari registration. A dedicated relationship manager remains the single point of coordination for the family long after the move is complete.

Realistic timeline and budget

A well-prepared private relocation typically takes 8 to 16 weeks from engagement to residency issued, family sponsored and banking in place. First-year budget varies materially with family size, housing decision and school fees, and we map it transparently in the engagement. There is no useful round number; there is a number for your family, and we set it out on a page.

How Morifar coordinates the move

We are the single coordinating point across the six workstreams, working alongside the client's existing UK, European, African or GCC advisers. The objective is for the principal to make one decision — to move — and for everything downstream to be already sequenced.