Moving to Dubai in 2026: 0% tax, the Golden Visa and pitfalls to avoid

Individuals are not taxed on their income in the United Arab Emirates: the applicable rate is 0%¹. Salaries, dividends, capital gains and rents are received free of local tax.

This rule is long-standing and has not been called into question. It is the central argument of Emirati expatriation contracts, and it remains accurate.

What has changed concerns companies. A corporate tax on profits has applied to financial years starting from June 2023, at a rate of 9%² above taxable profit of AED 375,000³, or roughly about €95,000⁴.

Free zone companies can keep a zero rate on their qualifying income only, subject to substance conditions and provided they do not exceed a de minimis threshold for non-qualifying income. The exemption is therefore no longer automatic.

An entrepreneur who receives income through an Emirati company must therefore reason in terms of combined cost: the company's tax, then the untaxed distribution at the individual level. The overall rate is no longer zero.

Acquiring a property worth at least from AED 2,000,000⁵, or roughly about €520,000⁶, gives access to a renewable residence permit of 10 years⁷.

This permit allows the holder to sponsor family members and domestic staff, and does not require continuous presence in the country, unlike ordinary residence visas.

Freehold ownership is, however, open to foreigners only in the emirate's designated areas, and keeping the permit requires keeping the property.

Other routes exist — talent, capital investors, highly qualified professionals — with their own conditions, which we do not detail here for lack of a verified, up-to-date official source.

The first is confusing a residence permit with tax residency. The Emirates require presence of from 183 days⁸ over twelve months to establish an individual's tax residency, and obtaining a certificate is a procedure separate from the permit.

Without this certificate, the tax treaty concluded with France cannot be invoked. A ten-year resident who has never applied for it is, from the treaty's point of view, in the same position as a tourist.

The second is the persistence of French domicile. Article 4 B of the Code général des impôts looks at the household, the main place of stay, professional activity and the centre of economic interests. A business owner whose operating company and family remain in France remains domiciled in France, however much time is spent in Dubai.

The third is the cost of living. Dubai is not cheap: international schooling, housing and compulsory health insurance are major expenses, and there is no public alternative for foreigners.

For a seconded employee whose employer covers housing and schooling, the balance is very favourable. For a freelancer who bears these costs, the net advantage is considerably thinner than the zero rate suggests.

1. Document the severance of ties with France: household, activity, economic interests.
2. Obtain the Emirates ID card, a prerequisite for opening a bank account.
3. Take out the health insurance required for the residence permit.
4. Apply for the tax residency certificate as soon as the conditions are met.
5. Have your company's activity assessed under the free zone regime, and register with the Federal Tax Authority even if the tax due is zero.

We do not publish the list of qualifying activities in free zones, the de minimis threshold for non-qualifying income, or the detailed conditions of the permits granted to talent and capital investors: these are set by administrative decisions whose current version we have not been able to verify.

The Emirati passport also opens about 185⁹ visa-free destinations, but naturalisation remains exceptional and is not a goal an expatriate can plan for.

Finally, the general trajectory deserves to be noted. Within a few years, the Emirates have introduced a value added tax, a corporate tax and a minimum tax for large groups. The absence of taxation on individuals remains, but the country is no longer a jurisdiction without taxation.