SKY'S THE LIMIT

Increasing numbers of Brits are upping sticks and heading to the UAE. Katie Rosseinsky finds out why the Dubai dream is so popular with young expats, and considers the darker side

- Katie Rosseinsky

Imagine a place with high temperatures, high-end lifestyles and even higher skyscrapers. Oh, and there's no income tax. Ever since oil was discovered off its coast in the Sixties, catalysing a rapid expansion, Dubai has acquired a reputation as the ultimate playground for the super-rich. Now the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, it has become a spot where millionaires come to live out the fantasy of a rarefied (and perfectly air-conditioned) existence by the beach, in the shadow of some of the world’s tallest buildings.

But it’s no longer just the 0.01 per cent who are falling for the allure of the “sandpit”, as the city has been nicknamed. Over the past few years, Dubai has become increasingly tempting for ordinary Brits, swayed by the promise of a glossy lifestyle with way more disposable income. It’s estimated that there are around 240,000 British expats currently based in Dubai, a number that’s surely only going to tick upwards.

In 2024, the relocation firm John Mason International Movers revealed that over the previous five years, it had received a 420 per cent increase in enquiries from British nationals hoping to move to the city; it also found a 50 per cent year-on-year rise in online searches for “move to Dubai” and “jobs in Dubai” from people in the United Kingdom.

So what is it that’s driving this exodus, despite the fact that most of us are aware that the Dubai dream is not as shiny as it appears on our phone screens? Put bluntly, the main attraction for most would-be expats is financial. Because the UAE famously doesn’t impose income tax, a worker’s take-home pay is exactly the same as their salary: no calculations about tax brackets and national insurance required. So, even if you don’t manage to command a massive pay rise if you move out there, on paper, you'll have more spending power. There is no capital gains or inheritance tax, either.