Arrive · people search “move to Dubai from the UK”
From the UK: licence, tax, schools
RTA usually swaps a UK licence. HMRC still cares if you keep a UK home. School fees will shock anyone used to state school.
- Licence
- UK photocard usually swaps at RTA
- NHS
- Does not follow you — employer insurance does
- Sterling
- Floats; dirham is dollar-pegged
Most UK photocard licences exchange at RTA once you have residence — confirm the live list, take the original, do the eye test. You still need to be a resident; a visit-stamp rental car is not a year of driving. Salik and RTA fines sit on the app.
No UAE salary tax is not the same as ‘HMRC forgot you’. If you keep a UK property, spouse, or days in Britain, that is a tax-residency question for an accountant, not a forum. State-school muscle memory does not survive KHDA fees: British-curriculum schools often start around AED 30–70k a year, premium much more.
The weekend is Saturday–Sunday, so family calls shift. Alcohol is licensed venues, not the pavement, and drink-driving is treated as serious. November–March is the climate you were sold; May–September is malls and metro.
Practical notes, not official law. Confirm on ICP, MOHRE, RTA, KHDA and your employer before you act.