Working in dubai

[anthony]

hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience in working in the middle east (dubai)... may be landing a 3month contract their, but wondering if its all worth the hassle - pays in GBP and at a decent rate... but as this overseas working is new to me; have zero knowledge on taxation laws (yes i am in contat with my accountant, with little faith i have in) or any other restrictions/laws etc...

greatly appreciate any knowledge you can share....

[Gumbo Robot]

hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience in working in the middle east (dubai)... may be landing a 3month contract their, but wondering if its all worth the hassle - pays in GBP and at a decent rate... but as this overseas working is new to me; have zero knowledge on taxation laws (yes i am in contat with my accountant, with little faith i have in) or any other restrictions/laws etc...

greatly appreciate any knowledge you can share....

Was there for 2 years as a permie in the late 90s. Can't advise on the tax situation but make sure you get your accommodation & associated expenses included otherwise you may end up, as I did, living out of a suitcase in the Kwality Inn.

If you're only there 3 months try and get a deal in the Golden Sands apartments. If they extend you, You'll need to leave the country after 3 months & get a new stamp on your passport. I used to get the flight over to Kish Island in Iran every 3 months (about the shortest international flight you could do) with all the Russian hookers who were doing it for the same reason.

Best chance I ever had to join the mile high club

[tractor]

....

hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience in working in the middle east (dubai)... may be landing a 3month contract their, but wondering if its all worth the hassle - pays in GBP and at a decent rate... but as this overseas working is new to me; have zero knowledge on taxation laws (yes i am in contat with my accountant, with little faith i have in) or any other restrictions/laws etc...

greatly appreciate any knowledge you can share....

I am not at my own pc so I can't share the links. I almost did this a few years ago so I did look into it. Google will turn up several very useful sites covering almost everything that you need to know.

One from memory is expat arrivals

[northernladuk]

Make sure you do ALL the sums first. Last I saw in Middle East the rates were starting to drop almost to decent rates back home here. The devil would be in the travel and accommodation arrangements. These were key to whether it was worth it or not and they varied considerably. Who is paying flights and accommodation, if not them how much is it to fly and stay. Make sure you detail everything.

Tax situation aside if you are able to spend three months out there without putting the family out (if you have one) I'd go. I've worked a couple of weeks here and there out there and kinda regret not working out there for a stint. It's one of those great tales you can drop in to conversation. Would be worth the experience even if it's not the best rate. Saying that it's so bloody hot I found it incredibly uncomfortable but other people seemed to handle it better than me... but anyway... Do the sums and check the detail first.

[anthony]

Thanks for your comments guys, appreciate them...

Yes still doing the sums and so far so good - in talks about travel expenses etc so that will be the deal breaker I think...

luckily no family so, even if its on par/slightly less with the rates going on here, i might do it for the experience - always wanted to join the mile high club

[tarbera]

You will still pay full UK tax

[TykeMerc]

You will still pay full UK tax

True, unless he contracts in that region for an extended period of time, if memory serves it's whole tax years, but that's easy to confirm.

Like all contracts if the work interests you, you want to go and the rate is right including provision for travel and living expenses then go for it.

[Gumbo Robot]

True, unless he contracts in that region for an extended period of time, if memory serves it's whole tax years, but that's easy to confirm.

Like all contracts if the work interests you, you want to go and the rate is right including provision for travel and living expenses then go for it.

Yep, it used to be you had to be out of the uk for x number of days out of a 365 day period but Labour changed the 365 days to mean a whole tax year.

I went away in June '98 & because of those changes it meant that I had to wait until April 2000 until I was non resident for tax purposes.

I made sure I got a decent bonus as a result.

[joerobertson]

Hi, here is some fresh info about taxes in Dubai, cost of living and estimated budget for living
Dubai Taxation - Dubai Expats Guide - tax info
https://voyagestic.com/place/dubai - cost of living

[BigDataPro]

Make sure you do ALL the sums first. Last I saw in Middle East the rates were starting to drop almost to decent rates back home here. The devil would be in the travel and accommodation arrangements. These were key to whether it was worth it or not and they varied considerably. Who is paying flights and accommodation, if not them how much is it to fly and stay. Make sure you detail everything.

Tax situation aside if you are able to spend three months out there without putting the family out (if you have one) I'd go. I've worked a couple of weeks here and there out there and kinda regret not working out there for a stint. It's one of those great tales you can drop in to conversation. Would be worth the experience even if it's not the best rate. Saying that it's so bloody hot I found it incredibly uncomfortable but other people seemed to handle it better than me... but anyway... Do the sums and check the detail first.

This. I have worked there in the past for more than a year. Couple of weeks ago, I had another opportunity but rates were almost equivalent to or less than UK rates.

You are likely to spend around a minimum of 10K AED for a decent accommodation (contracted yearly). If you stay there for a full tax year, you wont be taxed here. Have a go at this Statutory Residence Test

https://home.kpmg.com/content/dam/kp...-flowchart.pdf

Was it for Emirates or (E)NBD?