Questions about moving to / living in Dubai

[SESthebrave]

DH has been offered a job in Dubai in the construction industry and I just wanted to find out a bit of info to help with our decision.

• DH says it is a tax free wage. Is this tax free no matter how long he works there for or does he end up paying tax for the first year and then claiming it back?

• What happens to our NI contributions?

• If / when we move back are we immediately able to access the NHS and state school systems?

I'm sure there's more but that'll do for starters....

• There is no income tax in Dubai. You just get paid gross, end of. However, if you fail to convince the IR in the UK that you are a non-resident then you would be liable for UK taxation on your Dubai salary. The main thing is make sure you stay out of the UK for a full tax year (April 6-April 5). If you move out or come back half way through a tax year, you can apply for split year treatment, so you don't pay UK tax on your Dubai salary, but you still have to meet the criteria for being a non-UK resident. The IR website has more info on how to qualify for non-residency.

• NI contributions. You can choose to continue to pay them if you want, but you're not required to. Not paying can impact your state pension

• Yes. You can access the NHS/schools once you are resident in the UK again. However, if you come back for holidays whilst resident in Dubai ( ie you are not UK resident), then you shouldn't theoretically be able to use the NHS.

Hi again,
I think most of your questions have been answered above.

Re the nhs, will you be keeping or renting out your uk address while in the UAE? We have a house back in the uk so when I came home and needed to use the nhs I was able to because I technically had a uk address. My friend however wasnt so lucky, on her trip back to the uk she ended up having to pay for treatment in the uk.

Thank you for your help! With further conversations with DH I'm not convinced the move will happen now due to concerns about DH being away for the birth of DC2 and/or just after and also the fact that my qualifications can't be transferred to Dubai.
If the situation changes again though, I'll be back with more questions!

Ah, ok. I didnt realise you were staying in the UK whilst he went to work in Dubai. In that case, I was completely wrong. If you stay living in the UK and only he relocates, then he may have a very hard time persuading the IR that he's non-resident and may be liable to UK tax on his Dubai income

If we were to go ahead, we would all relocate but DH would go out for a couple of months first to get everything set up. It's also possible that me and the DC would return before DH.

Ah ok. What do you do if you don't mind me asking, as some qualifications are not transferable in theory but are in practice (i.e. there are niches you can go for)

I'm a pharmacist. I'd maybe be able to get work in that field - maybe as a dispenser - but the salary would not be the same (or the job satisfaction and career progression). In the UK the pharmacist salary is about double that of a dispenser.

Ah, ok. Dont know about that. Thought you might be a nurse/midwife or something.