UK non-dom changes and moving to Dubai: where things stand

What actually changed, and when

The Autumn Budget 2024 confirmed the end of the remittance basis, and the new rules took effect from 6 April 2025. From that date:

• The remittance basis of taxation is no longer available to anyone, regardless of domicile status.
• A new foreign income and gains (FIG) exemption applies to individuals in their first four years of UK tax residence, provided they have been non-UK-resident for the preceding ten complete tax years.
• Long-term UK residents who previously claimed non-dom status — broadly, those resident in the UK for more than four of the last seven tax years — lost their remittance basis entitlement with no equivalent replacement.

There is also a Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF), allowing previously remittance-basis users to bring certain pre-April 2025 foreign income and gains into the UK at a reduced tax rate for a limited window. The TRF is time-limited; it is worth taking advice if you have unremitted funds from earlier years.

Why this matters if you have moved to Dubai

Before April 2025, a UK-resident individual with the right domicile status could, in principle, keep foreign income offshore and pay UK tax only on what they remitted. That route is closed.

The implication for Dubai-movers is straightforward: the value of UAE tax residence has increased, not decreased. The UAE remains a 0% personal income tax jurisdiction. But you can only benefit from that if you are genuinely outside the UK tax net — which means being non-UK-resident under the Statutory Residence Test (SRT), not simply living in Dubai while retaining UK ties that keep you resident.

The non-dom abolition removes an alternative strategy. There is now less room for half-measures.

The SRT is doing more work than ever

The SRT has always been the correct lens for UK tax residence analysis, but the non-dom changes mean there is less of a safety valve if you get it wrong.

The test looks at your UK day-count, your automatic and sufficient ties, and whether you meet any of the automatic overseas tests. Getting it right requires:

• Accurate day-counts for each tax year (midnight in the UK counts as a UK day)
• An honest audit of remaining UK ties — property, family, work, 90-day ties
• Understanding how split-year treatment applies in your year of departure

Where this gets personal, it genuinely does. The SRT outcome is not always obvious, and a single miscounted year can have material consequences.

The Temporary Repatriation Facility: a narrow window

For those who accumulated foreign income or gains under the remittance basis before April 2025, the TRF offers a time-limited opportunity to bring those funds to the UK at a reduced tax rate. The rates and window are set by HMRC; the facility runs for a fixed period following the reform.

Whether using the TRF makes sense depends on the size of the funds, the applicable rate, your plans for the money, and your overall tax position. It is a planning question, not a straightforward recommendation.

The UAE position has not changed

The UAE personal income tax rate remains zero. Corporate tax at 9% applies to business profits above the small business threshold, but there is no tax on salaries, dividends received by individuals, or personal investment returns.

For a UK leaver who is genuinely non-UK-resident, living and working in the UAE means income is simply not within the scope of UK income tax. The non-dom abolition has not changed that — if anything, it has made the clean break more valuable by removing the alternative.

The table is deliberately simplified — individual outcomes depend on specific facts.

Already left the UK and not sure you did it cleanly? The Clean Break Review gives you a clear read on your UK tax position, reviewed by a UK-registered tax adviser.