City guides United Arab Emirates
Dubai
No income tax, a one-year remote work permit you can get in 48 hours, and flights to everywhere. In return: a summer you spend between air-conditioned rooms, a rental system that wants a year's rent on day one, and laws on conduct, speech and medicine that are stricter than anything you are used to.
Every figure checked 2 Oct 2026
- AED 9,500 to 18,000 Furnished one-bed, monthly
- About AED 114,500 Day one on an annual lease
- AED 1,800 a month + VAT Coworking hot desk
- Country United Arab Emirates
- Time zone UTC+4 05:24 there now
- Language Arabic
- Currency UAE dirham (AED)
- Plugs Type G, 230V
How far English gets you English is the working language of business, property, government e-services and most service jobs, so you can live entirely in it. It stops at the legal edge: some official documents and court proceedings are in Arabic, and that is where you need a translator.
Honestly
Is this your kind of place?
It suits you if
A salaried remote employee earning at least USD 3,500 a month from a company outside the UAE who wants a self-sponsored year with no personal income tax. The permit is fast and cheap, you can bring family on it, the metro works, and October to April is some of the best weather anywhere. If you are happy treating the city as somewhere you work in air conditioning and play outdoors for half the year, it is very easy to live in.
It does not suit you if
Anyone whose income is mostly from UAE clients, or irregular. Anyone who cannot put down a year's rent up front. Anyone who resents being told what they can post online, how to behave in public or which medicines they can carry: a rude message or a trace of cannabis from a trip elsewhere can mean prison. Anyone gay, because same-sex relations are a crime. Anyone who needs to WhatsApp-call home. And anyone who wilts in heat: from June to August the average daily high is over 40 degrees, and the state bans outdoor work at midday for three months.
Money
What everything else costs
| Metro, 30-day pass | AED 140 to 350 | Silver class: one zone, two zones or everywhere |
|---|---|---|
| Metro single trip | AED 3 to 7.50 | On a Nol card, by zones crossed |
| Coworking day pass | AED 80 + VAT | Jetset Business Center |
| Ejari lease registration | AED 177.75 | Through the Dubai REST app; AED 220 at a service centre |
| DEWA deposit | AED 2,000 | Refundable, for a flat, plus about AED 155 in connection fees |
| Shawarma | AED 6 to 15 | The cheap lunch |
| Flat white | AED 22 | At a specialty cafe; karak at a cafeteria is a couple of dirhams |
Paperwork
Can you legally stay?
| Official name | Virtual work residence permit, issued by GDRFA Dubai |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | Employees of a company outside the UAE. You need a salary certificate and proof of the employer |
| Government fees | AED 750 in permit and service fees, plus a medical test, an Emirates ID and health insurance on top |
| How long | One year, renewable. Issued in about 48 hours, with a 60-day grace period after expiry. You can sponsor family |
| Income tax | None on personal income. Wages from a foreign employer are outside corporate tax altogether |
| Corporate tax for freelancers | Only if your business turnover passes AED 1 million. Then 9 per cent on profit above AED 375,000, with small business relief available to the end of 2029 |
| Permanent residence | No general route. The Golden Visa is for investors and named categories, such as AED 2 million in property, and has no remote-worker category |
| Citizenship | Effectively closed: 30 years of residence, Arabic, and giving up your nationality |
| Without a visa | British and American passports: 90 days in any 180 |
| Tax residency | 183 days in twelve months, or 90 days if you also hold a residence permit and have a home or job in the UAE |
Where to live
Where to base yourself
-
Dubai Marina
AED 9,500 to 18,000 furnished, monthlyWalkable waterfront with metro and tram, and the deepest stock of monthly furnished flats
The catch You pay a premium to live on the busiest tourist strip in the city
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JLT
AED 10,500 to 15,300 furnished, monthlyNext to the Marina but cheaper, with two metro stations and lakeside cafes
The catch Tower quality varies widely, so the building matters more than the area
-
Business Bay
AED 10,500 to 16,500 furnished, monthlyCentral, between Downtown and DIFC, with newer buildings
The catch Many towers are a long hot walk from the metro
-
Al Barsha
About AED 75,000 a year, unfurnishedThe cheapest of the four, by Mall of the Emirates and the metro
The catch No beach or waterfront, and furnished monthly one-beds are scarce
Timing
The best time to come
- Jan 24C highs, cool evenings
- Feb Warm; Ramadan from about 8th
- Mar 29C; Eid around 9-12
- Apr Warming fast, 34C
- May 38C, outdoors gets hard
- Jun 40C; midday work ban
- Jul 41.5C, sticky nights
- Aug Hottest month, 42C
- Sep Still 39.5C
- Oct Season reopens
- Nov 31C, outdoor season
- Dec 26C, busiest month
Come now Fine Avoid
November to March is the season, and the city fills and prices rise with it. June to September is not a heatwave, it is the normal: the government bans outdoor work from 12:30 to 3pm for three months. People who live here through summer do it by moving from car to building, and most who can, leave for August.
Connectivity
The internet, honestly
Fixed broadband is fast; the question is what runs over it. Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Webex and Slack are on the regulator's approved list, so work calls are fine. WhatsApp and FaceTime voice and video calls are widely reported as blocked. A VPN is not itself illegal, but using one to commit a crime or reach blocked services carries fines from AED 250,000 to AED 2 million.
From October to April a cafe works. From June to September you will not want to walk to one. Take a desk.
Somewhere to work
Coworking in Dubai
Work
Remote roles open to someone in United Arab Emirates
A remote job is not in any one city. These are roles whose employer will hire someone living here, pulled from the board as you load the page.
Eating
What to eat, and what it costs
-
Shawarma
AED 6 to 15From a cafeteria counter. The city runs on it
-
Karak
AED 1.50 to 3Sweet cardamom tea from a cafeteria window. The cheapest good thing in Dubai
-
Flat white
AED 22A specialty cafe price. Coffee culture here is serious and not cheap
-
Shawarma meal for two
About AED 60Plates, not wraps, at one of the old Satwa or Deira cafeterias
Days off
Worth a Saturday
-
Abra across the Creek, then Al Fahidi
AED 1A wooden boat across the Creek and the old wind-tower quarter on foot. The best dirham you will spend
-
Dubai Frame
AED 52.50A 150-metre picture frame with old Dubai on one side and new Dubai on the other
-
Hatta Dam kayaking
AED 60Mountains, a turquoise lake and air ten degrees cooler. October to April only. Last season's price
The rest
Things the other guides leave out
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There is a 5 per cent housing fee
Dubai Municipality adds 5 per cent of your annual rent to the DEWA bill, split over twelve months. Ask whether a bills-included let covers it
-
Medicines need approval in advance
Some UK prescription and over-the-counter medicines are controlled, and approval takes about five working days. Check before you pack
-
A trace counts as possession
The FCDO says drugs in your bloodstream count, and even a trace means at least three months in prison. Some skincare and vape refills contain banned ingredients
-
Mind what you post
Swearing and rude gestures online are crimes that can mean jail or deportation
-
Alcohol rules
Drinking age 21. Drinking or being drunk in public is illegal. Residents need a licence to drink at home, which has been free since January 2023. Sharjah is dry
-
Museum of the Future is shut
Closed from 1 September 2026, reopening with new exhibits in 2027
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The dirham is pegged
AED 3.6725 to the US dollar, and has been since 1997
Work out whether you can actually afford to go
Every role on the board says which countries you can live in and still take it, so remote means remote.
Every figure on this page was checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move and rules change; tell us when something is wrong and we will fix it.