MrMM

I'm new to this forum, so I apologise in advance if I have opened this thread in the wrong place.

I am currently in my 5th year of teaching in the UK, and just acquired a Teaching post in Dubai, UAE. This new role is due to start in September of this year, and I have a few questions I'm hoping that hardened Dubai-Expats could help with.

1. I understand that it is possible to use my UK driving license in the UAE, however is it possible for me to acquire a car, either through a contract or lease hire purchase? I won't have the money to buy a car upfront, but am very keen on driving there. Also, how much would your average car cost?

2. I have a mortgage here in the UK, and would be looking to rent out my property whilst in the UAE. Is it true that I will only be required to pay tax on any profit made beyond £10,000?

3. My salary will be AED13,500 with annual flights, free health care and accommodation. Will this provide enough disposable income to live comfortably, and possibly even make savings?

4. Is it possible and / or necessary to continue paying National Insurance contributions whilst an Expat, given that I will aim to return to the UK in the future? How would I go about this if so?

5. Will I have to pay any tax in the UK whilst I'm living and working in the UAE?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
Matthew

Jimmy B

Hi MrMM

I will try and answer some of your questions below.

Hope the above helps

mikewot

Please feel free to use the search facility as your questions have been asked and answered ad infinitum

MrMM

Thank you so much for your response. That's really, very helpful!
Apologies for not finding my answers elsewhere - I did look, but never thought to use the Search function.

Gus Honeybun

I'm selling my LR2 - see class ads for price indications.

scrubbedexpat141

Enjoy. It's good fun here, I know plenty of teachers and they have a ****ing blast.

driftingaway

Just some car/license advice/narrative to think about, as I'm right in the middle of all of it...

I've been hiring a Ford Focus on a monthly rate of 2100AED (including 0 excess insurance, which was useful in my first month as I got rear-ended). I used my UK license to get this the day after I arrived, no issues. I really recommend you hire a car when you get here, as the roads and driving style does take some getting used to (though there's also a lot of hyperbole around driving here. A lot of the time I feel safer driving here than I did in central London).

My visa came through a couple of months in, while I was at work and the car parked outside. The moment I had my passport/visa in my hands, my UK license became invalid. Which technically meant I couldn't drive home from work. Obviously could have risked it but didn't want to tempt fate.

I took the afternoon off and went to the licensing dept, showed them my UK license (wasn't asked for a letter of no objection or eye test, despite advice online), visa, Emirates ID and 10 minutes later I had a new UAE license in my hand and could drive home (after sending the hire place a scan of it via email).

I have just put a holding payment on a new Jeep, which is AED 119K. To get this I needed my residence visa, Emirates ID, and a letter from my employer officially certifying that my salary would be directly transferred to the loaning bank each month. A 20% downpayment (around AED 24k) and a 2-year payment plan of around AED 4100 a month means I get the lowest loan rate, which is 2.49% (not bad compared to car loans in the UK).

Also, the company I work for is listed in the bank's database as "A", which means historically they hire trustworthy people the bank is happy to loan to and give the best interest rate on loans. My wife's school is also listed "A", as yours may well be. It's a strange concept relying on your employer to write letters to 'allow' you to do things and provide the reputation you need for stuff, but I guess it's instead of a personal credit history.

MrMM

This is really fantastic advice - I appreciate people replying. Thanks!
Also, that's for all that information on the licenses / cars. I really want to drive out there, but make sure that it's also affordable!

Victor Meldrew

I would recommend paying your NI back home. It is only about £13 a month and can be paid by Direct Debit back home. This will go towards your state pension which, although it might seem years away, will still happen. yes the government may well have changed the rules by then, but for such a small amount per month,it is still worth paying.

Regards renting your house, not telling your mortgage company could have a major repercussion if for example it gets flooded, burnt down, burgled. Any insurance company worth their salt will ask you who was living at the house at the time etc and what their relationship is to you. If this goes against your mortgage or insurance agreement, it will nullify any insurance you have.

I would recommend buying a car. You could end up 3 to 4 years down the line having spent almost 100,000 aed on hire cars and nothing to show for it.

Johnnyboy11

A few money suggestions from me:

(i) You are liable for full UK income tax and NI on your worldwide earnings until you become UK non-resident. Fastest way to do this is to work full time for a full tax year overseas and limit your visits and other connections to the UK. Your status can be backdated to the day after you left the UK, and a split year concession is available for the year you left and the year you returned (but only if you complete that vital first full tax year). So the earliest you'd become UK Tax/NI free is 6th April 2017, which might be harder than you think, given the tough working environment in the ME. Search for ' UK Statutory Residence Test Flowchart ' to better understand your tax residency status.

(ii) You will have no UK personal allowances as soon as you leave the UK and inform HMRC accordingly. My experience anyway.

(iii) Think carefully about paying voluntary NI. You need 35 years of contributions to get a full state pension. However NI contributions are mandatory if you are employed in the UK, even if you've paid in more that 35 years. Also, you can retrospectively pay 5 years worth of contributions, so no rush, and think about your long term plans as you can make up the missed years if you are back working in the UK. You'll probably be 70 before you are entitled to a state pension, if you survive that long, and you think the UK Government will have the means to honour it...

(iv) Remember to factor in a private pension, saving say a % of your salary of half your age when you start e.g. 14% @ age 28. Suggest you open an online SIPP before you leave the UK and pay in £2,880 that year and each of the following 5 tax years to get £720 free automatically each year from HMRC. Free money and perfectly legit.

(v) The rules around expats/ non-doms owning UK property are changing in April. I think capital gains exemptions are being removed.

Hope this helps.

[J]

Jimmy B

I have been here for 4 years and let HMRC know I was leaving and fill in tax return every year and I still get my personal allowance so the rent I collect on my house is tax free.

It would be interesting to find out why I still get my allowance and you don't!!

Aero

Scamp,

If one is a homeowner, then you suggest one's visits back to the UK must be even fewer, am that correct ? Is there a link you can provide that gives an indication of the most number of days that homeowners are permitted to stay in the UK before losing non-resident status. Not that I doubt what you say but desire a quantitative figure.

mikewot

https://www.gov.uk/tax-foreign-income/residence
Follow the links

scrubbedexpat141

I don't know the exact, I think there are lots of factors to consider...fortunately, Mikewot has the link below:

Thanking you.

mikewot

De nada. I know I look really clever but actually I will let you into a secret. There is a tool I use, it is called Google and it is brilliant! Searches the whole of the WorldWideInterWebNet in seconds just looking for whatever words you type in. Makes you look like a total brainbox