advice please
 

Hi All
I have been offered a job in Dubai with salary AED 65000/PM (all inclusive with no accommodation). I have a daughter who is currently in Yr 6 moving to Yr 7.
I would be grateful if you could advice me if it is a good salary to move to Dubai considering the rent/school fees/and all other expenses. Is it possible to save money.
Any other advice you think will guide me through the decision making process are welcome.
Many thanks in advance.

Re: advice please
 

It's a high salary, for sure and two people could live very well on it, but everything is relative.

What line of work are you in? What sort of seniority is the role? What are you earning where you are at the moment? What sort of lifestyle are you used to?

Re: advice please
 

Hi Golf gardener

Many thanks for your reply. I am currently working as a consultant radiologist.
Current salary: £5500-6000pm after deductions.
Lifestyle: nothing special regular family man. Couple of holidays a year.
I am looking for a 3 bed flat.
Any other advice very much appreciated please.
Thanks again

Re: advice please
 

Don't forget about pension provision. Find out how much an equivalent private pension will cost, because if you leave the UK you will no longer be able to contribute to the NHS superann scheme...

Re: advice please
 

So your basic costs might be something like:
18,000 for a nice 3 bed apartment with gym, poll etc.
5,000 for a solid rental car plus fuel
5,000 for school fees
2,000 for utilities, internet, mobiles etc.
3,000 on groceries

Total 33,000 per month, leaving you 32k of disposable income left over, which is about the same as your entire take home pay in the UK.

Seems like a pretty good deal to me, though the point above about pensions is a good one to factor into your thinking.

Re: advice please
 

Hi Old doc and Golfgardener,
Thanks a lot to both of you for taking time to offer your advice. That's very helpful and good to know.
I will make some enquiries about the pension.
Thanks again

Re: advice please
 

If you are working for the NHS you cannot make further contributions to the scheme once you have left. Currently the employer contributions will be worth more than 10% of earnings and you are also making contributions on a tiered scale so at a guess of some 13.5%. If you leave the final salary scheme you will need to make your own provision so ideally factor in savings of at least 15% of earnings if not more, depending on total circumstances.

Bear in mind that rent is not payable monthly, nor are school fees, so you need to budget for those up front. School fees are payable ahead of each term and rent in no more than four cheques, often less. School fees increase as children get older and are increasing every year so you may need to pay more than 60k a year, depending on which school you can get her in to.

Whilst you UAE employer must legally provide you with medical insurance (and do check it is adequate, as it's shocking how many only comply with the very basic requirements) but they are not obliged to insure your daughter. If they do, great. If not, you have to pay for that too.

Without going into great detail, please bear in mind that you are not automatically exempt from UK Income Tax just by moving to the UAE. That depends on when you move during a tax year and how long you remain UK non-resident for tax purposes. (i can provide more info on this if required.)

Good luck.

Re: advice please
 

This is the killer. Assuming a UK pensionable salary of £100,000 pa, then you will have to set aside £2400-£2500 per month to pay into a private pension.

Add in rental/living costs in Dubai, and I don't think your offered salary is enough to compensate for the move, but it's up to you.

Re: advice please
 

This explains why all the doctors here are those that were struck off in the UK.

Re: advice please
 

They're the best ones! What wrong with having the odd squeeze here and there or having a couple of parts left over?

Re: advice please
 

Hi Meow and olddoc,
Apologies for the delay in replying. Thank you both for the advice. My pensionalble salary is around 80000, but still interesting to know that a pension equivalent in private sector would be so expensive.
My calculations were very simple ( with my limited financial knowledge) that if I work for x number of years in Dubai and manage to save and invest I would get more returns than a pension. with ever increasing age limit to get your hands onto your pension it seems logical.

@meow, I am surprised that I have to pay taxes eventhough I earn in Dubai. could you please shed some light on this.

Thanks again both

Re: advice please
 

I did not say that you have to pay UK tax. I said "please bear in mind that you are not automatically exempt from UK Income Tax just by moving to the UAE." I went on to say that it depends on how long you are UK non-resident for tax purposes.

If you move to the UK and decide that after nine months you don't like it and return to the UK all of your overseas earning would be subject to UK income tax. You have to remain out of the UK for a full tax year, as a minimum, to be considered UK non-resident for tax purposes (retrospectively). Your tax liability is not about where the income arises but where you are considered to be tax resident.

You also have to watch the days spent in the UK in any particular tax year and that has been clarified in the Statutory Residency Test which came into effect in April 2013. More info on that here:

https://financialuae.me/2013/02/12/i...esidency-test/