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Move From France to Dubai and Keep Your Clients
Set up a Meydan Free Zone company, apply for investor residency, and plan your tax residence, exit tax, Emirates ID, family visas, banking and setup costs before you fly.
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YOUR SETUP COST
Calculate Your Dubai Trade License Cost Now
Your Business Setup Estimate
Here's your total cost, based on the options you selected.
Company Setup
License Type
Regular
License Duration
1 Year
Shareholders
Total Cost
AED 0
Business Activities
Total Cost
AED 0
Number of Visas
Investor Visa (0)
AED 0
Employee Visa (0)
AED 0
Dependency Visa (0)
AED 0
Change of Status
AED 0
Applicants Outside the UAE (0)
AED 0
Applicants Inside the UAE (0)
AED 0
Additional Services
Grand Total
AED 0
Payment
- License Fee AED 0.00
- Innovation Fee AED 10.00
- Knowledge Fee AED 10.00
Grand Total
AED 0.00
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*Remaining charges will be billed on a pay-as-you-go basis.
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A member of our team will contact you within 60 minutes to get you started.
KEEP YOUR CLIENTS
Working with French Clients from Dubai
Your Clients Barely
Notice You've Moved
The relationship you have today survives the move almost untouched. A French client can contract with your Emirati company like any foreign supplier, keep receiving the same invoices, and pay in euros or dirhams, whichever suits them. Most pay a properly registered overseas company without a second thought; an IBAN, a clean invoice and a license number are usually all it takes to reassure them. The paperwork is lighter than people expect, too: a Dubai company billing a French business falls outside French VAT, so you invoice without it and your client simply applies the reverse charge on the same return, at no net cost to either side (art. 259 B and 283-2 of the CGI). B2C and digital sales follow their own rules, but for most consultants, agencies and studios the day-to-day barely shifts. Same work, same clients, a different name on the header.
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How to Leave
France Cleanly
A visa and a Dubai address are the easy part; a departure that holds up under questioning is the real goal. France decides your status on Article 4 B of the CGI, which looks at your foyer, your home life, your work and your economic interests, and at where the business is genuinely run from. The Emirates asks the mirror question on its side, where residency means real presence, not just a certificate. A Paris court made the point in November 2025: two UAE residence certificates and an apartment in Dubai were not enough, because the family stayed in Paris, the company was still seated in France, and the income was drawn back home. The lesson is not to leave more quietly but to leave more completely. Move the life, not just the letterhead, and keep the evidence to show for it.
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How Your Income Can Sit at 0%
This is where the structure earns its keep, and for most French founders the pieces line up naturally. The 0% rate belongs to you if you become a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP). The good news is that the conditions fit exactly how you already work. Your qualifying income, the money you bill to clients outside the UAE, would sit at 0%, while only work billed to Dubai mainland clients would be charged at 9%. Since your clients are in France and abroad, that is precisely the income the regime is built to reward, which is why a free zone company beats a mainland one, which has no route to 0% at all. Holding the status is straightforward once you know the rules of the road: keep real substance in the UAE, file audited accounts, and keep any non-qualifying income under the lower of 5% of revenue or AED 5M. The one thing to get right is that the 0% follows where you actually work, not where you registered. Run the company genuinely from Dubai and keep the housekeeping tidy, once you have stopped trading in France, close your micro-entreprise or EI rather than leaving it dormant, and don't let a French office, employee or agent sign contracts on the company's behalf. Meet the conditions and the 0% is simply how your company runs.
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CHOOSE YOUR PACKAGE
What’s Included in Your Dubai Business License from Meydan Free Zone?
Moving To UAE
How Long Does Moving from France to Dubai Take?
It is faster than most people expect. Your license can be issued in a day, and your visa and Emirates ID follow within a couple of weeks. Give the whole move four to eight weeks, and most of that will be your own logistics.
Week 0
Decide
and Plan
Choose your business activities, model your setup costs, and speak to a setup advisor before starting your application.
Day 1
Get Your License
Fawri issues your license in under 60 minutes, while the standard business license can be delivered in a day.
Day 2 - 10
Visa and Emirates ID
Receive your entry permit, then complete your medical test, biometrics and Emirates ID issuance after arriving in Dubai.
Week 2 - 4
Handle the Essentials
Open your bank accounts, view homes, register your tenancy with Ejari and connect your DEWA utilities.
Week 4 -8
Family and Logistics
Sponsor your dependants, confirm school places, ship your belongings and exchange your driving license after arrival.
Day 30
30 Days Checklist
Emirates ID in your wallet, bank account live, tenancy registered, health insurance active and corporate tax registration completed.
YOUR NEXT STEPS
What Happens Next?
Once you submit the form, we'll get your company set up, then your visa and Emirates ID sorted. After that it's just the life admin.
Wealth & Tax
Will You Still Pay French Tax If You Live in Dubai?
Leaving France doesn't close your French tax position. Article 4 B of the CGI decides your status, year by year, on alternative criteria: a single one is enough to keep you attached. Get the exit right and your foreign income sits outside French tax; get it wrong and your worldwide income stays taxable in France.
The goal isn't to find the loophole. It's a defensible position: a file that still holds if the authorities challenge it two or three years after you leave. In practice that means two advisers who talk to each other: a French tax lawyer for the exit and a UAE advisor for the local structure, with evidence built from day one.
How many days can I spend in France without being resident?
The 183-day threshold is the best known, and the most misleading. French law doesn't reason in days alone: your foyer (home and family), your main activity and your centre of economic interests are alternative criteria. You can spend 40 days in France and stay resident if your family, your company or your interests remain there.
Do I need to declare my departure?
Yes. Notify your Service des Impôts des Particuliers (SIP) by letter, giving your new address. The following year you file a 2042 for the resident period, a 2042-NR for French-source income after departure, and a 3916 for accounts and contracts held abroad.
Does the UAE tax certificate protect me?
Not on its own. The treaty overrides domestic law since 2025, but it only frees you if it genuinely recognises you as a UAE resident. In November 2025 a taxpayer holding two Tax Domicile Certificates and owning a Dubai apartment was ruled resident in France: Paris foyer, company seat in France, closest ties left in France.
Can France tax my Dubai income?
Not once you're genuinely non-resident. Your Emirati earnings fall outside French income tax, and the profits of a company genuinely run from Dubai fall outside French corporation tax. Residence is the whole question, which is why the test above matters more than anything else on this page.
Can I pay myself dividends from my French company after leaving?
Yes, but from 2026 dividends paid by a French company to a non-resident, including in the UAE, face an automatic withholding at source, despite the treaty, with a refund claimed afterwards. As the UAE doesn't tax those dividends, no tax credit comes to offset them.
What about social charges (prélèvements sociaux)?
Leaving the French social security system, you stop contributing. But your French-source rental income and capital gains remain, under conditions, subject to social charges. The authorities don't assume you earn nothing just because you've gone.
Am I caught by the exit tax?
If you've been a tax resident for 6 of the last 10 years and you hold more than €800,000 in securities, or more than 50% of a company (whatever its value), yes. The €800,000 threshold is assessed across the whole portfolio, not line by line: several holdings combined can cross it.
How much exit tax will I pay?
The authorities treat your departure as a deemed sale and tax the unrealised gain (value at departure minus acquisition price) at a combined 30% flat tax, with a possible surtax on high incomes. SAS shares acquired for €200,000 and worth €1,000,000 at departure means €800,000 of unrealised gain, roughly €240,000 of theoretical exit tax.
Dubai isn't in the EU, so do I get automatic deferral?
No. Deferral of payment without a guarantee is automatic for a move within the EU/EEA. For Dubai, outside the EU/EEA, you must post guarantees (a bank guarantee) or pay the latent tax immediately. If you keep your securities, the latent tax is written off automatically after 2 years (securities < €2.57m) or 5 years (≥ €2.57m) spent outside France. The declaration is mandatory before departure (form 2074-ETD): any default makes the tax immediately due. PEA, assurance-vie and directly-held crypto are out of scope.
What happens to my property in France?
It stays taxable in France. French-source rents remain taxable here, social charges included, and the gain on resale follows French rules whatever your country of residence.
Can I keep my assurance-vie and PEA?
Generally yes, but tell your provider of your change of status. The PEA and assurance-vie keep their framework; the LDDS, LEP and Livret Jeune, however, must be closed on the change of residence. The Livret A can be kept.
What happens to my health cover?
Your affiliation to Assurance Maladie ends on the date of departure. You keep a one-year extension of rights for care received in France (art. L160-3), but not for care abroad. Many expats join the Caisse des Français de l'Étranger (CFE) alongside a local policy.
Should I keep my French company open?
Keeping it and moving your profit are separate decisions. A France-incorporated company still owes corporation tax. And if you run it from Dubai while keeping teams in France, you risk a permanent establishment, which pulls those profits back into French tax.
Open a Bank Account
Can You Open a Dubai Bank Account from France?
Your company can be registered and your visa process started entirely online from France. Corporate bank applications can begin as soon as your license is issued, and personal accounts typically open within days of your Emirates ID arriving.
Opening a Bank Account
You'll need your passport, residence visa and Emirates ID, plus your trade license for a business account. Digital banks clear straightforward applications in days; traditional banks take longer but suit higher volumes and credit facilities. What moves an application along is consistency: your licensed activities, your invoices and your business description all telling the same story. Meydan Free Zone works with 26+ banking partners, supports the corporate account process with a guaranteed IBAN pathway, and includes a lease agreement in every package.
Platforms such as Wise, Revolut and Stripe are useful for collecting payments, but they should support, not replace, a UAE corporate account. Your French credit history will not carry over, so building a local record and paying yourself a regular salary can help when applying for future credit or a mortgage.
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Moving Money Between Euros and Dirhams
The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, which gives your AED earnings stability. Against the euro it moves as the dollar does, so if you keep euro costs like a mortgage or school fees, income and outgoings sit in currencies that drift apart. Many people hold a small euro buffer for those recurring bills and convert larger sums when the rate is kind, rather than piecemeal at whatever Monday brings.
Getting profit out is simple: the UAE has no exchange controls and no withholding tax, so repatriating to France is a transfer, not a taxable event locally. For the transfer itself, it is worth comparing your options on the total landed cost, the rate and the fee together, since that full picture varies by provider and by the size of the transfer.
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How Corporate Tax Works in Dubai
The UAE introduced corporate tax in 2023, at 9% on profits above AED 375,000, and nothing below. Free zone companies keep the 0% rate as a Qualifying Free Zone Person, and only on qualifying income. Conditions: adequate substance in the UAE, audited accounts, transfer-pricing compliance, and non-qualifying income below the lower of 5% of revenue or AED 5M. Even at 0%, registration with the Federal Tax Authority is mandatory and a return is filed every year, so the paperwork exists whether or not any tax is due, and Small Business Relief may apply below a revenue threshold.
Note: the qualifying-income test is tight, some service activities fall outside it, and 0% is never automatic. Get your activity validated and your structure set correctly from year one, rather than assuming the 0% and having to unwind it later.
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UAE Visa
Does a Dubai Visa Make You a Tax Resident?
Getting a Dubai visa is usually straightforward. The important part is understanding that your visa validity, your UAE tax residence and your French tax status are governed by separate rules, especially if you keep spending time in France.
Do I need a job offer to move to Dubai?
No. Setting up your own company and sponsoring yourself is the standard route for founders: most French movers arrive on an investor visa rather than an employment one. Your business license becomes the sponsor.
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How long is a standard residence visa?
Two years for a free zone investor visa, renewable. The ten-year Golden Visa is a separate category with its own thresholds.
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How long does the whole process take?
The visa process in Dubai takes days. The license can be issued in under an hour, then entry permit, medical test, biometrics and Emirates ID within a week to ten days of arrival.
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How long can I leave the UAE?
180 continuous days. Past that, the residence visa is cancelled automatically (Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021), regardless of the expiry date printed on it.
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Does a short trip back reset the clock?
Yes, and this is the part worth knowing. The count measures continuous absence from your last exit stamp: a single day in the UAE resets it to zero. Airside transit doesn't count.
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Is the 180-day rule the tax rule?
No. Conflating them is expensive. Three clocks run at once: 180 days away cancels the visa; the UAE TRC needs 183 days here (or 90 with conditions); French non-residence needs few ties to France. You can hold a valid visa and still fail both tax tests.
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What if I close my company?
Your investor visa is tied to the business license, so it goes when the license goes, and your dependants' visas go with yours. Theirs cannot outlast the sponsor's.
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How long is the grace period?
Between 30 and 180 days depending on your category, with investors at the longer end. Check yours on the ICP portal rather than assuming. Overstaying costs AED 50 a day.
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Can I come back?
Yes, but if the visa lapsed you restart: new entry permit, new medical, new Emirates ID, as a first-time applicant.
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YOUR ROUTE TO RESIDENCY
Which Dubai Visa Route Should You Choose?
Employer Route
I have a UAE job offer
Your employer usually sponsors the visa and controls the process.
Good if hired locally- Less control over timing
Recommended
I want to sponsor myself
Set up your own UAE company and use it as the base for investor residency.
- No job offer required
- Business license included
- Family sponsorship pathway
Remote Worker
I work for an overseas company
A remote work visa may fit employees who are not setting up a UAE business.
- One-year route
- Not always ideal for founders
Family Visa
Moving Your Family from France to Dubai
Moving your family is straightforward when the paperwork is prepared in the right order. Start legalising key documents before you leave: it determines how quickly their visas are issued after you arrive. A point often missed: genuinely moving the whole family to Dubai also strengthens your tax case, by shifting the foyer out of France.
Can You Bring Your Family to Dubai?
Yes. With Meydan Free Zone, you can add up to six visa allocations to your business license. Once you obtain residency through your company, you sponsor eligible members, subject to immigration requirements: showing a monthly income of at least AED 4,000 (or AED 3,000 with accommodation provided), alongside the required company, housing and family documents.
What to Sort Before You Fly
Legalisation is what delays families, and it's done from France. Your marriage certificate and each birth certificate must be legalised or apostilled then authenticated (the chain runs via the ministry and the UAE consulate, then MOFA in the UAE), with certified translations. Unlegalised documents are the most cited cause of spouse-visa rejection: the chain then restarts from Dubai and costs weeks. You'll also need a registered Ejari tenancy contract before you can sponsor anyone, so housing comes before family visas. Everyone over 18 sits a medical fitness test after arrival.
Are There French Schools in Dubai?
Dubai is home to one of the largest French-education networks outside France. The Lycée Français International Georges Pompidou (LFIGP, AEFE network, ~2,600 students, Academic City campus and a nursery annex at Oud Metha) and the Lycée Français Jean Mermoz (Al Wasl, with a campus in the South) follow the French national curriculum: your children sit the same brevet and baccalauréat they would at home. Other approved schools exist (Lycée Français International de Dubai South, Lycée Libanais Francophone Privé, École Française Internationale Waha). Every private school is inspected and rated by the KHDA, with ratings and fees published. Budget roughly AED 30,000 to 90,000 per year depending on the school and year group. Apply early: places at the most sought-after schools fill quickly.
Healthcare for Your Family
Health insurance is mandatory for every Dubai resident and arranged through your sponsor, your own company if you're self-sponsored. It covers each dependant, and their visa can't be finalised without it, so it sits in your year-one budget, not after. Check waiting periods before choosing a policy, particularly for maternity. Dubai's private hospitals rank among the best in the region, with short waiting times and care in English and French.
Lifestyle
Where Do French Expats Live in Dubai, and How Does Rent Work?
Dubai has several markets in one. Waterfront towers, leafy villa communities and value-led suburbs all sit within a 30-minute drive of each other.
Which Areas Do French
Expats Live in Dubai?
Families head for the villa communities (Arabian Ranches, Dubai Hills Estate, The Springs, Jumeirah Park), often near the French schools that drive the decision, and the areas close to the campuses (Al Barsha for the LFIGP, Al Wasl and Jumeirah for Jean Mermoz). Couples and singles take apartments in Dubai Marina, JLT, Downtown and Business Bay, where the Metro matters more. Value sits further out: JVC, Motor City, Al Furjan. Most people pick the school first and the postcode second.
Should You Rent or
Buy in Year One?
Rent first. Renting lets you test commutes, schools and communities before committing, and Dubai tenancy law caps renewal increases through the official RERA index. Buying makes sense once you know the city: foreigners can purchase freehold in designated areas. Most people who buy in year one buy in the wrong place.
How Do Deposits and
Cheques Work?
Rent is usually paid in one to four cheques a year, so budget for a larger upfront outlay than a French monthly tenancy. Expect a refundable security deposit of about 5%, around 5% agency commission, Ejari registration (~AED 220), and a refundable DEWA deposit of AED 2,000 for an apartment. A 5% housing fee on the annual rent is billed monthly through DEWA. Ask whether cooling (chiller) is included before you sign: chiller charges can turn a good rent into an expensive one.
Your First Few Weeks in Dubai
Can You Swap Your French Driving License for a Dubai One?
Yes. Once you become a resident, you exchange a valid French driving license for a Dubai one with no theory or road test. You'll need your Emirates ID, the original French license and a valid electronic eye test, via the RTA or an authorised service centre.
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Can You Drink Alcohol in Dubai?
Yes. Non-Muslims aged 21 and over can drink in licensed venues and private residences. Residents need a free alcohol license, obtained with the Emirates ID, to buy from authorised retailers. Drinking in public is prohibited, and there's zero tolerance for drink-driving.
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What Is Summer Actually Like in Dubai?
Summers are extreme, often exceeding 40°C from June to September. Life moves indoors, with outdoor activity limited to early mornings and evenings. From October to April the weather softens and the city (beaches, parks, terraces) comes back to life.
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Questions? Answers.
How many days can I spend in France without being a tax resident?
France uses several tests, not just a day-count, so what matters most is where your home, family and main work are based. Keep those in Dubai and you can visit France freely. The 183-day rule is only one factor, and staying under it is easy once your life is genuinely in the Emirates.
What ties you to France for tax purposes?
Four things can tie you to France: your foyer (where your family lives), your main home, your principal work, and the centre of your economic interests. Any single one is enough, and the foyer carries the most weight, so moving the whole household to Dubai is the surest way to cut the tie cleanly.
Can France tax income I earn in Dubai?
No. Once you are genuinely non-resident, France cannot tax your Dubai salary, and profits from a company truly run from Dubai stay outside French corporation tax. The key is being properly settled in the Emirates, with your home, family and work based there.
Can I pay myself dividends from my French company after moving to Dubai?
Yes. From 2026, dividends paid to a non-resident face an automatic withholding at source, but it is reclaimable, so it is a cash-flow step rather than a real cost. Plan the timing with your accountant and the dividends reach you in full.
What is the French exit tax, and do I have to pay it straight away?
The exit tax applies if you have been French-resident for six of the last ten years and hold over €800,000 in securities or more than half a company, taxing the unrealised gain at around 30%. For Dubai you post a guarantee or settle it, then it disappears entirely once you hold the shares two years as a non-resident (five above €2.57m). Declared before you leave, it is a formality, not a surprise.
Do I pay French inheritance tax if I live in Dubai?
Your non-French assets fall outside French inheritance tax once you and your heirs are genuinely settled abroad, and the UAE charges none of its own. France still taxes anything located in France and looks at your heirs too, so a child who has been French-resident for six of the last ten years is taxed on their share. Moving as a family keeps the position clean.
What happens to my French property, savings and pension?
They travel well. You can keep your assurance-vie and PEA (and the Livret A; the LDDS, LEP and Livret Jeune close), your French property stays yours and can be let with the rent simply declared in France, and your pension keeps its value and can be paid to you in Dubai.
Do I need a job offer to move to Dubai?
No. Most French founders sponsor themselves: you set up your own free zone company and it issues your investor visa, with no employer required. The same company lets you sponsor your family and open business banking.
Can I set up the company before I move, and how long does it take?
Yes, and it is quick. You register the company and start the visa online from France, often getting the license the same day, then travel over for a short medical and biometrics. The whole move typically takes four to eight weeks, most of it your own logistics.
Can my spouse and children move with me, and can my spouse work?
Yes on both. Your company visa lets you sponsor your spouse and children, and your spouse can work once an employer arranges a simple work permit, or by joining your own company. Health insurance for each of them is part of the setup.
Will I actually get a business bank account in Dubai?
Yes, when your file is consistent. Banks care less about free zone versus mainland than about your activity, invoices and description matching up. Digital banks onboard free zone companies online in days, and Meydan works with 26+ banking partners to guide the process.
How much should I be earning before I make the move?
Enough to cover your life here while the business runs, which is the advice founders on the ground give most. Registering a company is quick; the smart play is arriving with revenue already flowing rather than hoping to find it, because Dubai scales a profitable business beautifully.
Are there French schools in Dubai, and what do they cost?
Yes, several. Dubai has one of the largest French school networks abroad, led by the AEFE-accredited Lycée Français International Georges Pompidou and Lycée Jean Mermoz, teaching the full French curriculum up to the baccalauréat. Fees run roughly AED 30,000 to 90,000 a year, so it is worth applying early.
What documents should I keep to prove I've really left France?
Keep the everyday paper trail of a life abroad: your Ejari tenancy contract, flight tickets and passport stamps, UAE bank statements, your children's school enrolment, and local utility bills. Saved in one folder from day one, they make your non-residence easy to demonstrate.
Can Dubai ever become permanent?
Yes, in practice. There is no conventional citizenship route, but the ten-year Golden Visa (renewable) gives long-term security to anchor a home, a business and your children's schooling, and it lets you sponsor your family too.