--- title: Moving to Dubai from Germany in 2026, Tax, Visas and Setup url: https://dm-uae.com/germany-founders/ description: Moving to Dubai from Germany in 2026: UAE residence visas, German tax on leaving (Wohnsitz, Wegzugsteuer, §2 AStG), no tax treaty, company and family. updated: 2026-11-03 source: DM Consultancy (dm-uae.com). The HTML page is the reference version. --- # Moving to Dubai from Germany, exit planned Leaving Germany ends less German tax than most expect, so the UAE side is planned around what the Finanzamt keeps. [Book a 15-minute call](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ3iUsl6OhHy5YEyFEpygJBYbMbGDZ7fIiA2jzn36qH26vKRo_PDEpn0EzJeySwjrl1R9zHtZnVN?gv=true)See the steps of the move Germany to Dubai German tax residence A usable home or six months Exit tax On holdings of 1% or more Germany and UAE treaty Expired at the end of 2021 Flight from Frankfurt About 6 hours ## Key takeaways - Moving to Dubai from Germany usually starts with the tax bill. In 2025 German tax and social contributions took 49.3% of an average single worker's labour cost, second only to Belgium in the OECD. In Dubai, salary is untaxed. - Germany treats you as fully taxable while you keep a usable home there or stay more than six months. Deregistering alone does not end German tax residence. - Leaving with 1% or more of any company can trigger Wegzugsteuer, an exit tax on the unrealised gain. - German citizens with German interests can stay within extended German tax for ten years after the year they leave. - The Germany and UAE tax treaty expired at the end of 2021, so no tie-breaker protects a dual resident. ## Who handles which side **What we handle in Dubai.** Visa, company, bank account and FTA registration, documented for the day the Finanzamt asks about them. **What your German adviser handles.** Your Steuerberater covers residence, exit tax on shareholdings and the ten-year tail, working from a list of questions we prepare. ## Leaving Germany, stage by stage Start with the Wohnsitz and the exit tax valuation, since both are fixed by the day you leave. The Dubai stages come after. 1. ### Before you leave German tax review, exit tax valuation, route chosen, documents legalised, school applications With your Steuerberater 2. ### The UAE company Licence and establishment card, timed around your departure date Our team in Dubai 3. ### Visa and Emirates ID Entry permit, medical, Emirates ID, visa Our team, with you present 4. ### Flat, bank and family Ejari, DEWA, bank accounts, insurance, family visas Our team in Dubai 5. ### First year Corporate tax registration, residence evidence, German filings where they still apply Both sides ### Checklist for the move ### Before you leave Germany - Steuerberater review: tax residence, exit tax, the ten-year tail, inheritance tax - German flat sold, let or given up - Visa route chosen and checked for the family - GmbH management and UAE company timing agreed - Marriage, birth and degree certificates legalised - Health insurer, pension office and Familienkasse informed ### After you arrive in Dubai - Medical, ID biometrics and visa completed - Tenancy registered with Ejari - Private health cover for the whole family - Dubai bank accounts opened - Corporate tax registration for the UAE company - Ejari, entry records and days kept for the Finanzamt ## Visa routes for Germans Find the line nearest your plans. Each family member needs legalised German certificates whichever route you take, so they are checked at the start. Residence routes by situation | Your situation | The usual answer | |---|---| | You have signed with a UAE employer | Employment visa | | You will run a trading business from Dubai | Investor or partner visa | | You hold a title deed of AED 2 million or more, or pass an investor, entrepreneur or talent test | Golden Visa, ten years | | Skilled employee or freelancer meeting the education and income tests, or an investor or partner with a qualifying UAE investment | Green Visa, five years | | Your employer or company stays outside the UAE | Remote work visa, one year | | You are 55 or older with qualifying property, savings or income | Retirement visa, five years | | Your spouse or parent lives in the UAE already | Family sponsorship | Chapters 1. 01 Can you move? 2. 02 Residence visas 3. 03 German tax when you leave 4. 04 UAE tax residence 5. 05 Setting up a company 6. 06 Your German GmbH 7. 07 Tax in Dubai 8. 08 Family and schools 9. 09 Your first weeks 10. 10 Time and cost ## Can you move to Dubai from Germany? Yes. Moving to Dubai from Germany is open to any German citizen who fits a residence route. That can be a job, a company of your own, property, a qualifying skill or income, or a family sponsor. There is no quota and no language test. The UAE half of the move is paperwork, and reasonably quick. Whether it pays off financially is a German question. Germany does not release a resident because a UAE visa appears in the passport. It looks at where you keep a home, how long you stay, what you own and, for German citizens, how much of your economic life remains behind. German leavers usually reach us with the same plan: keep the Hamburg flat, keep the Munich GmbH, and form the Dubai company first. That order is the expensive one. Each step keeps Germany's claim alive. ### The German case for leaving For many Germans the case starts at home. Tax and social contributions take close to half of an average single worker's labour cost, and the economy grew 0.2% after two years of contraction. Here, salary and personal investment income go untaxed, and 7,685 German companies were operating in the UAE by May 2026. The trade-offs are German too. Exit tax can absorb years of savings, and citizens face a ten-year tail. Statutory health cover ends, UAE years add nothing to your pension record and Kindergeld stops. Add hot summers, high rents and school fees, and run the German numbers first. ### Without a UAE job offer That works. Chapter 02 sets out the routes that need no UAE employer. Permanence is different. The UAE rarely grants citizenship, so residents renew their status, and a Golden Visa runs the longest at ten years. ### Your Führungszeugnis and other checks Adults applying for residence take a medical test in Dubai. Some visa categories and licensing authorities also want a police certificate, for Germans the Führungszeugnis. It needs legalising like any other German document, so order it early. ## Dubai residence visas for German citizens German nationals use the same categories as everyone else. The right one follows from where your income will come from. ### Arriving on a German passport German citizens receive a visit visa on arrival, so the first trip to view flats or meet banks needs no advance application. A visit visa does not let you work, sign a long tenancy or, in practice, open a personal bank account. ### Employment visa Your UAE employer sponsors you and runs the application. Your family can follow once you earn AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 with housing provided. If the job ends, a grace period starts. ### An investor visa via your company The company you own sponsors you as investor or partner. Licence, workspace and visa renew together, and each renewal tests whether the business is real. A company formed purely to hold a visa tends to fail at the bank first. ### The Golden Visa for German citizens Ten years, renewable and self-sponsored. Property buyers qualify with an updated title deed showing AED 2 million or more, and other routes cover investors, entrepreneurs, specialists and exceptional talent. Details are on the [Golden Visa page](https://dm-uae.com/golden-visa/). The Golden Visa leaves German tax residence untouched. Keep a Wohnsitz in Germany and you stay resident there. ### Green Visa A five-year, self-sponsored status for skilled employees and freelancers who meet its education and income criteria, and for investors and partners with a qualifying UAE investment. ### Remote work visa One year, renewable, for people employed by or running a business outside the UAE. It needs income of at least USD 3,500 a month and makes a good trial year. ### Retiring in Dubai, and family From 55, Dubai issues a five-year [retirement visa](https://dm-uae.com/residency/retirement-visa/) on any one of three routes: property worth AED 1 million, a bank deposit of AED 1 million, or an income of AED 240,000 a year. [Family sponsorship](https://dm-uae.com/residency/family-visa/) is covered in chapter 08. ### Where each route finishes Each one ends with the entry permit, the medical test and Emirates ID biometrics, and then the visa. Spend more than 180 days in a row outside the UAE and a standard residence visa lapses. That rule does not apply to Golden Visa holders. ## German tax when you move to Dubai Germany taxes your worldwide income for as long as you keep a home or your habitual abode there, and several charges continue after both have gone. Since the end of 2021 no double tax treaty softens any of it. ### When unlimited tax liability ends Full German tax liability ends only once both your Wohnsitz (a home you could use) and your habitual abode (a stay of more than six months) in Germany are gone. German-source income stays taxable after that. The Wohnsitz test catches more leavers than any other rule. A furnished flat, a room kept at your parents' house or a holiday home you use can each count. With no treaty in force, a UAE Tax Residency Certificate cannot override it. ### Abmeldung at the Bürgeramt The Abmeldung deregisters you from the population register. It is evidence and nothing more: the Finanzamt looks at the facts behind the form. ### Wegzugsteuer, the exit tax on shareholdings If you hold, or recently held, 1% or more of a company, German or foreign, leaving Germany is treated as a sale of those shares at market value. A Berlin founder holding 15% of a venture-backed start-up can owe this tax on a paper gain no buyer has paid for. Two details catch founders out. A UAE company formed while you are still resident can add its own value to the exit tax base, and investment fund holdings can now be caught too. ### The return relief Come back to German residence within a set window and the exit tax can lapse, provided the shares were not sold in the meantime. Raise any planned return before you leave. ### Extended limited tax liability German citizens face a second layer. Move to a low-tax country such as the UAE while keeping substantial economic interests in Germany, and Germany widens its claim for ten years after the year you leave. Reducing German assets and income before the move is the usual way out. ### German property after you leave Rent from a German flat stays taxable in Germany. A sale of German property within ten years of buying it, or of a stake of 1% or more in a German company, stays within German tax wherever you live. German withholding tax applies to GmbH dividends, and no treaty lowers it. ### Inheritance and gift tax A German citizen stays within German inheritance and gift tax for years after leaving, and an heir living in Germany pays German tax on what they receive. The UAE levies no inheritance tax, so a gift made in year two may still be taxed as if you had never left. ### Pension, health insurance and Kindergeld The Deutsche Rentenversicherung pays pensions to the UAE, and they stay taxable in Germany. Statutory health cover generally ends when you move out, and a dormant Anwartschaftsversicherung can keep a route back into German cover. Kindergeld normally stops when the family leaves. ### No Germany and UAE treaty The former agreement expired on 31 December 2021, and as of October 2026 no replacement is in force. A dual resident has no tie-breaker to rely on. A German Steuerberater should confirm each point against your own history. Our questions go to that meeting, and the Dubai side follows their answer. ## How a German becomes UAE tax resident The UAE introduced its own residence test for individuals in March 2023. Meeting any one of three conditions is enough. Spend 183 days here in a 12-month period, or 90 days with a residence permit and a home or work here. The third condition is a life centred in the UAE. With no treaty, UAE status does not overrule German residence. It documents the new life: a Tax Residency Certificate from the Federal Tax Authority supports your position with German banks, your Steuerberater and, if it comes to that, the Finanzamt. Keep your Ejari, Emirates ID and travel records from the first week. A senior advisor can check which UAE residence records to start keeping in your first week. [Book a 15-minute call](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ3iUsl6OhHy5YEyFEpygJBYbMbGDZ7fIiA2jzn36qH26vKRo_PDEpn0EzJeySwjrl1R9zHtZnVN?gv=true)[WhatsApp](https://wa.me/971585562152?text=Hi%20DM%20Consultancy%2C%20I%27m%20a%20Germany-based%20founder%20looking%20to%20set%20up%20in%20the%20UAE.%20Could%20we%20discuss%3F) ## Setting up a company from Germany Most of the licensing can be done from Germany; the bank meeting and the visa medical need you here. Give the structure more time than the paperwork, since it fixes who you may invoice and how a bank sees your file. For Germans there is a timing question first. A UAE company formed while you are still German resident sits inside German CFC rules and, at 1% or more, inside the exit tax base. So the company is usually formed close to the departure date and starts trading once German residence has ended. ### Free zone or mainland Free zones suit consultancies, software houses, e-commerce and trading businesses whose customers sit abroad, including in Germany and the wider EU. A Stuttgart [engineering consultant](https://dm-uae.com/activities/engineering-consultancy/) billing Mittelstand clients is a typical free zone case. Selling directly into the UAE market usually calls for a mainland licence from DET, or a mainland arm alongside a free zone company. Fund managers and family offices often look at [DIFC or ADGM](https://dm-uae.com/financial-centres/), where regulated business takes months. Offshore companies are holding vehicles only, with no UAE trading and no visas. The [mainland and free zone comparison](https://dm-uae.com/compare/mainland-vs-free-zone/) covers the trade-offs. ### The formation sequence Formation runs from activity approval through the licence, the establishment card and the visas to the bank account. The workspace is sized to the visas your move needs. ### Opening a corporate bank account Each UAE bank builds its own file on who owns the company, how money will flow and what presence it has here. A German founder with a clean invoice trail tends to present well. Read [how UAE banks assess a company](https://dm-uae.com/banking/). ### Funding the company from Germany Germany has no exchange controls, so moving capital is a banking question, though larger payments abroad carry a Bundesbank reporting duty while you are still resident. ### Corporate tax registration All UAE companies register for corporate tax with the FTA, profitable or not. Late registration brings a fixed penalty, so it belongs on the formation plan. ## Your German GmbH after the move A Munich software GmbH kept for German clients, with a UAE company serving the rest, is a common set-up. Owning it from abroad is fine. Trouble starts with where it is managed. ### Ort der Geschäftsleitung A GmbH with its seat in Germany stays liable to German corporate and trade tax whatever happens. Run it entirely from Dubai and it can also become a UAE resident person for corporate tax, or create a UAE permanent establishment, and no treaty resolves the overlap. The usual answer is a German managing director for the GmbH and minuted Dubai decisions for the UAE company. Your Steuerberater confirms the German side; we match the UAE governance. ### Who German CFC rules charge German CFC rules tax a German taxpayer on the passive income of a foreign company it controls where that income bears tax below 15%. A UAE company at 0% or 9% counts as low-taxed under that test. That reaches you while you stay German resident, your GmbH if it holds the UAE company, and in some cases German citizens during the ten-year tail. Genuine trading usually counts as active, so the activity is reviewed before the shareholding is drawn up. ### Moving the business, or keeping two Moving clients, IP or goodwill out of the GmbH is a German tax event, and a later liquidation can interact with the exit tax already assessed on the shares. Agree the sequence with your Steuerberater before any of it moves. ## Tax in Dubai for Germans For a German individual in Dubai, very little is taxed. Salary, investment income, personal gains and inheritances go untaxed, and a founder meets only corporate tax and VAT. **Personal income** Employment, investment and personal property income are untaxed. Trading in your own name brings corporate tax once business turnover passes AED 1 million in a calendar year. **Corporate tax** Every company registers. The rate is 0% on taxable income to AED 375,000 and 9% beyond. A company with revenue of AED 3 million or less can elect Small Business Relief, for tax periods ending on or before 31 December 2029. **VAT** Charged at 5%. Registration becomes a duty above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and an option from AED 187,500. A free zone company reaches 0% only as a Qualifying Free Zone Person, on qualifying income, with every condition met in every year. Breach one and the company moves to the standard regime for that period and the four after it. See the [QFZP guide](https://dm-uae.com/guides/qfzp-uae-free-zone-tax-explained/) and [corporate tax and VAT](https://dm-uae.com/tax-vat/). Individuals pay no capital gains tax here, and Germany's exit tax collects its share before you go. ## Moving to Dubai with family from Germany Family visas run on certificates, and German ones must be prepared before they leave Germany. ### Legalising German documents The UAE does not accept the apostille, so German marriage, birth and degree certificates need German legalisation and then UAE attestation. It is the step that most often delays a family visa, so we start it the moment you commit to the move. ### Visas for spouse and children With your own residence and qualifying salary and housing, you can sponsor your spouse and children, and in some cases parents. Each of them then attends their own biometrics appointment. ### German and international schools in Dubai Dubai has a German international school teaching from kindergarten through to the Deutsches Internationales Abitur. Places are limited and fill early, so apply well before the move date. British and IB schools widen the choice, each regulated by the KHDA. ### Health insurance Dubai residents must be insured. Employers cover their staff; the self-employed and anyone sponsoring family arrange their own. ## Your first weeks in Dubai ![Moving boxes stacked around a sofa and a floor lamp in a bright, newly rented flat](https://dm-uae.com/assets/images/v2/cty-firstweeks.webp) ### Renting a home and Ejari Most newcomers rent first, and the tenancy is registered with Ejari, which then serves as your official address for DEWA, schools, banks and family visas. If a Golden Visa through property is the goal, check the title deed will show AED 2 million or more before agreeing a price. ### Choosing where to live Choose the school first and look for housing around it. Rush-hour traffic matters more than an extra room. ### Personal banking, here and in Germany A UAE personal account follows the residence visa and Emirates ID. Keep one German account for rent and tax payments. ### Exchanging a German driving licence Germany is on the RTA exchange list, so once you hold residence a German licence becomes a UAE one after an eye test, with no driving test. ### Wills and guardianship A German will may not cover UAE assets or guardianship well. Non-Muslim residents can register a UAE will, drafted to sit alongside German arrangements. ## Timeline and cost drivers Moving to Dubai from Germany takes a few weeks on the UAE side once documents are ready. The German side is slower, mainly the exit tax review and legalising certificates. The cost is built from lines that change with your choices: the jurisdiction and activity, a visa for each person, workspace, housing, schools, insurance, legalisation and advice on both sides. On the German side, exit tax can outweigh all of it. ## What clients say after working with us In their own words, each linked to the original. [**5.0**Read the reviews on Google](https://share.google/hsoSSa4Pcj8vqPfZK) Everything was perfect, very fast, easy and super professional. You helped me and my family get our Golden Visas without any stress. **Vladimir Vlasov** Golden Visa client [Read on Google](https://share.google/8CiKApVzi52TkJpK7) - From the initial assessment to final implementation, the team demonstrated strong expertise, structured methodology, and clear communication. **Graphic Industry**Business setup client [Google](https://share.google/DNfn0YlAqRF2CLzgF) - They delivered what they promised without any hidden agenda and informed me of better and less costly ways to achieve what I need. **D Jamil**Residency and corporate client [Google](https://share.google/dUU74subbpmes4y95) - Thanks to Manish Kumar, we were finally able to speed up the process of getting our visa after months of struggling with other agents. **Sali Abdolah**Visa client [Google](https://share.google/NyD2NZTgVJ8XYZQo6) - He was super quick to reply, very efficient and honestly the best I have worked with. He made the whole process so much easier. **Abdolah Keria**Visa client [Google](https://share.google/XFDEHwqfqEyj3TOij) ## Questions Germans ask first **A question about your own move?** Send it on WhatsApp and an advisor answers it directly. [Ask on WhatsApp](https://wa.me/971585562152) ### Can I set up a company in Dubai from Germany? Yes, and most of it can be done from Germany before you travel. Time the formation with your Steuerberater, because a UAE company formed while you are still German resident can fall within the exit tax. ### Do I still pay German tax if I live in Dubai? Yes, on worldwide income while you keep a usable home in Germany or stay there over six months. After that, German-source income such as rent stays taxable, and citizens with German interests face extended liability for ten years. ### What is the German exit tax when moving to Dubai? Wegzugsteuer treats your departure as a sale of any shareholding of 1% or more, German or foreign, at market value. Tax can fall due on a gain no buyer has paid, so have it valued before you leave. ### Can I run my German GmbH from Dubai? You can keep it, but plan where it is managed. A GmbH stays taxable in Germany through its seat, and running it from Dubai can also bring it into UAE corporate tax, with no treaty to settle the overlap. ### Can a German citizen get a UAE Golden Visa? Yes, on the same routes as any nationality, including [Dubai property worth AED 2 million or more](https://dm-uae.com/guides/uae-golden-visa-property-investor-2m/). It does not end German tax residence, because a home kept available to you in Germany keeps you resident there. ### Is there a double tax treaty between Germany and the UAE? No. The treaty expired at the end of 2021 and no replacement is in force. Without it, nothing settles dual residence, and German withholding tax on GmbH dividends has no treaty rate to reduce it. ### Do German citizens need a visa for Dubai? Not to visit. Germans receive a visit visa on arrival, which covers viewing flats and meeting banks but not work or a long tenancy. Living in Dubai needs a residence visa. ## Related reading - [**Relocating to Dubai** Start here for the whole move, then open the guide for the country you are leaving.](https://dm-uae.com/relocation-to-dubai/) - [**Company setup** We form companies in all four UAE structures, so our advice follows your clients and activity.](https://dm-uae.com/company-setup/) - [**UAE Golden Visa requirements** Ten years of residence, family included.](https://dm-uae.com/golden-visa/) - [**Corporate tax and VAT** Registration is mandatory and late penalties are automatic.](https://dm-uae.com/tax-vat/) ## Plan the UAE side before your Abmeldung A senior advisor maps the UAE structure and banking, and the German questions to put to your Steuerberater first. [Book a 15-minute call](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ3iUsl6OhHy5YEyFEpygJBYbMbGDZ7fIiA2jzn36qH26vKRo_PDEpn0EzJeySwjrl1R9zHtZnVN?gv=true)[Message us on WhatsApp](https://wa.me/971585562152?text=Hi%20DM%20Consultancy%2C%20I%27m%20a%20Germany-based%20founder%20looking%20to%20set%20up%20in%20the%20UAE.%20Could%20we%20discuss%3F) On the call 1. Your Abmeldung and when unlimited tax liability ends 2. The questions for your Steuerberater Replies within two business hours, Monday to Saturday. [About the firm](https://dm-uae.com/about/) ![Portrait of your advisor](https://dm-uae.com/assets/images/manish-portrait-cut-w480.webp)