Every year your business stays UK-structured, up to 25% of profit goes to corporation tax — and up to 39.35% more when you take it as dividends. Route Business Hub moves UK businesses to Dubai properly: UAE company, licence, residency visa and corporate banking set up remotely, with your UK exit planned to HMRC's rules — not left as an afterthought.
100% Remote Setup
Run from the UK
UK & UAE Coordinated
Both sides, one plan
HMRC Compliant
Clean UK exit
Route Business Hub is a trading name of Coffico Investments LLC — UAE Commercial License No. 997065.
Corporation tax at 19–25%. Dividend tax up to 39.35% on what's left. Every year you don't restructure, the default rates apply in full.
Your company pays corporation tax on profit, then you pay dividend tax to take out what remains. On meaningful profits, the combined rate is punishing — and it's the default, not the only option.
A UAE licence bought online doesn't change your UK tax position by itself. HMRC's residence and company-control rules still apply — and generic Dubai agents don't plan for them.
A UK accountant who doesn't know UAE structures, and a Dubai agent who doesn't know HMRC. The gap between them is exactly where relocations fail.
Drag the slider to your annual profit. We'll compare UK corporation and dividend tax against a UAE structure at published rates.
Est. UK tax bill
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Est. UAE tax bill
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Estimated annual saving
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Indicative only, based on published 2026/27 UK rates (corporation tax incl. marginal relief, dividend tax) and UAE Corporate Tax at 9% above AED 375,000. Qualifying freezone income can be taxed at 0% — subject to conditions we assess individually. This is not personal tax advice.
It isn't just the headline tax rates — it's a jurisdiction built to attract exactly the businesses the UK taxes hardest: profitable, internationally-trading companies run by their owners.
Beyond tax: connectivity, banking, safety, and who it isn't right for →
| What you pay | UK structure | UAE structure |
|---|---|---|
| Corporation tax on profits | 19% – 25% | 0% – 9% |
| Tax on dividends you take | Up to 39.35% | 0% as a UAE tax resident |
| Income tax on your salary | 20% – 45% | 0% as a UAE tax resident |
| Ownership | 100% | 100% — no local sponsor needed |
| HMRC compatibility | N/A | Fully compliant when structured correctly |
UK rates are the published 2025/26 figures; UAE Corporate Tax is 9% above AED 375,000, with a 0% rate available on qualifying freezone income under conditions — see the FTA's guidance. Whether the 0% rate applies to your income is something we assess honestly before you commit.
Residency visas typically process in 2–3 weeks. UAE personal banking can be opened remotely or in-person within 2 days. The all-in cost of establishing UAE tax residency — visa, Emirates ID, and initial compliance — typically ranges from £3,000 to £6,000.
HMRC's Statutory Residence Test applies from the day you leave the UK. We guide you through every milestone — so your relocation is structured for UAE compliance and a clean UK tax exit.
2-3 Weeks
Residency visa processing time
2 Days
Personal bank account, once residency is issued
0% Personal Tax
On income earned in the UAE
HMRC Compliant
SRT-structured departure plan
The right UAE structure follows your business model — where your customers are, what you sell, and what happens to your UK entity. We recommend one; we don't sell whichever is easiest.
100% foreign ownership, fast remote setup, and access to a 0% corporate rate on qualifying income. The structure most UK directors end up with.
Right for you if your customers are outside the UAE — consultancy, e-commerce, digital services, international trade.
Explore freezone setup →Full access to trade anywhere in the UAE, including with government entities — now 100% foreign-owned in most sectors.
Right for you if you'll sell directly to UAE-based customers or need on-the-ground UAE operations.
Explore mainland setup →A UAE holding structure above your operating companies — consolidating ownership, dividends and future exits in a 0% personal tax jurisdiction.
Right for you if you own multiple companies or are structuring toward a future sale.
Explore holding structures →Not sure which fits your business?
Take the 60-Second AssessmentOne coordinated plan covering both jurisdictions — including the step generic Dubai agents skip entirely: your UK exit.
A structured review of your business model, profit, and personal plans — ending with a clear yes/no on whether a Dubai structure genuinely works for you.
Freezone, mainland or holding company — matched to your activity, banking needs, and the UAE Corporate Tax qualifying-income rules.
We prepare and file everything for your UAE trade licence — handled remotely while you keep running the business from the UK.
Residency visa, medical and Emirates ID, scheduled around one short Dubai trip — typically 2–3 weeks end to end.
UAE business account applications prepared to pass bank due diligence the first time, with multi-currency access for UK client billing.
The step generic Dubai agents skip: Statutory Residence Test planning, final UK filings, VAT and payroll wind-down — a clean, documented HMRC exit.
Four questions, sixty seconds. We'll tell you honestly — including if the answer is "stay in the UK".
Step 1 of 4
A specialist is reviewing your answers now — expect a personal reply within 2 business hours. Want to talk sooner?
WhatsApp Us NowThe same team that manages your Dubai move looks after clients' UK-side finances every day. Here's what working with us is like.
We originally contacted Route Business Hub because we thought we simply needed a second opinion on our accounts. Instead, they took a step back and looked at our business as a whole. They highlighted areas where our existing structure was costing us more tax than necessary and explained alternative options in plain English. What impressed me most wasn't just their technical knowledge — it was how practical their advice was. Every recommendation was backed by clear reasoning, and they helped us implement the changes rather than leaving us with a report to figure out ourselves. It genuinely felt like having a finance director on our side.
Managing Director, Engineering Company
Bookkeeping was always one of those jobs that stayed at the bottom of my to-do list until it became stressful. I was constantly chasing invoices, trying to work out my cash flow and worrying whether everything was accurate. Since moving over to Route Business Hub, everything is organised and up to date. My monthly reports actually make sense, and I finally feel like I understand how my business is performing instead of guessing.
Founder, Interior Design Studio
Payroll had become one of the biggest headaches in our business. Different shift patterns, pension contributions, holiday pay and HMRC deadlines meant there was always something to worry about. Since Route Business Hub took over, payroll simply runs. Our staff are paid accurately, reports arrive on time and we've stopped spending hours every month checking spreadsheets. It's one less thing for us to think about.
Operations Director, Hospitality Group
Based in Dubai, specialists in UK tax — the combination a UK-to-Dubai relocation actually needs.
Finance Director
7 years advising UK business directors on cross-border structuring — UAE company formation aligned with UK exit planning and HMRC compliance.
Senior Accountant
5 years guiding businesses between the UAE and UK — director remuneration, holding structures, and the UK-side compliance that keeps a move clean.
A Dubai move creates UK work: final corporation tax periods, VAT deregistration, payroll wind-down, and whatever your UK entity keeps doing afterwards. Our UK accounting team handles all of it — the same firm, both sides.
Straight answers — including the ones that involve conditions and caveats.
No. Some directors keep the UK company running as a subsidiary or client-facing entity, some make it dormant, and some wind it down completely — it depends on your customers, contracts and tax position. We plan both sides together, so whatever happens to the UK entity is a deliberate decision, not an afterthought.
The UAE licence itself is typically issued within one to two weeks. Your residency visa and Emirates ID usually take two to three weeks after that, and corporate banking is commonly the slowest step at two to four weeks because UAE banks run their own due diligence. As a realistic end-to-end figure, allow six to ten weeks from engagement to a fully operational company with a bank account.
The company formation itself can be completed 100% remotely — we handle the licence application, approvals and documentation while you stay in the UK. If you want a UAE residency visa, you will need at least one short trip for biometrics and the medical test, which we schedule and coordinate around you.
Personal income tax in the UAE is genuinely 0% — there is no tax on salary or dividends you take as a UAE resident. Corporate profits are taxed at 9% above AED 375,000, and freezone companies can access a 0% corporate rate only on "Qualifying Income" if they meet the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions on an ongoing basis. We model your structure against those rules honestly before you commit — not everyone gets 0%, and anyone who promises it unconditionally is skipping the detail.
No. Your personal UK tax position is decided by the Statutory Residence Test — a day-count and ties-based test that has nothing to do with where your company is registered. Your company can also remain UK tax resident if it is still managed and controlled from the UK. Getting both right is exactly the UK-side planning that generic Dubai formation agents don't do.
Freezone licence packages start from around AED 15,000 (roughly £3,000–£3,500) per year, with the total first-year cost depending on the freezone, the number of visas, and banking and attestation requirements. We quote a fixed, itemised cost for your specific structure before you commit — see our full cost breakdown guide for what's typically included and what gets added later.
It follows where your customers are. If your revenue comes from outside the UAE — UK and international clients, e-commerce, consultancy — a freezone entity is usually simpler, cheaper and entirely sufficient. If you'll trade directly with UAE mainland customers or government entities, mainland is normally the right structure. We recommend one or the other based on your actual business model, not whichever is easier to sell.
Yes — most of our clients keep serving UK and international customers, invoiced from the UAE entity. The details that need planning are UK VAT on those sales, whether any remaining UK activity creates a taxable UK presence, and how existing contracts transfer to the new company. All three are solvable; they just need to be handled before you switch invoicing, not after.
The full picture, in writing — costs, structures, timelines, and the UK exit rules most Dubai formation agents never mention.
Moving a UK business to Dubai is really two projects — a UAE setup and a UK exit — and they only deliver the tax result when they're run as one plan. Here's the complete sequence, including the parts formation agents skip.
Read the guide →"From 15,000 AED" is a real number — but it's the licence, not the whole picture. Here's every line item in a UK-to-Dubai setup, what's optional, and where cheap packages get expensive later.
Read the guide →A UAE free zone entity can unlock significant UK tax advantages for the right director — but only when structured correctly. Discover the three conditions that determine whether it's genuinely worthwhile for your business.
Read the guide →Get a free relocation assessment: a straight answer on whether a Dubai structure works for your business, what it would cost, and what your UK exit involves — from a team that handles both sides.
Limited slots available for new clients.