What leaving costs, by country: exit taxes and tails for people moving to Dubai
Fifteen countries compared on one question: what does your home country charge you for leaving, and how long does it keep a hold on you afterwards. With the rule named in each case.
Almost everything written about moving to Dubai covers the arrival. The licence, the visa, the Emirates ID, the zero percent. That side is well documented and, frankly, the easy part.
The expensive side is the country you are leaving, and it is covered far less often, usually because whoever is writing has something to sell on the Dubai end.
This is the other half. Fifteen countries, one question each: what does leaving cost, and how long does the tail run?
The short answer, in one table
| Country | Charge on leaving | How long the tail runs | Treaty with the UAE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | Yes, must be paid within twelve years | 3 years after the year of departure | No |
| Denmark | Yes, on shares and crypto | Until the home is genuinely given up | No |
| France | Yes, and the Emirates are off the automatic deferral list | 2 years, 5 for larger portfolios | Yes |
| Spain | Yes, above high thresholds | 5 years | Yes, but only for UAE nationals |
| Netherlands | Yes, twice over, shares and pensions | Unlimited on shares since 2015 | Yes, but only for UAE nationals |
| Belgium | Yes, new since 1 January 2026 | 24 months, then it falls away | Yes |
| Poland | Yes, above four million zloty | None | Yes, but only for Polish leavers who are UAE nationals |
| Canada | Yes, no threshold, deferral is free and open ended | None | Yes |
| Australia | Yes, or a permanent tie instead | Permanent, if you take the election | No |
| United Kingdom | No | Up to 10 years of inheritance tax | Yes |
| Ireland | No | 3 years on worldwide income, 5 on shares | Yes |
| Italy | No, not for private individuals | No time limit, because the burden of proof reverses | Yes |
| Sweden | No | 10 years on share gains | No |
| Finland | No | 3 calendar years, Finnish citizens only | Yes |
| United States | Only if you renounce | Permanent, through the charge on heirs | No |
Germany, Austria and Switzerland are covered on our German site, where that audience actually reads.
Four things this table hides
A missing exit tax is not good news. Italy has none for private individuals and is one of the harder countries on the list, because it has treated the Emirates as a privileged tax jurisdiction since 1999. Registering as resident abroad does not end Italian tax residence, and the burden of proof sits with you, with no time limit. Sweden has none either, and then runs ten years on share gains with no treaty to slow it down.
The treaty you are counting on may not apply to you. Spain, the Netherlands and Poland all define a UAE resident individual, for treaty purposes, as a UAE national. A Spanish, Dutch or Polish citizen living in Dubai on a residence visa is therefore not a treaty resident at all. No tie-break rule, no protection. This is the most commonly missed point across the whole set, and it is written plainly in the treaty text in each case.
Deferral is not the same as forgiveness. Canada defers free of charge and free of time limit, until you actually sell. Norway defers and then demands payment after twelve years whether you sold or not. Those are opposite arrangements described with the same word.
Some tails are attached to your citizenship, not your residence. The Netherlands keeps Dutch nationals in inheritance and gift tax for ten years after they leave. Finland’s three year rule applies only to Finnish citizens. The United States goes furthest: a covered expatriate leaves a 40 percent charge on anything an American receives from them, for good.
The pattern worth taking away
Across all fifteen, the same three mistakes cost the most money.
- Doing it in the wrong order. Most of these rules reward planning and punish improvisation. France wants a declaration ninety days before departure. Canada wants a form by 30 April of the following year. Denmark wants an application by 1 July. Miss the paperwork and you lose the relief, not the tax.
- Selling at the wrong moment. Several countries treat a sale made around the move very differently from one made before or well after. California withdraws its safe harbour retroactively over investment income in the relevant year. The Netherlands releases a protective assessment only in narrow circumstances that a move to the Emirates usually does not satisfy.
- Assuming the treaty does the work. See above. Check whether the treaty covers you personally before you build anything on it.
What we actually do
We are accountants in the Emirates. We handle the UAE side: company setup, bookkeeping, corporate tax and VAT registration, the filing deadlines, and the reporting a free zone company has to keep up.
That side has published fees and fixed dates, and you can work out what it costs for your own case in the company cost calculator, fee by fee, without giving us your details.
The rules on this page are not ours to advise on, and we will not pretend otherwise. Take the relevant article to an adviser in the country you are leaving, and do it while you still have choices, which means before the move rather than after it.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries charge an exit tax when you move to Dubai?
Of the fifteen covered here, Norway, Denmark, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Canada, Australia and, since 1 January 2026, Belgium all have a charge triggered by leaving. The United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Finland do not tax unrealised gains on departure, and the United States taxes only if you give up the citizenship.
Which country is hardest to leave?
On the charge itself, Norway. Since March 2024 the tax has to be paid within twelve years whether or not you ever sell, and losses after departure no longer reduce it. On the broader position the United States is harder still, because the tax obligation follows the citizenship rather than the residence, so moving changes very little by itself.
Does a double tax treaty with the UAE protect me?
Only if you fall under it. The treaties Spain, the Netherlands and Poland signed define a UAE resident individual as a UAE national, so a Spaniard, a Dutch or a Polish citizen living in Dubai is not a treaty resident at all. Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Australia have no income tax treaty with the Emirates in the first place.
How long does my home country keep taxing me after I leave?
It varies from nothing to ten years. Sweden runs ten years on share gains, the Netherlands keeps Dutch nationals ten years in inheritance and gift tax, the United Kingdom keeps up to ten years of inheritance tax exposure, Ireland three years of worldwide income, Finland three calendar years for its own citizens. France releases after two or five years, Belgium after twenty four months if nothing is sold.
Is an exit tax the same as a departure tax at the airport?
No. An exit tax is a tax on the gains built up in your assets, charged as though you had sold everything on the day you stopped being resident, even though nothing was sold and no money arrived. Turkey has a small administrative departure levy, which is a different thing entirely and costs very little.
Can you advise on my home country tax position?
No, and you should be wary of anyone in Dubai who says they can. We handle the UAE side, company setup, accounting, tax registrations and deadlines. The rules described here belong with an adviser in the country you are leaving, and the work belongs before the move, not after it.