If you've spent the last ten years building a life in Dubai and you're now moving to the UK, there's a window where your overseas income can stay outside UK tax. It runs for four tax years from the day you become UK resident, and it replaced the old non-dom system on 6 April 2025. The catch is that you have to claim it, and claiming it costs you a few familiar allowances.
TL;DR: The 4-year FIG (foreign income and gains) regime lets qualifying new UK residents pay 0% UK tax on foreign income and gains for their first four years here, whether or not the money is brought to the UK. You qualify if you were non-UK resident for at least 10 consecutive tax years beforehand. You claim it on your Self Assessment return, and for any year you claim, you lose your income tax personal allowance and CGT annual exempt amount.
What Is the 4-Year FIG Regime?
The foreign income and gains (FIG) regime is the relief that replaced the remittance basis when the non-dom rules were abolished on 6 April 2025 (GOV.UK, 2025). Domicile no longer drives how your overseas income is taxed. Residence does.
For your first four years as a UK tax resident, you can elect to pay no UK tax on eligible foreign income and foreign gains. That holds whether or not you bring the money into the UK, and there's no later charge if you do remit it. In our experience advising clients moving between Dubai and Manchester, this is the single biggest planning point people miss in their first UK filing.
Who Qualifies for the FIG Regime?
You're a qualifying new resident if you're UK tax resident under the Statutory Residence Test and you were non-UK resident for at least 10 consecutive tax years immediately before arriving (GOV.UK HS266, 2026). Most long-term UAE expats clear this easily, because the UAE has no personal income tax and many have been non-resident in the UK for well over a decade.
The 10-year test is strict. A single tax year of UK residence inside that window breaks the streak, and you'd no longer qualify. Members of the House of Commons or House of Lords are excluded regardless.
How Long Does the Relief Last?
The relief covers a maximum of four consecutive tax years, starting from the year your UK residency begins. You can't roll unused years forward. If your residency started before 6 April 2025, you claim from 2025-26 up to the last year of your original four-year window, so part of the relief may already be gone.
One question clients always ask is what happens if they leave again. If you become non-resident partway through, you can't claim for the years you were away, but you can pick up any remaining years when you return inside the four-year period.
What Does Claiming the FIG Regime Cost You?
For every tax year you make a FIG claim, you give up your income tax personal allowance (£12,570) and your capital gains tax annual exempt amount (GOV.UK, 2025). You also lose the Married Couple's Allowance, Marriage Allowance, and Blind Person's Allowance for that year.
That trade-off matters. If your foreign income in a given year is small and your UK income is modest, the lost allowances can outweigh the relief. What we see most often is that the regime pays off strongly in years with large overseas dividends, rental income, or capital gains, and less so in a quiet year. You claim per year, so you can take it in the years it helps and skip the years it doesn't.
What About Foreign Salary and Overseas Workday Relief?
Foreign employment earnings don't qualify for the FIG regime, but they may qualify for Overseas Workday Relief (OWR) instead. OWR was reformed alongside the non-dom changes and now runs for four tax years of residence, up from three (Deloitte, 2024).
From 6 April 2025, OWR is capped at the lower of 30% of your qualifying employment income or £300,000 per tax year. You no longer have to keep the relevant earnings offshore, which removes a long-standing administrative headache. If you're relocating from the UAE for a role with overseas duties, this is the relief to model alongside FIG, not instead of it.
Already a Former Non-Dom? The Temporary Repatriation Facility
If you used the remittance basis before 6 April 2025, you have a separate transitional break. The Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF) lets you designate pre-2025 foreign income and gains and bring them to the UK at a reduced rate: 12% for 2025-26 and 2026-27, then 15% for 2027-28 (Deloitte, 2025).
That compares with tax of up to 45% that would otherwise apply on a remittance. The window is short and the rate steps up, so anyone sitting on previously unremitted overseas funds should run the numbers before the 12% rate closes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does income earned in the UAE count as foreign income under the FIG regime?
Yes. Income that arises outside the UK, including UAE rental income, overseas dividends, and foreign investment gains, is eligible foreign income and gains. UAE employment salary is treated separately and is covered by Overseas Workday Relief rather than the FIG regime, where the conditions are met.
Do I have to bring my foreign income to the UK to be taxed under the old rules?
No. Under the FIG regime there's no remittance test at all. You can leave the money offshore or bring it to the UK during a year you've claimed relief, and either way there's no UK tax on it. This is the main difference from the old remittance basis.
How do I actually claim the FIG regime?
You make the claim on your Self Assessment tax return for each year you want it to apply. You choose which foreign income and which foreign gains to claim relief on, so you don't have to claim everything. Missing the filing deadline can cost you the relief for that year, so the return needs to be accurate and on time.
Is inheritance tax affected by these changes too?
Yes. From 6 April 2025, exposure to UK inheritance tax also moved to a residence basis rather than domicile. Long-term UK residents come into scope for IHT on worldwide assets, so anyone relocating from the UAE should review their estate position separately from their income tax planning.
What happens after the four years end?
From your fifth year of UK residence, your worldwide income and gains become taxable in the UK in the normal way, with your allowances restored. The four-year window is a one-time arrival relief, so it's worth using the time to structure overseas assets before it closes.
Planning a move from the UAE to the UK, or already here and unsure whether the FIG regime applies to your situation? Get in touch - we advise clients across both jurisdictions and can model whether claiming the relief, using Overseas Workday Relief, or designating funds under the TRF leaves you better off. For more on the practical side of running across both countries, see our guide to UK-UAE dual jurisdiction mistakes, and if you're setting up a UK company, our comparison of sole trader vs limited company and our director salary and dividends guide are good next reads.