Moving to Dubai: your first 90 days checklist

Before you travel: confirm the route and responsibilities

As of November 2026, the sensible starting point is your actual entry and residence pathway. Get the permit, sponsor details and application references in writing. Do not build the move around an assumption that a tourist entry is a completed route to employment or residence.

The timetable below is an editorial planning aid. It does not give you 90 days of permission to stay. Your permit and the issuing authority determine the deadline, even if housing, schooling or another task is still unfinished.

• Confirm who submits the entry and residence applications.
• Ask which approvals must be completed before you begin work.
• Keep passports, civil-status records and requested qualifications available.
• Ask the relevant service whether foreign documents need attestation or translation.
• Confirm who pays each application cost under your arrangements.

For Dubai-issued visa records, start with GDRFA. For the other emirates, use ICP. Our visa-status guide explains the distinction between a pending application and an issued permit.

Book accommodation that leaves room for the paperwork sequence. Before committing to a long tenancy, check the registration requirements and what documents you will actually have by the proposed start date.

Arrival and the first week

After arrival, check your own authorised stay and keep the entry record with the permit. Ask the sponsor for the next required action and reference. Do not assume the date printed on an entry document answers every question about the permitted stay after entry.

Create a private folder for official PDFs and receipts. Record the task, reference, responsible person, next action and actual deadline. Keep a separate list of questions still awaiting confirmation.

If a deadline is close, move the immigration task ahead of the suggested schedule. See our overstay guide for the standard daily rate and official fine-check routes. A pending application should not be treated as an assumed extension.

Residence, medical fitness and Emirates ID

Coordinate residence approval, the required medical-fitness process and Emirates ID with the sponsor. The UAE Government’s residence guidance sets out the supporting evidence for different cases; use the current service card for your own category.

The UAE Government’s residence medical guidance explains medical-fitness requirements. Use the approved service for your application and follow its booking and document instructions. Do not assume a general health check from another provider substitutes for the required residence certificate.

Ask which application a result belongs to and what happens next. A medical result, fingerprint appointment and issued residence record are separate milestones. Keep the references instead of relying on a single message that “everything is done”.

Use ICP’s official identity-card service for the ID stage. If you are bringing dependants, check our family visa guide. For a possible long-term route, read Golden Visa eligibility before assuming you qualify.

Our Emirates ID renewal guide is useful for later renewals; first issuance uses its own service. Check the correct category rather than submitting a renewal form for a first card.

If a requested document needs correction, find out the exact reason and deadline. Ask the sponsor to provide the official returned-application notice where it controls the account.

Arrange health insurance for each person

The UAE Government’s insurance guidance says Dubai employers must provide employee health cover and sponsors must arrange cover for resident dependants. Health insurance is mandatory in Dubai; check each person’s cover before treating the household arrangements as complete.

Ask for the insurer, policy start date, member details and benefits. Confirm whether your partner and children are actually included. A statement that the job has “medical insurance” does not specify the family’s cover.

• Check the named members and dates.
• Read the provider network and how to find a covered clinic.
• Check approval requirements, exclusions and your own payment share.
• Ask about ongoing treatment and prescriptions before relying on the policy.

Keep the policy information accessible while the ID and residence processes finish. Ask the insurer how it identifies a new member and how details should be updated after the final documents arrive.

Banking: ask for the actual account requirements

Start with the Dubai Government’s personal banking guide. Ask the chosen bank which account is available at your current residence stage and what evidence it needs.

Prepare the identity, residence, address and employment or income evidence the bank requests. Do not assume a salary letter or ID application receipt is accepted everywhere. Get the document list from the bank itself.

Compare minimum-balance terms, salary-transfer conditions and charges using the bank’s own documents. Keep enough accessible money for the period before the account is fully usable. This guide does not quote a universal minimum salary or opening balance.

Give payroll the verified account details through its secure process. Check the first payment and retain the statement. If documents are updated later, ask the bank how to refresh its customer records.

Find a home, register Ejari and activate DEWA

If comparing a renewal quote, use our Dubai rent increase guide. Before signing, compare the tenancy terms with your household needs and available cash. Check the landlord or representative, the unit and the payment schedule. Ask which services and deposits are included and which need separate arrangements.

Register the tenancy through the appropriate DLD channel. Our Ejari registration guide covers documents, responsibilities and channel fees. The issued certificate is a different milestone from signing the lease or paying rent.

For covered tenants, Ejari can trigger DEWA account creation. Check the welcome message, property details and payment instructions. Our DEWA move-in guide explains deposits, activation and the different routes for owners and exempt free-zone tenants.

Confirm supply before the move depends on it. Ask building management about access, delivery arrangements and any services billed separately. Keep a condition record and copies of payments for the eventual handover.

Driving licence exchange and transport planning

Use RTA’s current foreign-licence exchange service to check your issuing country and circumstances. It has a country selector and specific conditions. A static list copied into a moving guide can miss an exception or update.

Check the licence category, validity, nationality conditions and any translation or supporting requirements shown for your selection. Ask RTA which route applies if your licence was itself obtained through an exchange.

If exchange is unavailable, ask RTA about the appropriate learning and testing route. Do not assume a foreign licence or international driving permit gives continuing resident driving permission.

Before choosing a home or buying a car, test the actual commute using current RTA information. Include the school run and working hours in that exercise. Ask what documents and permissions are required before taking a vehicle onto the road.

Schools: check places, documents and the full fee sheet

Start with KHDA’s school information and the schools that meet your curriculum and location needs. Ask each school about a place for the actual child and year group. A listing in a directory is not an offer of admission.

KHDA provides School Fees Fact Sheets through its directory. Read the sheet for the relevant school and year instead of relying on a headline tuition figure.

• Ask for the admission document list.
• Confirm curriculum, year placement and start arrangements.
• Read compulsory and optional charges separately.
• Check transport, refunds and payment dates.
• Keep the written offer and terms before making commitments around it.

Build the school choice into the housing and commute decision. If a document is still being processed, ask the school how that affects registration rather than assuming it can be supplied indefinitely later.

Build your budget from real commitments

There is no verified universal monthly cost-of-living figure in this guide. Build a household budget from the actual rental agreement, official service fees, insurer terms, bank charges, school fee sheet and transport plan.

Separate upfront spending from refundable deposits and recurring bills. Rent instalments and salary dates can create a cash-flow problem even when the annual total looks manageable.

For work planning, read UAE labour law and ILOE insurance. Use the gratuity calculator when reviewing end-of-service planning, and current UAE fuel prices for a driving budget.

Keep a reserve for delays and changes to your own plans. For each quote, record who issued it, what it includes, when payment is due and whether a refund is possible. This is more useful than a city-wide average that does not match your household.

Days 60–90: check that each task is actually complete

Review the official residence record, issued ID, insurance, bank access, Ejari and utility account. Check names and dates across them. Store the final documents beside the receipts so a payment is not mistaken for an approval.

Set reminders for the expiry dates on your own records. Keep an unresolved item open until you have the authority’s answer or confirmation. If an employer or overseas authority asks for a criminal-record document, use our Dubai police-clearance guide.

Finish by checking the next action for every dependant as well as yourself. Their documents, cover and school arrangements may not share your completion date.

Official sources

• UAE Government — moving to the UAE — checked 2026-11-12
• UAE Government — preparing to work — checked 2026-11-12
• UAE Government — visa tracking — checked 2026-11-12
• UAE Government — residence medical conditions — checked 2026-11-12
• ICP — individual services — checked 2026-11-12
• UAE Government — health insurance — checked 2026-11-12
• UAE Government — banking — checked 2026-11-12
• Dubai Government — personal banking — checked 2026-11-12
• DLD — tenancy registration — checked 2026-11-12
• DEWA — move-in — checked 2026-11-12
• RTA — foreign licence exchange — checked 2026-11-12
• KHDA — School Fees Fact Sheet FAQs — checked 2026-11-12