Norway has no double tax treaty with the UAE. The only tax agreement between the two countries is a 2015 agreement on exchanging tax information. So whether a Norwegian working in Dubai owes Norwegian tax depends entirely on Norwegian domestic law. Under section 2-1 of the Tax Act, you stay a Norwegian tax resident until you can show that you spent no more than 61 days in Norway in the year and that neither you nor your spouse, cohabitant or minor children had a home available there. If you lived in Norway for ten years or more, you stay resident for three more income years after the year you leave, whatever you do.
This guide is for Norwegian citizens and long-term Norwegian residents who live and work in the UAE. It covers the exit test, the three-year tail, the one-year rule that can relieve UAE salary while you are still resident, exit tax on shares, and the order to deal with it all.
The UAE side is simple. The UAE does not tax employment income, as our guide to what a tax-free salary really means explains, so every question here is about Norway.
No Treaty, Only an Information Exchange Agreement
Lovdata’s register of Norway’s treaties lists five agreements with the UAE. The only tax agreement among them is the agreement on the exchange of information in tax matters signed on 3 November 2015. The others cover mutual legal assistance, extradition and air services. Nothing on the register relieves double taxation.
That has three consequences:
- There is no tie-breaker. In a treaty, a person resident in both countries is assigned to one of them by a test of permanent home and center of vital interests. Without a treaty, a Norwegian who is resident under section 2-1 is taxed on worldwide income, however strong the ties to Dubai.
- A UAE tax residency certificate does not decide your Norwegian status. It is still useful evidence of where you live and work, but Norway applies its own test.
- The Norwegian Tax Administration can ask the UAE for information about you under the 2015 agreement.
When Norwegian Tax Residence Ends
Section 2-1 of the Tax Act (skatteloven) taxes every person resident in Norway on all income and wealth in Norway and abroad. The table sets out when that ends for someone who moves to the UAE.
| Your history | When residence can end | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Resident in Norway for less than ten years before the year you move | From the income year in which you meet the conditions (section 2-1(3)(a)) | No more than 61 days in Norway in that year, and no home available to you or your close family in Norway |
| Resident in Norway for at least ten years before the year you move | Only after the end of the third income year after the year you move (section 2-1(3)(b)) | The same two conditions must be met in each of those three years |
Example: a Norwegian who had lived in Oslo for twenty years and moved to Dubai in 2026 stays a Norwegian tax resident for 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029. Residence can end from 2030 at the earliest, and only if the 61-day and home conditions were met in 2027, 2028 and 2029.
What counts as having a home in Norway
This is where most people fail the test. The Act defines each part:
- Close family (nærstående) means your spouse, cohabitant or minor children (section 2-1(4)). If your family stays in the house in Bergen while you work in Dubai, you have a home in Norway.
- Having a home available (disponere bolig) means directly or indirectly owning, renting or otherwise having the right to use a home (section 2-1(5)). Ownership through a company counts.
- A home (bolig) is any unit with year-round running water and drainage, unless planning rules prevent it being used as a home, and any unit actually used as a home (section 2-1(6)).
There is one narrow exception: a unit bought at least five years before the year you move, and not used as a home by you or your close family in that period, does not count. Section 2-1(3)(a) also says residence never ends before the point at which you and your close family no longer have a home available in Norway.
The Norwegian Tax Administration’s page on tax emigration gives the practical reading: neither you nor your close relatives can own, rent or have access to a residential property in Norway, with holiday homes treated separately.
Moving back into residence
Even after residence has ended, section 2-1(2) makes you resident again if you stay in Norway for more than 183 days in any twelve-month period, or more than 270 days in any thirty-six-month period. Long summers at home add up.
The One-Year Rule: Relief While You Are Still Resident
Because the three-year tail catches most long-term residents, the question for many Norwegians in Dubai is not whether they are resident but what Norway taxes while they are. The answer for salary is usually the one-year rule (ettårsregelen) in section 2-1(10). Finland has a similar relief, the six-month rule, covered in our guide for Finns in the UAE.
A resident with a work stay abroad lasting at least twelve continuous months can claim a reduction of the total tax equal to the part of the tax that falls on salary for work done abroad during that stay. The Tax Administration’s guidelines on salary earned abroad list the conditions:
| Condition | What it means in Dubai |
|---|---|
| The stay abroad must be a work stay | An employment contract and work done in the UAE |
| At least twelve continuous months | Count from the start of the UAE job; a stay that ends early does not qualify |
| Visits to Norway average no more than six days per whole month | Nine days if the visit is caused by something unforeseeable that neither you nor your employer controls |
| Norway must not have exclusive taxing rights under a treaty | There is no Norway to UAE treaty, so nothing gives Norway exclusive rights |
| The work must not take place mainly outside any state’s territory | Work on UAE soil qualifies; section 2-1(10)(c) treats work on a state’s continental shelf as work on its territory |
Section 2-1(10) contains no condition that the salary has been taxed in the country where the work is done. For UAE salary that is the point that matters.
What the one-year rule does not cover
- Salary for days worked in Norway. Only salary for work done abroad during the stay is relieved.
- Investment income. Interest, dividends, share gains and crypto gains stay taxable in Norway for as long as you are resident.
- Norwegian rent and other Norwegian income.
- Wealth tax. Section 2-1(7) makes wealth tax depend on living in Norway on 31 December of the year before the assessment year, so a resident stays liable to it.
- Salary from the Norwegian state, where the rule only relieves municipal and county tax (section 2-1(10)(d)).
Exit Tax on Shares
Leaving Norway can also trigger exit tax under section 10-70 of the Tax Act. According to the Tax Administration’s exit tax page:
- It covers unrealized gains on shares, fund units, share savings accounts, employee options and some other financial assets.
- The tax arises on the day before you move abroad.
- For moves on or after 20 November 2024, a basic deduction of NOK 3,000,000 applies. The earlier threshold was NOK 500,000.
- Under the current rules the tax must be paid within twelve years unless you return to Norway. The earlier rules had a five-year conditional period.
Anyone moving to Dubai with a sizable share portfolio or a stake in a Norwegian company should work out the exit tax before the move date.
The Order to Do This In
- Count your years of Norwegian residence before the year you move. Ten or more means the three-year tail applies.
- Decide what happens to your Norwegian home. Owned, rented or used by your spouse, cohabitant or minor children, it keeps you resident.
- Keep your days in Norway at 61 or fewer each year, and keep a record of entries and exits.
- While you are still resident, claim the one-year rule on your UAE salary, with evidence that the work stay lasted twelve months and your visits stayed within six days a month on average.
- Declare investment income and wealth for every year you remain resident.
- Check exit tax on shares and similar assets before you leave.
- Claim that your tax residence has ended through the tax return, using the Tax Administration’s “Claim for cessation of tax residence (tax emigration)” option.
For evidence of UAE residence, a certificate is still worth having; see our UAE tax residency certificate guide. The UAE also reports account data under CRS, which our guide on how UAE banks report accounts under CRS explains. Sweden has no treaty with the UAE either; compare our guide for Swedes in the UAE, and for another no-treaty country, Germans in the UAE. Denmark has no income tax treaty with the UAE either, and its salary relief is explained in Danes in the UAE: section 33 A and the 42-day rule.
What We Could Not Verify
- National Insurance (folketrygden) membership while working in the UAE, and whether voluntary membership is worth keeping. It is governed by the National Insurance Act, not the Tax Act, and is not covered here.
- The exact calculation of the one-year rule reduction when you have both Norwegian and UAE salary in the same year. The Tax Administration says it follows the principles of the alternative allocation method; ask an adviser for your figures.
- Whether any tax treaty negotiations with the UAE are underway. We found none on the treaty register as of September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a tax treaty between Norway and the UAE?
No. The only tax agreement is an agreement on the exchange of information in tax matters, signed on 3 November 2015. There is no double tax treaty and no tie-breaker rule.
How many days can I spend in Norway after moving to Dubai?
To end Norwegian tax residence, no more than 61 days in the income year, under section 2-1(3) of the Tax Act. You also must not have a home available to you or your close family in Norway.
Does keeping my house in Norway keep me tax resident?
Yes, if you or your spouse, cohabitant or minor children own, rent or have the right to use it. Residence cannot end while you or your close family have a home available in Norway. Renting it out does not remove it from the test if you still own it.
What is the ten-year rule?
If you lived in Norway for at least ten years before the year you move abroad, residence can only end after the third income year following the year of the move, and only if the 61-day and home conditions are met in each of those three years.
Do I pay Norwegian tax on my UAE salary?
Not if you are non-resident. If you are still resident, you can usually claim the one-year rule in section 2-1(10), which reduces your Norwegian tax by the tax on salary for work done abroad, provided the work stay lasts at least twelve continuous months and visits to Norway average no more than six days per whole month.
Does the one-year rule require the salary to be taxed in the UAE?
No. Section 2-1(10) does not require the salary to have been taxed in the country where the work is done.
Is there exit tax when I move to the UAE?
Possibly. Section 10-70 taxes unrealized gains on shares and similar assets on departure. For moves on or after 20 November 2024 there is a NOK 3,000,000 basic deduction, and the tax must be paid within twelve years unless you return.
How do I tell Skatteetaten my tax residence has ended?
Through your tax return, using the option to claim cessation of tax residence (tax emigration).
Official Sources
- Tax Act (skatteloven) of 26 March 1999 no. 14, section 2-1 (Norwegian)
- Lovdata, Norway’s treaty register: United Arab Emirates (Norwegian)
- Agreement between Norway and the UAE on the exchange of information in tax matters, 3 November 2015 (Norwegian)
- Norwegian Tax Administration, Tax emigration: cessation of tax liability
- Norwegian Tax Administration, Salary earned abroad and the one-year rule (Norwegian)
- Norwegian Tax Administration, Exit tax
Information current as of September 2026. Verify with official authorities before proceeding.
This guide is for informational purposes only and is not tax advice. Norwegian and UAE regulations are subject to change. Always verify current requirements with the relevant official authority, or a licensed tax adviser, before proceeding with any filing or transaction.
