You work in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, in construction, hospitality, aviation, IT or healthcare, with a residence visa and an Emirates ID. Because no tax is withheld from salaries there, many people believe the tax problem has gone away. For ANAF, Romania’s national tax administration, the question remains the same: are you still a Romanian tax resident, and what kind of income do you have?
Under Article 76(4)(o) of the Tax Code, salary received for work actually performed in the Emirates and paid by an employer in the Emirates is not taxable in Romania and is not declared here. The exemption does not depend on whether any tax is levied in the state where you work.
The exemption, however, covers salary only. Anyone who works in the Emirates as a freelancer under a licence, or through their own company in a free zone, has income from independent activities or dividends. If they remain a Romanian tax resident, that income is declared in Romania, and there is no Emirati tax to deduct from it.
It is precisely the absence of tax in the Emirates that makes an ANAF decision weigh heavily: there is no foreign tax credit to reduce it. For that reason, residence and the nature of the income must be proved with documents, for each year. See also what is left of “zero tax” in the Emirates.
It is a common misconception that money from Dubai stays invisible to the Romanian tax authorities. The Emirates have applied the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS) since 1 January 2017, and the first automatic exchanges of information took place in 2018. Emirati banks report the accounts of non-residents, with balances, interest and other receipts, and the data reach the administrations of the states of residence. Through the CRS, data on tens of millions of accounts circulate among more than 100 jurisdictions; in 2022, on 111 million.
The double tax treaty between Romania and the Emirates, in force since 1996, also allows for the exchange of information. And money sent home, accounts in Romania and purchases made here are visible to ANAF in any event.
No one needs to request this data. It reaches ANAF automatically, and ANAF compares it with its own records. If you are recorded as domiciled in Romania, with no explanation for the money from the Emirates, a notice follows.
In the Emirates, many documents are issued only on request and are easily lost when you change jobs. Ask for them while you are there and keep them for each year.
The contract registered with the Emirati authorities and the salary certificate from your employer. They show the employer, your position and your salary.
Salaries are usually paid through the Wage Protection System into local bank accounts. The statements show, month by month, who paid you.
They show the period during which you had the right to reside and work in the Emirates.
The official record of your entries into and exits from the country. It is the most direct evidence of the days spent in the Emirates.
The certificate of tax residence issued on request by the Federal Tax Authority of the Emirates, on the basis of the days spent there and your ties with the country. It is the document that counts most before ANAF.
The registered tenancy agreement for your home in the Emirates. It supports the existence of a permanent home there.
A residence visa from the Emirates is a right of residence, not proof of tax residence. Tax residence in the Emirates is attested by the certificate issued by the Federal Tax Authority, which is obtained only if you meet the conditions on presence and ties with the country. Romania considers you resident if you keep your domicile or your centre of vital interests here (Article 7(28) of the Tax Code).
Someone who has moved to the Emirates with their family, has a home and stable work there, and comes to Romania on holiday has good arguments. Someone whose wife, children and house are in Romania, and who spends a few weeks a year in the Emirates, generally remains a Romanian resident, whatever the visa. Between those two extremes, the treaty between Romania and the Emirates, applicable since 1997, decides. See also dual residence.
In the Emirates, foreigners do not, as a rule, pay contributions to a public pension system; at the end of the contract they receive an end-of-service gratuity from the employer. There is no social security agreement between Romania and the Emirates.
Salary from the Emirates, not being taxable in Romania, is not in principle a basis for calculating CAS, the state pension contribution, or CASS, the health insurance contribution. Contribution claims arise when ANAF treats the income as income from independent activities, or when there are dividends from your own company, for which CASS is calculated according to the statutory thresholds.
ANAF’s right to assess taxes is, as a rule, time-barred after 5 years, counted from 1 July of the year following the year for which the tax is due (Article 110 of the Tax Procedure Code). Where the obligation arises from acts that constitute criminal offences, the law provides for a 10-year period.
The decision may include income tax and social contributions, calculated as if the income had been earned in Romania. For income from the Emirates there is no tax paid there to reduce the amount, so everything depends on proving the nature of the income and your residence.
Interest and late-payment penalties are added for every day from the due date until payment, so the amount grows with each year reviewed.
A decision that is not appealed in time can be enforced, including by garnishment (poprire) of accounts in Romania and by measures against assets held here.
When you buy a house or make large deposits into an account, savings from the Emirates may be treated as unjustified income, taxable at 70%, if their origin is not proved.
I work with Romanians in the Emirates without their having to come to Romania. The legal assistance agreement is signed remotely. Under a lawyer’s power of attorney (împuternicire avocațială), I represent you before ANAF and, if necessary, before the Romanian courts.
We talk by telephone, on WhatsApp or by video call, in real time; the time difference is one or two hours. You obtain the documents from the Emirates from your employer, your bank or the Emirati authorities, and I tell you exactly which ones are needed for each year.
I carry out the analysis as a lawyer, tax adviser and forensic tax expert. For those who work through free-zone companies, I examine together the residence of the individual, the residence of the company and the nature of the amounts received.
No, if the salary is paid by an employer in the Emirates for work performed there. The exemption in Article 76(4)(o) of the Tax Code does not depend on whether any tax is levied in the state where you work.
Not automatically. The visa is a right of residence. What matters is where your home, your family and your interests are, and the proof of tax residence in the Emirates is the certificate issued by the Federal Tax Authority.
If you are a Romanian tax resident, as a rule yes: income from independent activities is declared in Romania, and there is no Emirati tax to deduct from it. If your residence has moved to the Emirates, the obligation falls away.
Do not ignore it, and do not pay before it has been analysed. The decision can be challenged by administrative appeal (contestație) within a limited time, with the documents that show the nature of the amounts and where you were resident in each year.
Yes. The engagement is signed remotely, I represent you before ANAF and the Romanian courts under a lawyer’s power of attorney (împuternicire avocațială), and we communicate by telephone, on WhatsApp or by video call.
Information material, updated on 3 October 2026. It does not constitute legal or tax advice; individual situations must be analysed on their own facts.
The analyses for Romanians who have moved abroad are grouped in the section Romanians living abroad, where you will also find all the countries. The general rule for salary income is explained in Working abroad, and for a specific situation see assistance for Romanians living abroad.
Italy, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, the United States and Canada, the United Arab Emirates and offshore companies.
See all countriesInvoicing via a company in Cyprus, the Emirates, Estonia or the Seychelles while living in Romania? ANAF may treat the money as your income. Effective management, dividends and the defence.
Read the analysisSalary paid by an American or Canadian employer for work performed there is not taxed in Romania. W-2, T4, the tax treaties, FATCA and the social security agreement with the United States, in force from 2026.
Read the analysisSalary paid by a British employer for work performed in the United Kingdom is not taxed in Romania, but self-employed income is treated differently. The new 2026 tax treaty, P60, SA302 and a defence conducted remotely.
Read the analysisSend me the notice or the decision on WhatsApp or by e-mail. I will tell you what can be challenged and which documents from the Emirates are needed.