Gen Z leads an exodus of British workers to Dubai

UK citizens left the country in rising numbers over the past year, driving a slump in net migration numbers with the majority being young workers aged 16-34, official figures show.

The data emerged a day after Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled biggest tax hike in a generation in her budget, including a mansion tax on properties worth more than £2 million.

In the month running up to the budget there was a 342 per cent increase in online searches for “moving to Dubai” as speculation mounted about tax rises, according to one calculation.

Nine out of 10 British people emigrating are of working age Mary Gregory ,

ONS

Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that migration to the UK, the difference between the number of people moving long-term to the UK and the number of people leaving the country, stood at an estimated 204,000 in the year to June 2025,

That’s down more than two-thirds from 649,000 in the previous 12 months being driven by an increase in people moving out of the country, as well as by fewer people from outside the EU arriving in the UK for work or to study, a the ONS said.

The ONS data for the year ending May shows that of the 693,000 who emigrated, 252,000 were British nationals. Separate figures also released but for the year ending in March show that 174,000 of those who emigrated are aged 16-34. Generation Z is 13-28, while official stats overlaps with younger millennials, or generation Y.

The figure for emigration in recent years is approaching the levels of the early to mid-1970s when the UK’s economic difficulties, including strikes and rampant inflation, led to what was dubbed a “brain drain” of professionals and skilled workers.

Stuart Wakeling the head of the UK office of Henley & Partners, a consultancy which helps high net worth individuals relocate, told The National that for his clients the UAE will be the “number one choice this year”.

He said that when he began working “we received applications from very few British people, if any, per year”.

“How times change. Last year the biggest uptake of services in my office was from Brit[on]s and although we have some time before year end, its looking very similar this year too,” he said.

UK budget spurs ris