About
From dentist to Dubai: my story
For colleagues who want to know who they would be talking to before they book. Dr Deepak Songra BDS (GDC: 68552), over 35 years in UK dentistry, now a RERA-registered broker in Business Bay.
I am a UK-qualified dentist with over 35 years in NHS and private practice, the founder of Petdentist, a Dubai resident since my own relocation, an off-plan buyer, a UAE Golden Visa holder, and since 2026 a RERA-registered broker (BRN 84122) with Provident Real Estate in Business Bay. I own property in Dubai. Last reviewed 22 October 2026.
Why did a dentist leave the UK?
Not to escape. After three decades of treating patients and running practices, I wanted the next chapter on my own terms, and I had watched colleagues talk about Dubai for years without anyone giving them straight answers. I came to look, I stayed, and I bought. The first purchase taught me more about Dubai property than any brochure: what a Form F is, why the DLD charges 4%, how an escrow account protects an off-plan buyer, and how long DataFlow really takes when a certificate is missing a stamp.
What was the Golden Visa like in practice?
Slower and more paper-driven than the adverts suggest, and entirely doable. The property route needs a DLD-assessed value of AED 2 million or more; since the February 2026 ICP circular, mortgaged and off-plan property can qualify on that assessed value with no minimum paid-in amount, with a bank NOC for mortgaged property. I write it up properly on the Golden Visa page, including what has changed and what still has to be confirmed at the time you apply.
Why Provident, and why become a broker at all?
Because the honest way to help colleagues buy property in Dubai is to be licensed to do it. Dubai requires brokers to be RERA-registered and to advertise under a licensed brokerage with a permit number on every listing. I chose Provident Real Estate Broker L.L.C (ORN 1933), one of the larger established brokerages in the city, because it gives my clients a compliance department, an escrow-aware transaction team and access to every major developer, and it gives me a desk in Business Bay from which to run clinic transactions properly. Dubaiesque is my personal brand and trading name; it is not itself a brokerage, and I say so on every page.
Dr Deepak Songra BDS (GDC: 68552). RERA broker BRN 84122. Consultant, Primary and Secondary Sales, Provident Real Estate. LinkedIn | Provident profile
What do I actually do for a colleague?
- Relocation guidance: the DHA or MOHAP route for your profession, documents, timelines stated as typical, where to live, what a first contract should say.
- Residential property: off-plan and secondary purchase, sale, leasing and management referrals, handover and snagging, Golden Visa property sourcing.
- Healthcare property: sale and acquisition of licensed clinics, polyclinics and DHA-approvable premises, due-diligence coordination, the dual-track DLD and DHA process.
- Introductions: tax advisers, mortgage brokers, PROs and lawyers I have used myself. I am a broker, not a tax, legal, immigration or financial adviser, and I will tell you when you need one.
My promise
- Every figure on this site carries a date and a source, or it is not here.
- No pressure, no urgency language, no projections of growth. Numbers first, adjectives after.
- Fees confirmed in writing before any work starts; most buyers pay nothing on developer off-plan.
- A written summary within 48 hours of every call, whether or not you go further.
What drives me
I spent my career telling patients the truth about what they needed and what they could leave alone. Property is no different. The colleagues I enjoy working with most are the ones who arrive with a spreadsheet and a healthy suspicion of anyone who promises a certain return. If that is you, we will get on.
Why Dubai, honestly
- Tax: There is no UAE personal income tax and no capital gains tax on personal property. Your home-country rules may still apply to you (UK and US residents in particular). UAE corporate tax at 9% can apply to business and short-let income above AED 375,000. The Dubai Land Department charges a 4% transfer fee on purchases.
- Residency: a long-term visa tied to property or profession rather than to an employer, under rules set by the ICP and the DLD.
- Work: a regulated healthcare market under the DHA, with hospital groups, polyclinics and single-chair practices all hiring UK-trained clinicians.
- Life: year-round sun, a twenty-minute city, and communities that welcome dogs (Merlo, my Cavapoo, has an opinion on most of them).
- The honest caveats: it is hot from June to September, rents rise and fall with the market, and your UK or US tax position does not disappear when you land. Take advice.
Figures are indicative, dated and sourced where shown; they are not advice and not a guarantee. Dubaiesque is a broker, not a tax, legal, immigration or financial adviser. Take independent advice before you commit.
Where next?
Healthcare property
Clinics, polyclinics and DHA-approvable premises, bought and sold on a dual track.
Go to the hubReady to talk it through?
A 30-minute call, a written summary within 48 hours, no obligation.