The British government has temporarily withdrawn the dependants of embassy staff from the United Arab Emirates as a precautionary measure, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced on March 9, UK-based Emerging Travel reported.

The FCDO said its embassies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai continue to operate as normal despite the move, which affects family members of diplomatic personnel stationed in the country.

The decision stops well short of the position adopted by the United States, which on March 3 ordered non-emergency government employees to leave the UAE entirely and closed both its Abu Dhabi embassy and Dubai consulate, suspending all routine consular services.

The FCDO has advised against all but essential travel to the UAE since late February 2026, a designation that in most cases invalidates standard travel insurance policies, a significant concern for the hundreds of thousands of British nationals living and working across the Emirates.

The UAE itself closed its embassy in Tehran and recalled its entire diplomatic mission earlier in the crisis following Iranian missile strikes on Gulf territory. Britain had already urged nationals across Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar and the UAE to register their presence with the government, a step typically reserved for major emergencies, with officials saying the data would inform contingency evacuation planning.

The British Embassy in the UAE also activated emergency helplines for nationals requiring urgent consular assistance, acknowledging publicly that some people were experiencing difficulty reaching staff on UAE phone lines.

The FCDO said in a post on X: "As a precautionary measure, FCDO has decided to temporarily withdraw the dependants of British Embassy staff from the UAE. Our embassies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai continue to operate as normal."

The two main airports in the country, Dubai International (DXB) and Al Maktoum (DWC) are open but only on a limited basis, with significant cancellations and schedule changes still ongoing due to the security challenges from Iran. 

"Travellers are urged to not travel to the DXB or DWC unless they have been contacted by their airline that their flight is confirmed, as schedules continue to change," the airport wrote on its site on March 7. 

Live boards today show a mix of landed, delayed and cancelled flights at DXB, including multiple Emirates and flydubai services still being cancelled or heavily delayed.