Dubai’s double life: OnlyFans creators flock to tax haven while bans loom

A growing number of OnlyFans creators are relocating to Dubai, drawn by a favorable tax environment and a government-backed visa program, even as the United Arab Emirates maintains strict bans on pornography and public displays of affection. The trend underscores a broader shift in the online-content economy, where the financial calculus of earnings, taxes and residency increasingly shapes where talent chooses to live and work.

Elle Brooke, a 27-year-old former law student who rose to prominence as a top OnlyFans creator, epitomizes the move. With millions of followers across TikTok, Instagram and X, she derives a sizeable portion of her income from subscriptions on OnlyFans, where subscribers pay about £22 per month for explicit content. Brooke has flaunted a luxury lifestyle—holidays, high-end dining and a newly purchased Bentley—on social media, including a public display outside a dealership. She has spoken openly about the tax drive behind her decision to relocate, telling a journalist, “I came here because of my tax bill. It has gone from half of everything I earn to almost nothing.” Brooke’s public profile and wealth reflect the high-stakes economics of a creator economy where revenue randomization and brand deals increasingly hinge on platform visibility.

Dubai’s appeal to digital creators sits at the intersection of tax policy, immigration incentives and a permissive, cosmopolitan environment that many perceive as business-friendly. The UAE’s status as a tax haven has made Dubai one of the world’s fastest-growing hubs for OnlyFans production, according to industry insiders. Jordan Smith, a Manchester-based manager who runs Rebel, which represents 47 creators on the platform, estimates that roughly a quarter of Britain’s adult stars have relocated to the Gulf over the past two years. The move, he says, began in earnest after HM Revenue & Customs began cracking down on influencers who failed to declare earnings to the taxman in 2023. That year, HMRC sent thousands of letters to creators, and Fenix International, OnlyFans’ parent company, started sharing income data with tax authorities. “Quite a few creators ended up getting investigated, and paying fines,” Smith said. “When something like that happens, people search for a solution, and for many of them, it’s been moving out there.”

Dubai has not embraced the sex-industry economy wholesale, but it has adopted a pragmatic posture toward influencer-driven income. The emirate rolled out an “influencer golden visa” earlier this year, granting long-term residency—up to ten years—for high-profile social-media figures, as part of a push to attract content creators and promote the city as a tourist and business destination. The policy aligns with a broader strategy to monetize digital influence while maintaining the country’s conservative social code in public life. Industry insiders say the practical barrier for many creators is the banking system and payment processing, with some reporting that no local banks will handle payments for OnlyFans’ parent company, necessitating alternative arrangements such as online payment platforms.

The ecosystem that has grown around Dubai includes several major agencies that cater specifically to OnlyFans talent. Elite OnlyFans Management and Banx Management both say they operate Dubai branches, while the Colorado-based Bunny Agency highlights a “Dubai Advantage” for models, noting the city’s internet penetration and diverse population as favorable for digital entrepreneurs. The Bunny Agency’s Dubai-focused initiatives include a “Dubai Summit” featuring models at local landmarks, illustrating how promoters leverage the city’s glamor to attract subscribers and brands alike. Such activity reflects a broader reality, according to insiders, that successful online sex-work enterprises depend on visibility, access to audiences and the ability to navigate local restrictions discreetly.

But the Dubai reality comes with significant risks. Legal authorities maintain strict cybercrime, privacy and defamation laws, and commentators warn that content perceived as provocative can trigger criminal action despite the wider tolerance seen in some expatriate circles. Radha Stirling, who runs Detained In Dubai, cautions that influencers “are at real risk of police complaints and prosecution under the UAE’s strict cybercrime, privacy and defamation laws.” Enforcement can be arbitrary, and no influencer should assume immunity. There are also documented safety concerns connected to the broader sex industry in the city. In a BBC documentary aired this week, the cases of Monic Karungi, a Ugandan influencer who died in 2022 after a reported incident at a luxury event, and Maria Kovalchuk, a Ukrainian model who was found seriously injured after attending an event with Russian men, illustrate the potential dangers associated with the high-rolling lifestyle that some creators pursue in the region. Local authorities’ response to such incidents has, at times, been slow or opaque, and CCTV records have been reported as erased in the aftermath of investigations.

The push to attract content creators isn’t limited to personality-driven branding and visa schemes. Some creators and managers discuss tax-optimization strategies that span multiple jurisdictions, including arrangements where a UK-registered entity accepts payment from the Dubai-based intermediary while funds flow to a Dubai-registered agent. Tax specialists have described scenarios in which relocating entities, combined with reorganized revenue streams, could reduce UK tax exposure. One tax adviser, Joshua Tharby, has described a multi-entity structure designed to minimize tax liabilities, noting that relocation requires a substantial physical presence in the UAE to be effective. Critics argue that such schemes can border on aggressive tax planning and require careful legal and financial oversight to remain compliant with international tax rules.

The landscape reflects a broader trend: the world’s most successful online sex-creators often combine audience reach with complex financial engineering and the flexibility of cross-border residency programs. Dubai’s influencer visa program, described by promoters as an engine to attract thousands of creators, is part of a broader strategy to turn the city into a magnet for digital content, tourism and commerce. The program’s stated objective is to bring up to 10,000 content creators to the UAE, while the reality for many is a carefully negotiated blend of brand sponsorship, premium content revenue and, for some, income from platforms that remain offline in the local regulatory environment.

For now, Dubai’s tolerance appears to hinge on discretion and scale. The emirate’s strict anti-pornography regime is not being uniformly enforced against all forms of online content, particularly when it is produced within the private sphere and conducted largely behind closed doors. Still, the risk of enforcement remains real for those who cross visible boundaries or invite public controversy. The tension between a permissive business climate for digital entrepreneurs and a conservative legal framework continues to shape where some of the world’s most successful adult-content creators decide to live and work, with Dubai at the center of a complex, evolving story about money, migration and morality in the digital age.