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Meet Dubai resident who helps expats relocate from UAE with ease
Through a hands-on, cross-border service, entrepreneur Andy Fordham handles car returns and home closures
- PUBLISHED: Fri 24 Apr 2026, 11:40 AM UPDATED: Fri 24 Apr 2026, 12:17 PM
Dubai-based entrepreneur Andy Fordham has turned the often stressful process of relocating or repatriating into something far less daunting: a niche support ecosystem for expats. A one-man, concierge-style service, Clear Path is a UAE startup that handles the many logistical challenges people face when relocating.
Born in the UK and raised in New Zealand, Fordham moved to Dubai in 2008 to step outside his “comfort zone and work in a more multicultural and dynamic career space". He spent decades in event and project management before pivoting into an entirely new kind of logistical operation.
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Today, he has become the go-to person people call to tie up loose ends when they are preparing the big move.
The idea for Clear Path emerged in the thick of the geopolitical climate when he saw how vulnerable people were to panic pricing and convoluted services. “When I saw some car services charging up to Dh50,000 to transport people one way to Muscat, I realised there was a gap for something more humane, transparent and grounded in real costs."
What began as a two-week “time filler” while he was between roles has since evolved into a licensed startup, built around the simple promise of helping people move homes with care.
A startup built in an airport car park
Fordham's flagship service is car collection from Oman to the UAE, a niche that emerged the first time he walked into Muscat Airport’s car park. "When I first went to Oman, I counted more than 600 UAE-registered cars in the airport car park," he says. "I decided that there needed to be a service which expats would gladly avail as most would fly back into Dubai or Abu Dhabi when they returned."
Behind the scenes, the process is surprisingly personal and hands-on for a service that could easily have been another faceless logistics operation. “Once a client gets in touch, I issue a quote, agree on a date and take a deposit. I then book my flight, travel to Muscat, locate the vehicle, settle any parking dues and drive it back to the client’s UAE residence.”
There are no fleets or anonymous drivers involved, just Fordham, a flight booking and a six-hour drive across the border.
Who calls Clear Path
So far, his typical customer profile is fairly consistent. “Mostly western expats, professionals,” he says. “I have not really encountered huge urgency, but I handle each request as they come in and schedule accordingly.”
Those clients could already be out of the country by the time they contact him or still be here but want someone reliable to manage a complex, cross-border errand they don’t have the time or headspace to take on themselves.
What it costs
On the pricing front, Fordham is clear that Clear Path is not a bargain-basement operation, but he’s equally clear that it's not the business of exploiting people.
“As an event management and project management professional with 35 years’ experience, I know my worth and my professional approach to business,” he says, adding that he’s previously worked closely with Dubai Tourism.
So, when it came to pricing, he approached it like any other project. “When setting my fees, I calculated the time involved, whether it’s taking a car to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, which are my two main markets," he adds.
"My fee for Dubai and Sharjah is Dh1,950 and for Abu Dhabi, it’s Dh2,900. The client also covers my taxi to the airport, airfare, parking costs at Muscat Airport, fuel for the return journey and my taxi home after I drop off their car," says Fordham.
In other words, clients pay for a clear professional fee and then the actual pass‑through costs of getting their vehicle.
Building trust
Any service built around money, cars and cross-border movement lives or dies on trust. Fordham is acutely aware that clients are asking him to take charge of one of their biggest assets.
“These types of services involve money, legal deadlines and a lot of trust,” he acknowledges, adding that to reassure people, he leans heavily on his reputation and track record. “I share my professional background and offer referrals and testimonials from clients. I am well known in my professional and sporting circles.”
For Fordham, at its core, the service is about being the person who removes one major worry from a family’s plate at a time when they are already navigating the broader challenges of repatriation.
From boredom to full-fledged business
Interestingly, the venture didn’t begin as some long‑nurtured startup dream, but almost as a side experiment, says the expat. “To be honest, I tested the market as a time filler for two weeks while not working. I hate being bored,” he adds. “Then, on one of the six‑hour drives to Dubai, I conceived the whole business on numerous WhatsApp messages, emails and phone calls.”
But ultimately, it’s the desire to reduce the emotional load of repatriation that shapes how Fordham treats both clients and their vehicles. “I always want a happy customer and I drive their cars as if they were my own,” he says. “One of the cars I recently drove was very dirty by the time I got back to Dubai, so I took it for a wash… all cars look better when they’re clean! I take pride in the work I do.”
Find out more about the services on clearpathexitservices.ae
