Property guide · Dubai and Abu Dhabi
The golden visa through property in Dubai
The Dubai golden visa through property: the value that qualifies, what the application costs, whether off-plan and mortgaged homes count, and how long it lasts.
- Value of property that qualifiesAED 2MLand Department
- Term as the Land Department states it, years10Land Department
- Term as the federal portal's table states it, years5Federal portal
- Checked2026-09-12
Who qualifies
A wholly owned property at the threshold qualifies
If the property you own was bought for AED 2MLand Department or more, you may apply for a renewable long-term residence permit; the Land Department, which runs the service in Dubai, gives its term as 10Land Department years.
The threshold is stated the same way by two authorities: the Department that processes the application in Dubai, and the federal ministry that sets the conditions. It may be reached by one property or by several together, and they must be wholly owned by the investor.
Two things people expect to disqualify them do not. A unit bought off plan counts, provided the seller is a local company approved by the competent authority. A mortgaged property counts, provided the loan is from an approved local bank — the Department asks the bank to state how much has been paid.
Application fees
Golden visa fees on top of the price
You pay separately for a medical examination, an Emirates ID, confirmation of residency, the Land Department's own fees and the administrative fees.
None of this includes the property, and none of it includes registering the purchase — those are in the cost of buying. Health insurance for the applicant and the family is a condition of the visa and is bought separately.
A buyer whose qualifying purchase is off plan should read off-plan payment plans first: the money still has to go through escrow, and the sale still has to be in the interim register.
- Value of property that qualifiesAED 2MLand Department
DLD e-service «Golden Visa application - Investor»; the Ministry of Economy and Tourism states the same threshold, across one property or several.
- Term as the Land Department states it, years10Land Department
DLD service page: a renewable residence permit. The federal portal's own table says something else — see Caveats below.
- Term as the federal portal's table states it, years5Federal portal
The federal government portal, summary table, line for investors in real estate; the longer term is given there for public investments.
- Medical examination, AED700Land Department
DLD service page, fees section.
- Emirates ID, AED1,153Land Department
Same section.
- Confirming residency, AED2,856.75Land Department
Same section.
- Land Department fees, AED4,020Land Department
Same section.
- Administrative fees, AED1,155Land Department
Same section.
- Total as the service page adds it up, AED9,884.75Land Department
DLD e-service «Golden Visa application - Investor»; the cost of the property and its registration are separate and are not in this figure.
Conditions
Off-plan and mortgaged property count, with conditions
Five conditions apply: the purchase value, whole ownership, an approved seller for an off-plan unit, an approved local bank for a mortgage, and health insurance for you and your family.
These are the service's conditions as the two authorities word them, not a promise of the outcome: the decision belongs to the federal identity authority, and it is taken on the file in front of it.
- DLD, «Golden Visa application - Investor»The applicant is a real estate investor owning a property whose purchase value reached the threshold at the time of purchase, applying for a renewable residence permit.
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism, conditionsOne property or several may be counted together, and they must be wholly owned by the investor.
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism, off-planUnits bought on the map count towards the threshold, provided the purchase is from local companies approved by the competent local authority.
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism, mortgageA property bought with a loan counts, provided the loan is from a local bank determined by the competent local authority; the Department asks for the bank's letter stating the amount paid.
- Ministry of Economy and Tourism, insuranceThe investor must hold comprehensive health insurance for himself and his family members for the duration of the stay.
Caveats
Two official sources give different visa terms
The Land Department and the federal portal give a property investor different terms, and both are official.
The Dubai service page describes a permit of 10Land Department years for an investor at the qualifying value. The federal portal's summary table gives 5Federal portal years on its line for investors in real estate, and reserves the longer term for public investments. We have no document that reconciles them.
The cabinet resolution usually cited as the legal basis has no official English text we could find, and the rule said to have removed a part-payment threshold for off-plan buyers has no document either — the Ministry's condition never contained such a threshold to remove. Where a website presents either as settled, ask it for the legal instrument.
- Which of the two official terms is the right one—
the Land Department and the federal portal disagree, and both are official
- The cabinet resolution behind the scheme—
its number circulates in secondary write-ups, but no official English text was found on the federal sites
- A part-paid threshold for an off-plan buyer—
the Ministry's condition sets no payment threshold at all, and no document backs the rule said to have removed one
- How long the application takes—
no official page states a processing time; the figures in circulation are agents' averages
Checked 2026-09-12
Sources
Land Department, ministry and federal portal
The Land Department's golden visa service page, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism's conditions, and the federal portal's table of long-term residence visas.
- Service page
DLD e-service «Golden Visa application - Investor», read 12 September 2026
The threshold, the term as Dubai states it, and each fee.
- Ministry
Ministry of Economy and Tourism, conditions for granting a golden visa to an investor in real estate, read 12 September 2026
Whole ownership, off-plan units, mortgaged property, health insurance.
- Federal portal
The federal government portal, the summary table of long-term residence visas, read 12 September 2026
The second, shorter term for investors in real estate.
- DocumentsGet the documents
The source documents
Where the two sources disagree, both are shown above with their source; we send the current wording as the department states it on the day you apply.
Questions
Ask about golden visa eligibility
Tell us what you own or are buying and how it is paid for; we reply with the conditions that apply to it and the document behind each one.