Register · Dubai and Abu Dhabi
The golden visa through property in Dubai
The value that qualifies, what the application costs line by line, which purchases count — and the term two official hosts state differently.
- Checked2026-09-12
- Documentslisted at the foot of the page
The short answer
A qualifying property, wholly owned, and a renewable permit
An investor owning property worth AED 2MLand Department or more at the time of purchase may apply for a renewable long-term residence permit; the Land Department that runs the Dubai service states 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.
The costs
What the application itself costs
The Department publishes the fees as a breakdown rather than a single number: medical examination, identity card, confirmation of residency, its 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 what we do not print.
- 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.
The rules
What each authority actually requires
Five conditions, each taken from the department that states it: the value, whole ownership, off-plan purchases, mortgaged purchases and health insurance.
Nothing here is a promise about the outcome. These are the published conditions of the service as the two authorities word them; 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.
What we do not print
Two official hosts, two different terms
The Department that runs the service and the federal portal state different terms for a property investor. Both are official, so we print both and pick neither.
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 page states either as settled, ask it for the instrument.
- Which of the two official terms is the right one—
the Land Department and the federal portal state different terms for a property investor; both are printed above and we choose neither
- The cabinet resolution behind the scheme—
the number circulates in secondary write-ups; we found no official English text on the federal hosts to cite, so we cite the departments that run the service
- A part-paid threshold for an off-plan buyer—
the Ministry's condition contains no payment threshold at all, and the rule said to have removed one has no document behind it
- How long the application takes—
no official page states a processing time; the ones in circulation are agents' averages
Checked 2026-09-12
Documents
What this page rests on
One service page, one ministry FAQ and one federal table, read on the day this page was built.
- Service page
DLD e-service «Golden Visa application - Investor», read 12 September 2026
The threshold, the term as Dubai states it, and the fees line by line.
- 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 — the disagreement this page refuses to resolve.
- As filesSend the documents
The instruments, as they stand today
Where the two hosts disagree, both are shown above with their source; we send the current wording as the department states it on the day you apply.
Talk to us
Ask about your own case
Tell us what you own or are buying, and how it is paid for. We come back with the conditions that apply to it and the document behind each one.