The United Arab Emirates has successfully established itself as a desirable location for businesses, investors, and entrepreneurs alike. The government has introduced a number of initiatives to assist interested people in obtaining residency in the UAE through financial investments.
In this article, we specifically look at the process of obtaining a property owner visa in Dubai. This is a method that aids in obtaining a permanent residence permit in the UAE.
Is Dubai Property Owner Visa any good?
The real estate market in Dubai has performed surprisingly well as the world’s economies continue to recover from the novel Coronavirus, and the value of the total sales transactions registered with the Dubai Land Department has hit a 13-year high in April 2022.
People from all over the world view the UAE as having the best infrastructure, best logistics, opportunities to work for multinational corporations, and efficient laws, to name just a few. As a result, many businesses and investors are considering moving to the UAE.
Global investors have generally been actively seeking to diversify their real estate holdings, with Dubai being one of the best places to invest during the pandemic.
Property investment in Dubai has become more appealing as a result of the Dubai Land Department’s (DLD) announcement in 2019 that two categories of residency visas for the property owner and any dependents would be made easier to obtain.
Eligibility for Property Owner Visa in Dubai
Individuals who choose to invest in residential property worth AED 1 million or more and have a mortgage covering no more than 50% of the property value are eligible. Investors with a minimum share value of AED 1 million in a jointly owned property may submit an application.
The investment can only be made in a single residential property; commercial properties are not permitted. It is also not possible to apply for this visa with an off-the-plan property; the visa is only valid for freehold residential properties.
The visa can be kept for as long as the investor owns property in the nation, with terms ranging from three to five years. For those who have spent AED 1 million or more on a property, a three-year visa is available; for a five-year visa, a property worth AED 5 million or more must be owned.
Dubai Golden Visa through Property Investment
Real estate investors frequently choose to apply for a UAE Golden Investor Visa in Dubai. By making an investment in a property worth a minimum of AED 2 million, you can obtain a 5-year UAE residency visa. As long as there is no mortgage, the money can be split among three different properties.
However, a loan cannot be used to obtain the funds you are investing. Additionally, the asset must be kept for a minimum of three years. People with a UAE property investor visa cannot work there, not even those who are sponsored by the visa holder.
If you do manage to land a job, the company will need to sponsor your application for a new visa before you can begin working. You must put together a diverse investment portfolio in order to obtain a 10-year UAE residency visa. Investors must invest at least 10 million AED.
However, only up to 40% can be used to purchase real estate; the remainder must be allocated to other investments. Three different properties can be purchased with a portion of the real estate investment.
To make the process easier, six-month visas with multiple entries are issued. A special website for Golden Visa applications has been launched by the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.
Additionally, you can apply for a long-term Golden Visa at Amer Centers and Typing Centers (in Dubai).
Requirements to Obtain a Dubai Visa for Property Investors
According to the Dubai Land Department (DLD), the following criteria must be met in order to be eligible for a residency visa:
- The owner of the property is the sole individual owner of the property. Or to put it another way, ownership through a corporate vehicle disqualifies one from applying for a residency visa.
- A title deed issued in the owner’s favor by the DLD is required as proof of complete ownership of the property.
- A five-year Residency Visa cannot be granted to a person whose property was financed; as a result, off-plan property buyers are not eligible to apply for one until the building is finished.
- The owner can apply for a visa once the property is free of all liens, such as mortgages. The property owner will need to be present in Dubai in person for the visa application, and the issuance of a power of attorney to an authorized representative will not be accepted.
- The owner of the property must provide proof of UAE-covered medical insurance.
- However, in the case of the three-year Residency Visa, the property owner is eligible to apply as long as he or she can show that either 50% of the loan amount has been settled or at least AED 1 million has been paid to the mortgagee bank or to the seller.
What happens after the Residence Visa is issued?
Following the issuance of the residency visa, DLD will record a restriction over the identified property that will serve as notice that it was acquired for the purpose of obtaining a residency visa.
The restriction’s main goal is to protect the minimum investment requirement by preventing the investor from selling the property while the visa is still in effect.
As a result, the DLD will cancel the residency visa if the investor decides to sell his property while the visa is still in effect unless he can find a buyer for it.
All UAE visas have a standard requirement that the property owner must be present in Dubai at least once every six months to maintain the status of the property.
What types of property can be bought to obtain residency?
In Dubai, you are free to purchase any type of property, but not all of them will qualify for a residence visa.
For you to be eligible for an investor visa, the residential or commercial property you buy must be finished. Listed below are some things you need to look into:
- Community: Freehold
- Type: Commercial/Residential
- Status: Ready
- Purchase price: AED 1m or more in value
- Mortgage: Conditional
- Joint Ownership: Conditional
Obtaining lifetime residency through property investments in Dubai
If you spend AED 1 million on a property in Dubai, you can apply for residency in the UAE. However, this residency only lasts for three years, and you must renew your visa every three. In Dubai, there is no such thing as a lifetime residency permit.
The government recently announced a 10-year visa for investors and business owners, a 5-year visa for retirees, and a 5-year visa for real estate investors.
What are the documents required to obtain a Property Owner Visa In Dubai?
You will need to get a good conduct certificate from Dubai Police and submit it along with the following documents.
- Original Title Deed
- Passport Copy
- 1x Passport Size Photos (white background)
Some other documents, which may be required depending on case to case;
- Entry/ Current visa copy (If you are on an entry/ tourist/ resident visa in UAE)
- Cancellation Paper (If you had a resident visa that you cancelled)
- Emirates ID Copy (If you had Emirates ID before)
- Attested Marriage Certificate (If the property is jointly owned between husband and wife)
What is the cost of processing the Property Owner Visa in Dubai?
There are two distinct methods here. If you don’t already have a property in Dubai, the first step is to purchase one.
As a general rule, you will also have to pay:
- Additional 6.5% on top of the property’s purchase price
- 2% will be used for brokerage commission
- 4% will be for the Dubai Land Department for registration
- 0.5% will go toward other minor costs like utility registrations, service fees, cleaning, and any small repairs that the property may require.
In terms of the price of obtaining a residency visa, that would be about AED 15,000.
What’s the future of Dubai going to be like?
In the future, Dubai will likely continue to hold the top spot as a desirable location for wealthy investors to obtain property investment visas, which are currently subject to minimal requirements and don’t even require a language test.
The property owner visa for Dubai presents a fantastic opportunity for potential tax savings and a luxurious lifestyle with plenty of sea and sunshine at a time when some nations are considering raising their taxes on the wealthy.
The Dubai government announced Emirati citizenship for several categories in 2021, including real estate investors and the people who depend on them. These citizenship requirements, which are distinct from those for the investor visa, will be covered in another Law Update article in the near future.
