Since 29 April 2026 a sole owner qualifies for the two-year Dubai investor visa at any property value. Joint owners need AED 400,000 each. The Golden Visa is still AED 2 million.
Dubai scrapped the minimum. Since 29 April 2026, a sole owner qualifies for the two-year investor residency visa at any property value. The AED 750,000 floor is gone. If you buy jointly, each of you needs AED 400,000 of the property. The ten-year Golden Visa has not moved: still AED 2 million.
The short version
- Two-year investor visa: no minimum property value for a sole owner, as of 29 April 2026.
- Joint ownership: each applicant needs a stake of AED 400,000 or more. Two people buying an AED 800,000 apartment now both qualify. Under the old rules, neither did.
- Golden Visa: unchanged at AED 2 million for ten years.
- The Golden Visa's 50% paid-up requirement was dropped separately, back in February 2026.
- You do not need to live in the UAE to buy, and there is no nationality restriction inside freehold zones.
- The visa renews, and it lives or dies with the property. Sell up and it ends.
Figures current as of August 2026. Dubai changed these rules twice in the first half of the year, so check the date on anything else you read about this.
What actually changed in April
Until April, the two-year property visa needed AED 750,000 of real estate behind it. That number quietly excluded the people most likely to want the visa in the first place: end users, first-time buyers, anyone looking at a studio or a small one-bed.
The Dubai Land Department removed it. Own a property outright, in your own name, and you qualify. The price is no longer part of the test.
The joint-ownership rule is the bit most write-ups get wrong. It did not vanish. It was restructured, and the new shape is more generous than the old one. Each applicant needs AED 400,000 of the property. So a couple buying together at AED 800,000 can both get residency, where that same purchase previously qualified neither of them because the whole property sat under the old AED 750,000 line.
This is the biggest loosening of property-linked residency Dubai has done. It is also four months old, which is why most of the guides you will find still quote a number that no longer exists.
Which visa do you actually qualify for?
| Route | Property value | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Investor (property) visa | No minimum for sole owners. AED 400,000 stake each if joint. | 2 years, renewable |
| Retirement visa (55+) | From AED 1,000,000 | 5 years, renewable |
| Golden Visa | AED 2,000,000 | 10 years, renewable |
Under AED 2 million, the two-year visa is your route and there is no longer a floor to clear. At or above AED 2 million, you are really choosing between renewing every two years and not thinking about it again for a decade.
Does buying an apartment in Dubai give you residency?
Yes. Owning qualifying property is one of the established routes to a UAE residence visa, and right now it is the most accessible it has ever been.
Two things it is not. It is not citizenship. The UAE does not offer a passport through property, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. And it is not permanent in the way people assume: the residency rests on the ownership. Sell the property, and the visa that depends on it goes with it.
What it costs beyond the purchase price
- 4% Dubai Land Department transfer fee. This is the big one.
- No annual property tax.
- No capital gains tax when you sell.
- No income tax on what you earn in rent.
- Agency, registration and visa processing fees on top of all that.
The absence of an annual property tax is the real structural advantage over most European markets, and it compounds quietly over a long hold. It is also the thing buyers forget to price in when they compare a Dubai yield against a Rotterdam or Istanbul one.
The part nobody wants to put in a brochure
A visa is a bad reason to buy an apartment.
Now that the two-year route has no entry price, it is very tempting to find the cheapest thing that qualifies and treat the paperwork as the product. That is how people end up owning a studio in a building nobody wants to rent, with service charges that eat the yield, in a resale market that will remind them of the decision in three years. The visa lasts two years. The apartment is a much longer commitment than that.
Two specifics worth knowing before you sign anything.
Names tell you nothing about freehold status
Foreigners can only own freehold in designated zones, and communities with nearly identical names sit on opposite sides of that line. Jumeirah Village Circle, Jumeirah Lake Towers and Jumeirah Beach Residence are freehold. Much of the original Jumeirah 1, 2 and 3 coastline is not. Check the designation on the actual property with the DLD before you make an offer. The name is not the answer. The designation is.
Service charges decide the yield
They are quoted per square foot per year and the spread between buildings is wide enough to flip a decision. A headline 8% gross in a tower with heavy charges and a struggling owners association can land below a boring 6% in a well-run one. Ask for the actual figure before you fall in love with the view.
If the property stands up on its own merits, the residency is a genuine bonus. If it only makes sense because of the visa, the numbers have not been done yet.
Common questions
What is the minimum property value for a Dubai residency visa in 2026?
There is no minimum for the two-year investor visa if you are the sole owner. The AED 750,000 threshold was removed on 29 April 2026. Joint owners each need at least AED 400,000. The ten-year Golden Visa still requires AED 2 million.
Can two people get residency from one apartment?
Yes, as long as each holds at least AED 400,000 of it. An AED 800,000 apartment split down the middle qualifies both owners.
Do I need to live in the UAE to buy property in Dubai?
No. Residency is not a condition of buying, and there is no nationality restriction inside freehold areas.
Does the Dubai property visa lead to citizenship?
No. It is residency only. The UAE does not offer citizenship through property investment.
Can I get a mortgage and still qualify?
Mortgaged property can qualify, but the requirements differ from an outright purchase, and non-residents are usually asked for 20 to 25% down. Get your specific case confirmed before you commit.
What happens to my visa if I sell?
It ends. The residency is tied to the ownership that supports it.
We work with buyers across Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, and with Persian-speaking and Dutch-speaking buyers in particular. If you want your eligibility checked against your actual budget before you commit to anything, talk to our UAE team or browse what is available in Dubai right now.
Sources: Dubai Land Department reform of 29 April 2026, reported by AGBI, Gulf News, Luxhabitat and Polaris Corporate Services. Figures verified August 2026.
