Frequently asked questions about buying in Portugal, Spain and Dubai

Yes. Any foreign national may buy property in Portugal with no restriction of nationality or residence, and the purchase may be made in your own name, jointly with others, or through a company. A Portuguese tax number (NIF) is required and, for non-residents domiciled outside the European Union, a fiscal representative must be appointed. You do not need to live in Portugal or hold a residence permit in order to own Portuguese property.

No. The property route to the Residence Permit for Investment Activity (ARI), known as the Golden Visa, was removed for new applications in October 2023 by Lei 56/2023; applications submitted before that date continue to be handled under the previous rules. Routes that do not involve buying property remain in force: qualifying investment funds from €500,000, cultural heritage donations from €250,000, scientific research from €500,000, and job creation. In May 2026 the revision of the nationality law took effect, extending the general periods for naturalisation.

Yes. The Portuguese tax number (NIF) is used throughout the transaction: opening a bank account, the promissory contract of purchase and sale, settling taxes, the deed and registration. It is the first administrative step to deal with, before a property has even been chosen, because obtaining it in a hurry in the week of the offer is one of the most frequent causes of delay. It can be arranged in person or through a representative with the appropriate authority.

For non-residents domiciled outside the European Union. The fiscal representative is the person or entity in Portugal who receives correspondence from the tax authority on the owner's behalf. They have no decision-making power over the property and it is not a power of attorney to buy or sell: it is a tax address with an identified responsible party. It is appointed before the purchase rather than after, and remains in place for as long as ownership continues on those terms.

Beyond the price, a purchase in Portugal involves the municipal property transfer tax (IMT) and stamp duty, both settled before the deed; the deed and registration; legal fees; and a bank valuation where there is lending. Annually, the property is subject to municipal property tax (IMI) and, above a rateable-value threshold, to the additional municipal property tax (AIMI). We do not publish a table of rates here: the rates in force are calculated for the specific property and delivered in writing, with the date of verification.

You do not have to be present. The deed may be executed by an attorney with sufficient powers, provided the power of attorney is prepared in advance and, where it is executed abroad, legalised or apostilled according to the country. A power of attorney dealt with hurriedly in the preceding days is one of the most common causes of a postponed completion, particularly where translation, consular legalisation or an apostille is involved.

You can. The purchase may be made in your own name, jointly with others, or through a company, Portuguese or foreign. The choice has tax and succession consequences that are not the same for every buyer, and it should be decided with tax advice before an offer is made, because changing the structure after the deed has a cost and may trigger further taxation.

No. The Spanish golden visa was repealed with effect from 3 April 2025 by Ley Orgánica 1/2025, and there is no direct replacement by way of buying property. Permits granted before that date remain valid on their own terms. Anyone planning a purchase in Spain on the basis of information from before April 2025 is planning against rules that are no longer in force.

What changed is the relationship between buying property and obtaining residence, and only that. The residence-by-investment route ceased to exist through the repeal effected by Ley Orgánica 1/2025, with effect from 3 April 2025, and it was not replaced. The right to buy did not change: any foreign national may still acquire property in Spain, holding a foreigner's identity number (NIE), and the rules on purchase, registration and transfer taxation remain independent of immigration status. Residence, where it is needed, is now obtained through the general immigration routes rather than through property.

There is a proposal; there is not a tax. The measure was announced in January 2025 and submitted to parliament in May 2025, and on the tracking available the bill was not debated in plenary session and has no application date. It is not in force, it does not apply to any purchase made today, and it may develop in any direction, including not proceeding at all. Any statement that the tax already exists, or any guarantee that it never will, says more than is known. The correct position is the one we apply to all regulatory matter: verify the position at the date of the transaction, date the verification and give the source.

Yes. The foreigner's identity number (NIE) is the tax and administrative identification number for foreign nationals in Spain, and it is required in order to buy, to settle the transfer taxes and to register ownership. It is dealt with before an offer is accepted rather than afterwards: it is an administrative step with its own timescale and, left to the end, it is a frequent cause of delay at signature.

They vary. The purchase of an existing home is taxed through transfer tax, at a rate set by each autonomous community; the purchase of a new-build is taxed through VAT, which is set nationally, plus stamp duty on documented legal acts, whose rate is again set by the community. To those are added notary, registry and administration costs, and then the annual taxation of the property. We do not publish a table by community, because the rates change and an out-of-date table is worse than none: we confirm the rate in force in that community and for that specific transaction, in writing and with a date.

Yes, in the areas designated for it. In Dubai, freehold ownership by foreign nationals is permitted in designated areas, and outside them other forms of tenure apply, such as long-term rights of use. The purchase is registered at the Dubai Land Department, which is the authority that evidences title. You do not need to live in the United Arab Emirates in order to own property there.

The position is determined not by the name of the district but by the registration of the specific plot or building, which is why we do not publish a list of areas. Before any payment we verify with the Dubai Land Department whether the property in question sits within a designated freehold area and on what terms, and that verification is delivered in writing. A developer's brochure or a listing is not an acceptable source for this question, because neither answers for it.

It does, under the rules in force. A registered value of AED 2,000,000 at the Dubai Land Department continues to give access to the 10-year Golden Visa. In 2026 the rules became more accessible: the advance-payment requirement was eased and properties may now be aggregated to reach the threshold. It is the only one of the three markets where buying property remains linked to residence — in Portugal that route ended in 2023 and in Spain in 2025 — and it is the reason the three markets cannot be described in a single sentence.

Oqood is the registration, at the Dubai Land Department, of units sold off plan, before final title exists. It records in the register maintained by the authority the relationship between buyer, unit and project while the building is not yet complete. Before any payment we verify that the project is approved, that the unit is registrable and that the registration is actually made: a contract signed with a developer and left unregistered leaves the buyer in a weaker position than the price implies.

Three mechanisms, and none of them works on its own. The first is the project escrow account: payments go into an account tied to the construction rather than directly into the developer's own assets. The second is registration of the unit with the competent authority, which documents what has been bought before title exists. The third is the contract itself: a payment schedule tied to the construction schedule, clauses on area variation and specification of finishes, penalties for delay and an exit mechanism. Before recommending a first payment we check the developer's record, the state of the project account and each of those clauses.