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Dubai property investment
Any foreign national may hold freehold property in Dubai's designated areas. It is the one market of our three where buying still connects to residency: AED 2,000,000 of value registered at the Dubai Land Department gives access to the ten-year Golden Visa.
This page sets out what a purchase does and does not give, who registers what, what protects money in an off-plan purchase, and the points at which a Dubai acquisition does not resemble an Iberian one. All Dubai material uses sq ft and AED, whichever language you read it in.
Can a foreign national buy in Dubai?
Yes. Freehold ownership is available to foreign nationals in the areas designated for it, with no requirement of prior residence and no restriction of nationality. The right comes from registration: it is the entry at the Dubai Land Department (DLD) that creates and proves title, not the contract signed between the parties.
The first question about any property is neither the price nor the floor plan: it is whether the area it sits in allows freehold ownership by a foreign buyer. That confirmation is made for the specific property and with the DLD, before any offer, because it is the one answer that admits no interpretation.
The purchase may be of a completed property or of a unit still under construction. These are two different transactions carrying two different risks: on a completed property you verify what exists; on an off-plan unit you verify a contract, a developer and a payment mechanism. The off-plan page deals with the second case in detail.
Does buying in Dubai give access to residency?
It does. The threshold of AED 2,000,000 of value registered at the Dubai Land Department for the ten-year Golden Visa remains in place. In 2026 the rules became more accessible: the advance-payment requirement was eased, and properties may now be aggregated to reach the threshold.
This is where Dubai separates from the other two markets we cover, and the difference is not one of degree. In Portugal, the property route into the Residence Permit for Investment Activity (Autorização de Residência para Investimento, ARI) was removed in October 2023 by Lei 56/2023. In Spain, the golden visa was repealed with effect from 3 April 2025 by Ley Orgánica 1/2025, with no direct replacement. The same capital, placed in property, produces entirely different residency outcomes depending on the jurisdiction.
None of this turns a property into a visa. What gives access is the registered value, under the rules in force on the date of the application, and the application runs through its own administrative route. Buying a poor property that meets the threshold is still buying a poor property.
| Market | What buying gives today | Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | A ten-year Golden Visa from AED 2,000,000 of registered value. Rules eased in 2026 on advance payment and on aggregating properties. | United Arab Emirates Golden Visa framework · registration at the Dubai Land Department |
| Portugal | Nothing. The property route into the Residence Permit for Investment Activity (ARI) was removed for new applications in October 2023. The fund, cultural donation, research and job-creation routes remain. | Lei 56/2023 |
| Spain | Nothing. The golden visa was repealed with effect from 3 April 2025, with no direct replacement. Permits granted earlier remain valid. | Ley Orgánica 1/2025 |
All three lines are true as at the date below and are confirmed against the primary source before any decision. A plan built on the information circulating in 2022 fails in two of the three markets.
Read the guide: what property buys and what it does notWhat does the Dubai Land Department do?
The Dubai Land Department (DLD) is the authority that registers rights over property in the emirate. Understanding what each registration actually does is what separates an informed buyer from one who has signed a contract and assumes it protects them.
| Instrument | What it is | What it secures |
|---|---|---|
| Registration at the Dubai Land Department (DLD) | Entry of the right over the property with the emirate's authority. | Registration is what creates and proves title. Without it there is a contract between two people, not a right good against the world. |
| Oqood registration | Registration of a unit bought off plan, before the property is completed. | Records the buyer's position over a unit that does not yet physically exist, within the DLD's system. |
| RERA project approval | Regulatory approval of the development by the emirate's real-estate regulator. | Indicates the project is within the framework and supervised. It is a check to run on the specific project, not a characteristic of the developer. |
| Project escrow account | An account tied to the development, into which off-plan buyers' payments are channelled. | Separates buyers' money from the developer's general funds and ties it to the project it was paid for. |
None of these instruments replaces reading the contract. They ensure the transaction is registered and within a framework; they do not set delivery dates, late-delivery penalties, area variation, or what happens if what is delivered differs from what was promised. That sits in the contract, which is why, off plan, the contract matters more than the plan.
Who may act as an agent in Dubai
Agency work in the emirate is carried out under registration: the agency holds an ORN and the individual consultant a BRN, issued within the Dubai Land Department framework. Asking for both before working with anyone is the fastest check a buyer can run, and the one most rarely run.
Rhamos Properties' ORN is published here, in the footer and on the licences page as soon as it is confirmed. Until then we publish no number at all: an invented professional registration is the one category of error worse than holding none.
How does a purchase in Dubai run?
The sequence is stable; the calendar depends on whether there is finance, on the state of the unit, and on the diligence of the seller or developer. The table shows what each stage settles and what usually holds it up.
| Stage | What it settles | What can delay it |
|---|---|---|
| Criteria, area and confirmation of freehold status | Intended use, holding horizon, total budget, and confirmation that the area permits freehold ownership by the buyer. | Starting from a property rather than from a set of criteria. |
| Contract of sale | Price, deposit, deadlines, penalties and what happens if the transfer cannot proceed. This is the point at which money is at risk. | Amounts or obligations outstanding on the unit on the seller's side. |
| Verification | The state of the title or of the Oqood registration, registered charges, the unit's service-charge account, the building's budget and reserve fund and, off plan, the position of the developer and the project. | Documents the seller or the building manager is slow to produce. |
| Transfer and registration at the Dubai Land Department | Entry of the right in the buyer's name and issue of the corresponding title. | The timing of funds, an absent party, clearances still to be obtained. |
| After registration | Utility, cooling and service-charge accounts transferred to the buyer and, where the threshold is met, the residency application. | Accounts left in the seller's name, which surface months later. |
Which documents does the transaction involve?
| Document | What it is | Who it depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Identity document | Passport or equivalent, required to identify the parties. | Buyer |
| Evidence of source of funds | Documentation supporting where the capital comes from, requested in the checks that precede the transaction. | Buyer and financial institution |
| Contract of sale | The document fixing price, deadlines, penalties and conditions. Off plan, it is the piece that determines the risk. | Buyer and seller or developer |
| Clearance to transfer | Confirmation, from the developer or the building manager, that no amounts or obligations are outstanding on the unit. | Seller, developer and building manager |
| Title registered at the Dubai Land Department | The registered right over a completed property, in the holder's name. | Dubai Land Department |
| Oqood registration | The registration of a unit bought off plan, while the property is not yet complete. | Developer and Dubai Land Department |
| Service-charge account statement | The unit's billing and payment history with the building manager. | Building manager |
| Instrument of representation | What allows someone to act for the buyer where the buyer cannot attend. The form required is confirmed for the specific transaction. | Buyer, with legal support |
The exact list is confirmed with the Dubai Land Department and the building manager on the date of the transaction, not from this page. What does not change is the order: the clearance and the service-charge statement are requested before the transfer, not after — afterwards, whatever surfaces belongs to the buyer.
What does it cost, beyond the price?
The price is the largest line in the budget and not the whole of it. The table lists the charges on a Dubai acquisition, what each is levied on, and when it falls due. The running charges — service charge and cooling — are the part most often missing from a comparison between markets.
The figures in force are not published on this page. We publish a figure only after confirming it against the primary source and being able to date it, and a rate copied from another site survives for years after it has changed. When a specific property is under analysis, the calculation is run on that property and delivered in writing, in AED, with the date and the rule applied.
| Charge | Levied on | Amount in force | When it is paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration at the Dubai Land Department | Set by the Dubai Land Department for the transfer | To be confirmed | At the transfer |
| Oqood registration (off-plan purchase) | Set by the Dubai Land Department for registration of the unit | To be confirmed | On registration of the unit |
| Service charges, annual | Usually per square foot of area, under the building's approved budget | To be confirmed | Billed by the building manager |
| Sinking fund | A share of the building's budget, where one exists and is funded | To be confirmed | With the service charges |
| Cooling (chiller) | Consumption and, in some buildings, contracted capacity | To be confirmed | Periodically, to the supplier or the building manager |
| Utility connection and deposits | Set by the utility providers | To be confirmed | On taking possession |
| Agency | Fees agreed in writing before the engagement | To be confirmed | At the transfer |
| Legal support | Fees agreed in writing before the engagement | To be confirmed | In stages through the transaction |
«To be confirmed» means the amount has not yet been verified against the primary source for publication. It does not mean the charge does not exist, or that it is negligible: it means we do not publish it before confirming it.
What differs from an Iberian purchase?
Buyers moving between Europe and the Gulf tend to carry the habits of one market into the other, and that is where time and money are lost. These are the differences that change decisions.
| Subject | Portugal and Spain | Dubai |
|---|---|---|
| How title arises | A deed before a notary, followed by entry at the land registry. | Registration at the Dubai Land Department is what creates and proves the right. |
| Residency | The property route removed in Portugal in October 2023; the golden visa repealed in Spain with effect from 3 April 2025. | A ten-year Golden Visa from AED 2,000,000 of registered value, with rules eased in 2026. |
| Buying off plan | A promissory contract between the parties, with a deposit and penalties. | Contract, Oqood registration of the unit, RERA project approval, and payments channelled into the project's escrow account. |
| Running cost | Annual property tax and building charges. | Service charges, usually per square foot, and cooling where it is contracted separately. |
| What weighs most | The property, the street and what sits behind the wall. | Off plan, the contract and the developer. On resale, the building and the quality of its management. |
| Units and currency | Square metres and euros. | Square feet (sq ft) and AED. |
The last line is not a presentational detail. All Dubai material — particulars, budgets, proposals and this page — uses sq ft and AED whichever language you read it in, because converting to square metres and euros introduces two errors: rounding, and the exchange rate on whichever day someone chose to convert it.
Which areas do we follow in Dubai?
Three markets inside one city, with different products, different buyers and different risks. Each has its own page, setting out what we verify there in particular.
Palm Jumeirah
An engineered peninsula holding three kinds of product that barely compare with one another: villas on the fronds, apartments along the shoreline, and the outer crescent.
See the Palm Jumeirah marketDubai Marina
A dense run of waterfront towers built across several generations. The silhouette is uniform; the condition of the buildings and the quality of their management are not.
See the Dubai Marina marketWhich properties do we hold under mandate in Dubai?
Properties under mandate in the emirate appear here, with area in sq ft and price in AED, each linked to its particulars.
A portion of our mandates is never advertised. If you are looking for something specific, tell us what.
Send a briefFrequently asked questions about buying in Dubai
Can a foreign national buy freehold property in Dubai?
Yes. Freehold ownership is available to foreign nationals in the areas designated for it, with no requirement of prior residence. The right comes from registration at the Dubai Land Department (DLD): it is the entry that creates and proves title, not the contract signed between the parties.
Which areas of Dubai allow freehold ownership by foreign nationals?
Freehold ownership is available by area, in the areas designated for it. Because designation is set by area rather than by building, confirmation is always made for the specific property and with the Dubai Land Department, before any offer. It is the first check in any transaction and the one that admits no interpretation.
Does the AED 2,000,000 threshold give residency?
It gives access to the ten-year Golden Visa. The threshold is AED 2,000,000 of value registered at the Dubai Land Department. In 2026 the rules became more accessible: the advance-payment requirement was eased and properties may be aggregated to reach the threshold. The application runs through its own administrative route, and the conditions are confirmed on the date it is submitted.
What is Oqood registration?
It is the registration of a unit bought off plan, made while the property is not yet complete, within the Dubai Land Department's system. It records the buyer's position over a unit that does not yet physically exist. Checking that the unit is registered under Oqood, and in whose name, is one of the first checks in an off-plan purchase.
What protects payments in an off-plan purchase?
Off-plan buyers' payments are channelled into the development's escrow account, which separates that money from the developer's general funds and ties it to the project it was paid for. The project is approved by RERA and the unit is registered under Oqood. None of these mechanisms replaces reading the contract: deadlines, late-delivery penalties and area variation sit in the contract, not in the register.
Is buying in Dubai like buying in Portugal or Spain?
No. Three differences change decisions. Title arises from registration at the Dubai Land Department rather than from a deed followed by entry at a land registry. Off plan, alongside the contract there are the Oqood registration, RERA approval of the project and the escrow account. And the running cost is dominated by service charges, usually levied per square foot, and by cooling where it is contracted separately. To which is added the residency difference: in Dubai buying still connects to residency, in Portugal and Spain it no longer does.
Do you publish prices per square foot in Dubai?
Not yet. We will publish a price per square foot once it has been observed by Rhamos in real transactions, with the date of observation and the method stated. An average gathered from portals describes advertised asking prices rather than the values at which transactions close, and the two diverge systematically. The same applies to yields and to service charges: we do not publish a figure we have not observed.
Buying in Dubai, and wanting to know what buying gives
The useful conversation starts with three questions: what the property is for, how long you expect to hold it, and whether residency is part of the objective. The answer to the last one changes the market, not merely the property.