The minimum investment for a 3-year visa in Dubai cut to AED 750,000

According to the most recent information given on the Dubai Land Department (DLD) website, the minimum financial requirement to apply for a 3-year investor visa has been reduced from AED 1,000,000 (USD 272,300) to AED 750,000 (USD 205,000).

This visa offer is available only when purchasing a residential property ready for occupancy. If one considers purchasing an off-plan property, it will only be possible to obtain a 3-year visa after all the construction work has been completed and the property is handed over for occupancy. To apply for a visa, the investor must provide a passport and an electronic copy of the title deed certificate. If the property is mortgaged, the investor must pay the bank at least 50% of the value of the real estate or at least AED 750,000 at the time of application. It is also necessary to provide a no-objection letter (NOC letter) in Arabic and a mortgage bank statement.

Investors in joint ownership can apply to a 3-year visa only if the share of each individual constitutes at least AED 750,000. Investments should be strictly made in one residential property and not in any commercial units. The validity period of the investor visa is maintained as long as the investor owns real estate in the country. Another requirement for the application is that real estate must be retained for at least 3 years and the amount invested in the property must not be on a credit basis.

Spouses can share one real estate only if they provide an attested marriage certificate. A power of attorney (POA) is required to submit an application by a third party on behalf of the investor. If the sponsor is the mother, she must provide a letter without objections (NOC) from the father, certified by a notary, in order to obtain children’s visas. The unmarried letter is necessary for the sponsorship of a daughter over 18 years old. To sponsor a son over 18 years old, a study certificate is required.

You can submit all the necessary documents for a visa application online by uploading them to the DLD Vault website or through the Dubai REST app, and if the request is approved, the investor will be contacted to complete the procedure. After the approval of a 3-year visa, the applicant must go to the Cube Centre in the DLD main office and pay the required fees. The total amount of service fees for a 3-year investor visa is about AED 15,000 (USD 4,100). The medical examination is obligatory and is conducted in the actual centre. The service time takes 3 to 5 working days.

Real estate experts believe that reducing the price threshold for an 3 year investor visa will only increase the number of transactions of purchases/sales in the ready-made property market in Dubai. Such a move will only increase the number of new investors in the emirate’s real estate and contribute to an even more rapid recovery of the state’s economy. In the week of the largest international event – the Dubai World EXPO-2020, which will start in a couple of days, the city expects a huge influx of not only tourists and investors, but also the opening of mega-grandiose residential and entertainment projects, which are confined to the exhibition.

It is also worth noting that according to the DLD sales price index, August 2021 saw the second-highest number of sales transactions in a single month since December 2013. During this period, there were 5,780 transactions worth AED 14.97 billion, which is the best figure to come out of the last 12 years. 55% of all sales came from completed (secondary) properties and 45% came from off-plan properties.