The UAE is the best destination in the world in terms of residence-by-investment programmes

Known as a leading real estate destination, the UAE was ranked first in a newly launched real estate index for investors seeking alternative residence and citizenship options. That being said, the global citizenship and residence advisory firm, Henley & Partners in partnership with Deep Knowledge Analytics has released the Best Investment Migration Real Estate Index to evaluate global residence-by-investment programmes.

The new analytic tool ranked the UAE number one with a total of 82 points, beating Spain (80.7), Montenegro (77.2), Turkey (76.5) and Portugal (75.8). According to Henley & Partners, the UAE took the top position, thanks to its high rental income potential and affordability of property per square meter compared to other major international destinations. In their statement, Henley & Partners said:

Property acquisition by foreign nationals is galvanized by the country’s reputation for being a safe and secure environment in which to reside in, its attractive employment conditions, strong economy, and progressive outlook in terms of industries such as renewable energy. Various government initiatives have recently been introduced to improve livability and support residence-by-investment programmes, including enhanced purchasing benefits.

As a first-of-its-kind metric, the Best Investment Migration Real Estate Index assesses more than 30 parameters and 300 data points to compare and score global programme options based on an array of key factors, which include the GDP, the initial qualifying real estate investment amount, potential rental income, the reputation of and level of life, residency requirements, associated property costs, the property holding period, application processing efficiency, saleability and associated property costs. Moreover, the index evaluates crypto-friendliness, which is important to many property investors. With all the above taken into account, the UAE ranked first in the following indicators: Reputation and Quality of Life, while it took the second position in Rental Income and Saleability.

In order to facilitate real estate transactions for end-users and investors, the UAE has launched multiple initiatives over the past couple of years, including one of the most recent –  the issuance of the Electronic Transactions and Trust Services Law promulgated by Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021. By doing this, it makes a digital signature essentially equal to a handwritten one in terms of legal authority, enabling individuals to finalize a deal without being physically present in the UAE.

Following this action, the Majid Al Futtaim Group and Emirates Post signed an agreement in January 2022 to provide customers with a solution to sign off-plan sales and purchase agreements (SPA) digitally with the UAE Pass app. Upon agreement to acquire a property, purchasers will obtain an email and an SMS with a link to the SPA, in which they will have to confirm their credentials in the UAE Pass application in order to sign a digital document. It is expected that more than 500 customers will sign SPA’s with the help of the UAE pass click-and-sign tool for real estate acquisition at Al Zahia in Sharjah and Tilal Al Ghaf in Dubai within the upcoming months. The latter is one of the most sought-after destinations in the emirate, with a stunning recreational lagoon as its centerpiece.