The visa can be issued only for a free-hold area, while the off-plan property does not fall under the eligibility. Only non-commercial property are eligible for applications to obtain this type of investor visa, which will allow its applicants to apply for a bank account in the UAE, obtain a driver’s license, purchase the mobile network postpaid plans, lease the property for a long term, and a number of other opportunities, which are only available for the UAE residents.

According to the Taskeen Programme, in case the property is under the mortgage, 50% of it has to be repaid, and NOC has to be issued in order to start processing the resident visa. The property can belong to the husband and wife collectively, which will require the attested marriage certificate. In the case of joint ownership, the worth of each owner must be at least 750,000 AED, which is equivalent to the sole ownership of the property. It also allows sponsoring the spouse and children under this visa. 

Decreasing the entry threshold for a property value is stimulated by the intention to attract Foreign Direct investments (FDI), along with recent full ownership of Mainland Companies adopted earlier, which was announced by the Ministry of Economy. Thus, the lowering of the investment level, according to real estate consultants, will give a boost to Dubai's real estate market, which is experiencing a remarkable rebound and growing global investor appeal on the eve of the region's largest international event, Expo 2020 Dubai, which started on October 1.

According to Mo'asher report, August 2021 had 5,780 transactions reaching AED 14.97 billion, making it the best August in the previous 12 years. This brings the overall number of sales transactions for the year to 37,537, with a total amount of AED 88.12 billion. In just eight months, the value of real estate sales transactions has increased by 22.61% over the entire 2020. In 2020, 35,401 sales worth AED 71.87 billion were made.

The decision on amending the entry-level of the property’s worth to acquire the three-years visa is one of the key strategies to stimulate and enhance the direct foreign investments to the country, contributing to reaching the UAE’s ambitious goal to become an international financial hub, which will be competing with other giants of the global market.

If you would like advice or assistance concerning the application for a three-years investor visa, kindly contact us. 

Marsel Shadmanov

Head of Corporate Services at Garant Business Consultancy DMCC

Phone +971 4 421 4335

Email info@garant.ae