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Lettings and Residency
Dubai Golden Visa requirements
Own Dubai property with a total Land Department value of AED 2 million or more, in your own name or as a share worth at least that. Completed or off plan, cash or mortgaged. A valid passport, a medical in the UAE, and an undertaking not to sell for the ten year term. There is no income test, no language test and no minimum stay.
This is one of four short guides that sit under my full Dubai Golden Visa through property investment page, which has the eligibility calculator and the list of qualifying projects.
The core requirement
The GDRFA states it in one line: the applicant must own a property or a group of properties with a total value of no less than AED 2 million. That value is taken from the Dubai Land Department's property status certificate, which for a completed home is normally the registered price and for an off plan home is the value on the Oqood registration.
Ownership rules
| Situation | Qualifies? | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Sole owner, one property | Yes | Value AED 2 million or more |
| Sole owner, several properties | Yes | Combined value AED 2 million or more, each with its own certificate |
| Joint owner | Yes, on your share | Your share alone must be worth AED 2 million or more |
| Off plan, not yet handed over | Yes | Oqood registration, developer statement, Land Department value AED 2 million or more. No minimum paid in since January 2024 |
| Mortgaged | Yes | Full property value counts. Lender no objection certificate required |
| Owned through a company | Case by case | Dubai allows ownership through certain onshore and free zone companies; the visa application is harder. Take advice first |
Documents
- Passport, valid for at least six months
- Dubai Land Department property status certificate for each property
- Title deed, or for off plan the Oqood registration and sale and purchase agreement
- Lender no objection certificate, if mortgaged
- Developer statement of account, if off plan
- Passport photograph to UAE specification
- Medical fitness certificate from an approved UAE centre, done after the entry permit
- Existing UAE visa or Emirates ID if you already hold one, for a change of status
What is not required
No minimum income, no job, no sponsor, no language test, no minimum stay, no requirement to live in the property, and no requirement to have paid the property off. The property can be let. You can hold the visa while living entirely outside the UAE.
The ten year lock
The Land Department places a lien on the property for the term and the GDRFA states the property may not be disposed of during the ten year period. In practice, if you sell, the visa lapses, and if you want to sell you apply to lift the lien first. Plan the hold before the application, and if your strategy is to assign an off plan contract before handover, do not use that unit for the visa.
Common questions
What is the minimum property value for a Dubai Golden Visa?
AED 2 million, about £411,000, on the Dubai Land Department's certificate, as one property or several combined.
Do I need to have paid for the property in full?
No. Since January 2024 there is no minimum paid in. Off plan and mortgaged property qualify on the Land Department value.
Can my spouse and I apply on one property?
Only if each of your shares is worth AED 2 million or more. On a jointly owned AED 3 million home neither of you qualifies alone. Register in one name, or combine with a second property.
Is there an income or stay requirement?
No income test and no minimum stay. The only ongoing condition is that you keep the property for the ten year term.
Sources: GDRFA Dubai, "Issuing a golden residence permit (investors)", service page; the UAE Government portal, u.ae, "Golden visa"; The National, 24 January 2024, on the removal of the minimum paid in amount; Dubai Land Department Cube platform guidance. Checked 22 October 2026.
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