How to buy property in Dubai from abroad

Can foreigners buy property in Dubai?

Yes. Dubai law lets non-UAE nationals own freehold property, with no time limit, in areas the Ruler designates for foreign ownership, and the UAE government portal confirms this covers foreigners who don't live in the UAE. You don't need a residence visa to buy, and the property is registered with the Dubai Land Department (DLD) in your own name.

Object 1 builds in the communities below. The table reads the lowest published starting price in each one straight from the project pages, so it changes when prices do. Each community name links to its area guide. Al Reem Island is in Abu Dhabi, a separate emirate with its own registration authority and fees; everything else on this page is Dubai-specific.

Lowest published starting price per community, read from the project pages. USD figures use the fixed AED peg (3.6725 per US$). Availability and the current price of a specific unit are confirmed on request.

How do you buy off-plan property in Dubai from abroad?

In six steps: shortlist on a video call, reserve the unit, sign the Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA), have the sale registered with DLD (Oqood), pay the instalments into the project's escrow account, then take handover and the title deed. Most of it happens remotely; where something must be signed or inspected in Dubai, a representative can act for you.

Object 1's published payment plans ask for between 0% and 30% of the price as the down payment, with the rest split between construction milestones and handover. Compare every plan side by side.

What does it cost to buy property in Dubai on top of the price?

Budget for 4% of the price as the DLD registration fee, plus small fixed charges. On an off-plan sale DLD's published split is 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer, but your SPA decides who actually pays which part, so read that clause before signing. Service charges for the building start from handover.

Fees as published on the Dubai Land Department's service pages (see Official sources). Al Reem Island is in Abu Dhabi, where different fees apply.

Worked example. On the lowest-priced Object 1 project today, listed from AED 536,537, the full 4% comes to AED 21,461 (US$5,844), or half that if the SPA has the developer pay its 2%.

How do you pay for Dubai property from another country?

By international bank transfer, in dirhams, to the project's escrow account named in your SPA. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar at 3.6725, so dollar buyers carry no exchange-rate risk while the peg holds. Buyers paying in pounds, euros or rupees do, on every instalment, until the last payment clears.

• Pay only into the escrow account printed in the SPA. Dubai's escrow law requires buyers' payments to go into the project's own escrow account, not the developer's operating account.
• Confirm the account details by phone with the developer before the first transfer, and treat any emailed change of bank details as fraud until you have checked it.
• Keep the paper trail: every SWIFT confirmation and the developer's receipt for each instalment. You will need them at handover and when you sell.

Some countries add paperwork at your end. Resident Indians, for example, remit under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which has an annual limit — see buying from India. UK buyers can find the sterling side in buying from the UK.

Should you use a developer payment plan or a mortgage?

For off-plan, most overseas buyers use the developer's payment plan: a fixed schedule of percentages written into the SPA, with no bank approval needed. A mortgage is possible but limited. UAE Central Bank rules cap loans on off-plan purchases at 50% of the value for every buyer, and each bank decides for itself whether it lends to non-residents.

Once a building is complete, the same Central Bank rules allow an expatriate a loan of up to 60% of the value on a second or investment property. Banks add their own criteria for non-residents on top of those caps, so ask the bank directly rather than relying on an online calculator.

Does buying property in Dubai give you a visa?

Not automatically, and you don't need one to buy. Owning property can support a residence application: DLD lists a 10-year Golden Visa for property bought for AED 2 million or more, and a 2-year investor residence for owners regardless of value. Both DLD pages ask for a title deed, which an off-plan buyer receives at handover.

DLD also lists a 5-year retiree Golden Visa for applicants over 55 whose property, worth AED 1 million or more, is paid in full and unmortgaged, with a title deed. DLD's pages say the Golden Visa applicant must be inside the UAE and the investor-residence applicant must attend in person.

The federal residency authority, ICP, describes off-plan units worth AED 2 million or more as eligible when bought from an approved local developer, which is not how DLD's application page reads. We explain the difference, and list Object 1 units priced at or above AED 2 million, in the Golden Visa guide.

What are the risks of buying off-plan in Dubai, and what protects you?

The real risks are delay, a developer running into trouble, not being able to keep up the instalments, and prices falling. Dubai's protections are specific: off-plan sales in unapproved projects are void, buyers' money sits in a project escrow account the developer's creditors cannot touch, and every sale must be registered with DLD.

• Escrow. Law No. 8 of 2007 requires a separate escrow account for each project, used only for building it, and holds back 5% for a year after units are registered to buyers. If a project is not completed, the escrow agent must work with DLD to finish it or refund the depositors.
• Registration. Law No. 13 of 2008 makes any off-plan sale or transfer that is not entered in the interim register void, and bars off-plan sales in projects without the required approvals. Your Oqood certificate is the proof that yours was registered.
• Progress you can check. DLD's Project Status Enquiry shows a Dubai project's completion percentage. Check it before you reserve and before any instalment linked to construction.
• Delays. Handover dates in listings are estimates. The SPA sets the contractual completion date and what happens if it slips; read that clause, and the one on your own late payments.
• If you stop paying. DLD must notify you before a developer can cancel for non-payment, and the developer may then keep part of what you have paid. Plan for the whole schedule before you commit.
• Reselling before handover. Any transfer of an off-plan unit must be registered with DLD. Whether, and when, you may resell before handover is set by your SPA, so ask for that clause if an early exit is part of your plan.
• Prices. Dubai property prices can fall as well as rise. Buy with a holding period you can afford, and treat any projected return you are shown as an estimate, not a promise.

Which Object 1 projects suit a first purchase from abroad?

Start with the entry-level communities: Jumeirah Village Circle, Jumeirah Village Triangle, Dubai Land Residence Complex and Jebel Ali Village. The cards below show the lowest-priced Object 1 project in each, read live from the catalogue, with its payment plan and handover date. Buying from the UK or India? The country guides price everything in your currency.

• Buying property in Dubai from the UK: prices in pounds, HMRC, and the power-of-attorney route for UK documents.
• Buying property in Dubai from India: flat prices in rupees, the LRS limit, TCS and what to declare in your ITR.
• Every Object 1 payment plan, compared and all Object 1 off-plan projects.