Dubai: off-plan property now eligible for the Golden Visa

Acquiring a property worth at least from AED 2,000,000¹, or roughly about €520,000², gives access to a renewable residence permit of 10 years³.

This permit allows the holder to sponsor family members and domestic staff, and does not require continuous presence, unlike ordinary residence visas.

Freehold ownership is open to foreigners only in the emirate's designated areas, and keeping the permit requires keeping the property.

We do not publish the precise eligibility conditions for off-plan properties, the share of payment required at the time of application, or the list of approved developers: they are set by administrative decisions whose current version we have not been able to verify. They should be confirmed with the Dubai Land Department.

What can be said is that opening the scheme to off-plan properties lowers the amount of cash needed to enter, as the buyer pays only a fraction of the price at the time of applying for the permit.

A completed property can be bought, inspected and let immediately. An off-plan property is bought on a promise, and the buyer bears the risk of completion, delay and compliance.

The instalment payment schedule, usual in these developments, also commits the buyer over several years. A change in professional situation during construction — frequent for an expatriate — can make these instalments hard to meet.

And the difficulty becomes circular when the residence permit depends on the purchase: being unable to pay an instalment puts the property at risk, and the property underpins the right of residence.

The developer's soundness therefore matters more than in a market of existing properties. Escrow arrangements and completion guarantees must be examined with the same care as the location.

The Dubai market has gone through two severe corrections in twenty years, one of which left developments unfinished. This history is short but it is documented, and it justifies caution.

One last point of method: the price of an off-plan property is not comparable to that of a completed property of the same size. It includes a risk discount and a cash-flow advantage, but it also includes the developer's margin on a product that does not yet exist. Comparing the two per square metre, as most presentations do, makes no sense.

A residence permit, even one valid for ten years, is not a tax residency certificate. The Emirates require presence of from 183 days⁴ over twelve months, and the certificate is a separate procedure.

Without it, the tax treaty concluded with France cannot be invoked. A non-resident owner remains taxable in France on rental income from the Emirates, with the treaty determining how double taxation is eliminated.

The tax framework for holding property has also changed. Individuals are not taxed — 0%⁵ — but holding through a company falls under corporate tax, at a rate of 9%⁶ above AED 375,000⁷.

The choice of holding structure is therefore no longer neutral, and it must be settled before the purchase.

1. Confirm that the property is in an area open to foreign freehold ownership.
2. Examine the completion guarantees and the escrow arrangements.
3. Measure how exposed the payment schedule is to a change in professional situation.
4. Cost the service charges and registration fees, which are left out of advertised yields.
5. Apply for a tax residency certificate if you are considering actually settling there.

Opening the scheme to off-plan properties is therefore an easier way in, not a lighter risk. It suits a buyer who is settling there and knows the market; it exposes more the buyer who purchases from a distance solely for the residence permit, and who will discover at the first incident that their right of residence rests on a building site.