Dubai Golden Visa 2026: Property Rules, Costs and Steps

Dubai Golden Visa 2026: Property Rules, Costs and Steps

The Dubai Golden Visa for property owners is a 10-year renewable residence permit that, as of 24 October 2026, the official Dubai Land Department (DLD), GDRFA Dubai and Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP) service pages tie to owning one or more properties worth at least AED 2,000,000 ($544,588). The DLD service page measures the AED 2 million at the time of purchase, accepts a mortgaged property with a no-objection letter from the bank, and lists government fees of AED 9,884.75 for the 10-year permit.

This guide reads those pages side by side, because they do not repeat each other word for word: the DLD page speaks of purchase value, the GDRFA page of total value and a lien on the property, the ICP guide of off-plan units and financing from an approved local bank, and the u.ae government portal lists a different validity for real estate investors. It then prices the Dubai Golden Visa in dirhams, shows how units on our Dubai listing pages add up to the threshold, explains the shorter investor, retiree and owner permits that people confuse with it, compares it with Oman’s Golden Residency and Owner Visa, and answers the questions people most often search. Dollar figures use the fixed rate of AED 3.6725 per dollar in the Central Bank of the UAE exchange-rate publication for June 2026. Worked examples are arithmetic, not offers, and listing prices are developer-quoted “from” prices taken from our listing pages, not valuations.

Dubai Golden Visa: Key Facts at a Glance

The table gathers the figures that decide whether a purchase can lead to the visa and what the application costs. Each row names the page it comes from, so a reader can open the same page and check the wording on the day of the application.

Two points in the table explain most of the confusion online. The first is that “AED 2 million” is a value test applied to registered property, not a payment test, and the pages describe what is measured in slightly different words. The second is that a 2-year investor residence on the same DLD site has no minimum value for a sole owner, so headlines about “no minimum property value” can describe that permit and not the Golden Visa. Both points are taken apart below.

What Is the Dubai Golden Visa?

The Dubai Golden Visa is a long-term residence permit issued under the UAE’s Golden Residency framework, which the ICP says rests on Cabinet Resolution No. 56 of 2018. A holder lives in the UAE without a local sponsor or employer, can include family members, and is exempt from the rule that voids ordinary residence after six months abroad. In Dubai the permit for property owners is requested through the DLD and issued by GDRFA Dubai.

The framework is wider than property. The ICP guide lists investors, entrepreneurs, scientists and specialists, humanitarian pioneers, outstanding students and exceptional talents, each with its own conditions and each described as a 10-year residency. The property route is the one most buyers ask about, because it can be met by a purchase that a person is making anyway, and because it has a single numeric test: AED 2,000,000.

Scale gives context. GDRFA Dubai’s director-general told Gulf News in May 2024 that his authority issued 158,000 golden visas in 2023, against 79,617 in 2022 and 47,150 in 2021, across all categories. A July 2026 report in IMI Daily, citing GDRFA, put golden visas at about 66,000 in the first half of 2026. These are totals for every category, not for property buyers, and they show only that the permit is used widely; they say nothing about how any individual application will be decided.

The Golden Visa is also not a property title or a tax status. It is permission to reside, and it is tied to continuing to meet the conditions that were used to grant it. The GDRFA page says the authority may take measures to check that holders still meet the conditions during the permit period, and the section on obligations below sets out what the property route asks of the owner afterwards.

Who Is Eligible for the Dubai Golden Visa Besides Property Owners?

The property route is one of several investor routes, and several other categories need no property at all. The ICP Golden Residency Guide, last updated on 10 September 2026 according to the page, sets out the conditions below. The table shows the amounts and bodies named on the page; each category also asks for valid health insurance for the applicant and family.

For public investments the ICP guide adds a capital rule: the invested capital must be fully owned by the investor, must not come from a loan, and must be supported by documents showing its source and ownership. The property route is different on this point, because the same guide allows a loan from an approved local bank for existing property. That contrast is the reason a mortgaged purchase is treated as its own question in this guide.

The u.ae government portal presents the same family of visas with a shorter table. Its page, updated on 28 July 2026, lists investors under two lines: 10 years for public investments and 5 years for real estate investments, each with a minimum capital of AED 2 million, and a contribution to an establishment paying at least AED 250,000 in taxes a year. The DLD, GDRFA and ICP service pages all state 10 years for the real estate route, so an applicant should read the validity printed on the permit application at the moment of filing.

What Are the Dubai Golden Visa Property Requirements?

The Dubai Golden Visa property requirements are a value of at least AED 2,000,000, full ownership in the applicant’s name, a freehold title or e-Certificate of Title, and, where the property is financed, a letter from the lender. The applicant must be inside the UAE to file through the DLD service, and only the applicant may attend: the DLD page states that escorts and representatives are not permitted.

Each official page words the test a little differently, and the differences matter when a purchase sits close to the line. The table sets them next to one another.

Reading the three together gives a working checklist. The property must be registered, because every page asks for proof of ownership issued by the registration authority. It must be owned outright by the applicant for the DLD and ICP routes, or as a share worth the full amount for the GDRFA route. It must reach AED 2,000,000, alone or added to other properties. And it must be free to be held for the permit period, because GDRFA states that the property cannot be disposed of during the 10-year residency.

What does “purchase value” mean on the DLD page?

The DLD page says the property must be worth at least AED 2,000,000 “at the time of purchase”. That points to the price recorded for the sale, not to a later market estimate. The GDRFA page speaks of a total value confirmed by a DLD property status statement and allows a valuation certificate from a DLD-licensed office. The two wordings can lead to the same number when a buyer pays the market price, and they can differ when a developer’s price and a valuation diverge, so a buyer near the threshold should have the document the authority will read in hand before relying on a margin.

The DLD property valuation service shows what that certificate costs and how fast it is issued. Its page lists a base fee of AED 4,000 plus AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees for a residential apartment or villa with land, and an instant issue time for residential units. Other property types take 7 working days. The page does not state a purpose for the certificate, so whether it is accepted for a Golden Visa file is a question for the authority handling the application.

Can freehold, leasehold and commercial property count?

The official pages say “property” and “real estate” and do not list excluded types beyond what each requires as proof. GDRFA requires ownership shown by DLD records, and the DLD page requires a title deed or e-Certificate of Title. Foreign buyers can hold freehold title in the areas of Dubai open to non-UAE nationals, and the DLD register decides whether a given unit is in such an area; our guide on whether foreigners can buy apartments in Dubai explains the ownership side. Our guide to property types in Dubai compares residential and commercial options by cost and use.

Does a Mortgaged Property Qualify for the Dubai Golden Visa?

Yes, a mortgaged property can qualify for the Dubai Golden Visa under all three official service pages, but each attaches a condition. The DLD asks for a bank letter that states no objection to a residence permit on the property together with the amount paid and the balance. GDRFA places a lien on the property for the permit period. The ICP accepts financing only from an approved local bank.

What the pages do not state is a minimum share of the price that must already be paid. The DLD Golden Visa page has no percentage; its mortgage line asks only that the letter show the paid amount and the balance. Some commercial articles describe a federal circular of 20 February 2026 that removed an earlier paid-share test, and others describe a different rule; none of the four official pages read for this guide cites a circular. For that reason this guide gives the wording of the pages and leaves the percentage question to the bank letter that the applicant will actually receive. The letter comes from the lender, so the lender’s own conditions for issuing it apply to it.

Two other official rules sit in the background of any financed purchase. The Central Bank of the UAE rulebook limits the loan to a share of the appraised value: for an expatriate buying a first home worth less than AED 5 million the cap is 80%, for a second property 60%, and for any unit bought off-plan 50%. It also requires the down payment to come from the borrower’s own resources, not from a personal loan or credit card. The cap and the Golden Visa threshold are separate tests, and the example below puts numbers on how they meet.

Worked example: a ready apartment bought for AED 2,000,000 with an 80% loan

Take a completed apartment bought for exactly AED 2,000,000 by an expatriate who is buying a first home and borrows the maximum 80%. The loan is AED 1,600,000 and the down payment is AED 400,000. The cash needed on top of the down payment depends on the DLD fee lines and on who pays the seller’s half of the registration fee. The table uses the DLD sale-registration and mortgage-registration pages as listed on 24 October 2026 and assumes the buyer pays the buyer’s 2%.

If the buyer also agrees to bear the seller’s 2%, the registration fee line doubles from AED 40,000 to AED 80,000 and the cash at purchase becomes AED 493,190. The example leaves out the bank’s arrangement and valuation charges, the broker’s commission and any service-charge clearance certificate, because those depend on the lender and the contract and no official page fixes them. It also uses the 5% VAT rate listed on the Federal Tax Authority’s VAT page for the partner fees. The lender separately tests the borrower’s debt burden, which the rulebook caps at 50% of gross income.

The same arithmetic shows why a financed purchase at the threshold has no margin. If the price is AED 2,000,000 and the property is later read at a lower figure, the file falls under AED 2,000,000. Our guide to below-market-value property in Dubai explains why a price can sit below a comparable valuation, and the same logic works in reverse for a buyer who needs a valuation at least equal to the price.

Does Off-Plan Property Count Toward the Dubai Golden Visa?

Off-plan property counts under the ICP Golden Residency Guide, which allows one or more off-plan units totalling at least AED 2,000,000 bought from an approved local real estate company authorised by the competent local authority. The DLD Golden Visa page does not mention off-plan units, and its document list asks for an e-Certificate of Title or title deed.

That difference is practical. An off-plan buyer in Dubai first holds an Oqood, the interim registration of the sale contract, and receives a title deed only after the building is completed and the unit is registered in the owner’s name. The DLD page for the initial sale shows that the registration of the contract carries the same 2% and 2% fee split and must be completed within 90 days of signing. Whether the contract registration alone supports a file, or whether the authority waits for a title deed, is decided by the service the applicant uses, and the wording of the pages supports asking before relying on either assumption.

For financing, the Central Bank limit of 50% applies to units bought off-plan, so a buyer who is not paying cash relies on the developer’s payment plan for the rest. The payment plans printed on our listing pages are launch-era schedules and state that the developer’s project page may now show something different, so the figures below show the structure, not a current offer. For Sparklz by Danube in Al Furjan, the three-bedroom unit has a printed “from” price of AED 2,350,000, with the schedule 10% on booking, 60% during construction and 30% after handover at 1% a month for 30 months. On that schedule the booking payment is AED 235,000, construction payments total AED 1,410,000, and the post-handover payments are 30 instalments of AED 23,500, which total AED 705,000. By handover the buyer would have paid AED 1,645,000, or 70% of the price.

Can You Combine Several Properties for the Dubai Golden Visa?

You can combine several properties for the Dubai Golden Visa. The DLD page speaks of one or more properties under the applicant’s name, the GDRFA page of a group of properties with a total value of no less than AED 2,000,000, and the ICP guide of one or more units totalling that amount. Every unit counted must be wholly owned by the applicant, or for GDRFA a joint share worth the full amount.

Combining matters because most apartments on the market sit below the line. The table uses the “from” and “up to” prices printed on our Dubai listing pages on 24 October 2026 to show which single units reach AED 2,000,000 and how pairs of units add up. These are developer-quoted prices for specific unit types, availability is not implied, and the authority reads the registered value, so a margin of a few hundred thousand dirhams is a working figure and not an assurance of acceptance.

Two readings follow from the table. A single unit clears the line only in the larger three-bedroom category on these pages, so most files built from our listings would add units, with each added unit carrying its own DLD fees, title deed and service charge. And the pairs that clear the line by AED 50,000 or less leave almost no room for a valuation below the printed price. Our own listing pages say the same in their notes: they state that studios sit below the AED 2 million threshold and that no project grants a visa by itself.

The developer behind these projects has its own profile, Danube Properties in Dubai, and other Danube pages on this site, for example Timez by Danube in Silicon Oasis and Skyz by Danube in Arjan, carry studio prices of AED 800,000 and AED 440,000 respectively. Neighbourhood comparisons for buyers weighing where to put a second or third unit are in our guide to areas to buy an apartment in Dubai.

How Much Does the Dubai Golden Visa Cost?

The government fees for the Dubai Golden Visa are AED 9,884.75 for the applicant through the DLD service, made up of five lines. GDRFA Dubai prints a separate fee schedule of AED 1,640 for a residence permit applied for inside the country, and the ICP entry-permit service for real estate investors costs AED 300. The three pages describe different steps in the same journey, so they are not alternatives to add up.

The DLD lines add up as follows: 700 + 1,153 + 2,856.75 + 4,020 + 1,155 equals AED 9,884.75. For an applicant who sponsors one spouse, the DLD page’s family lines are AED 5,774.50 for the permit, AED 318.75 to open the sponsorship file and AED 100 for the sponsored person, which brings the total to 9,884.75 + 5,774.50 + 318.75 + 100 = AED 16,078, or about $4,378. The page lists the family charges by category and does not give a worked family total, so the application screen is where the final figure appears. GDRFA’s page adds that the issuance fee rises by AED 100 for each year of residency beyond two years, a rule that the page applies to its own fee schedule.

The cost of the property is the larger number by far. At the AED 2,000,000 threshold the buyer’s DLD registration fee of 2% is AED 40,000, and the visa fees are 0.5% of the price on top of that. The earlier example puts the cash for a financed purchase at AED 463,074.75 including visa fees; a cash buyer pays AED 2,000,000 plus roughly AED 44,720 in fees and AED 9,884.75 for the visa. Readers weighing the purchase as an investment rather than a visa can compare yields and risk in our article on whether buying an apartment in Dubai is still a wise investment.

How Do You Apply for the Dubai Golden Visa Through Property?

To apply for the Dubai Golden Visa through property, the owner files the application at a Dubai service centre or through the authority’s online service, supplies the passport, the title deed or e-Certificate of Title and a photo, pays the fees, completes the medical examination and receives the permit by email. The DLD page lists a service time of 7 to 10 business days.

1. Confirm ownership and value. Obtain the title deed or e-Certificate of Title from the DLD, and a valuation certificate if the file is near the threshold. Check the registration with the DLD’s title-deed verification service.
2. Collect documents. The DLD page asks for the passport, the e-Certificate of Title or title deed, a personal photo, the UAE ID and current residence permit if the applicant has them, and a bank no-objection letter for a mortgaged property. Birth and marriage certificates and bank letters can be uploaded to the DLD document vault.
3. Arrange health insurance. The ICP guide asks for comprehensive, valid cover for the investor and family for the whole residency period; the DLD page lists health insurance among the family documents.
4. File the application. The DLD page names the Golden Visa Services counter at Al Manara Center (Cube) and the Golden Cube as service channels, with hours on weekdays that the page asks applicants to confirm before visiting. GDRFA lists accredited submission centres for real estate applications and an online route with UAE Pass.
5. Pay the fees and take the medical examination at the centre, as the DLD page lists in its steps.
6. Receive the permit by email. The DLD fee list includes a 10-year Emirates ID, shown in the cost table above.

Applicants outside the UAE use a different first step. The ICP guide says an applicant abroad receives a six-month, multiple-entry visa, renewable for six more months, to complete the process, and the ICP entry-permit service for real estate investors lists a processing time of 2 days, a fee of AED 300 and a passport valid for at least six months. The DLD page, by contrast, states that the applicant must be inside the UAE. The entry permit and the DLD service therefore belong to different starting points, and an applicant who is abroad starts with the first.

How long does the Dubai Golden Visa take?

The official pages give service times and no fixed outcome: 7 to 10 business days on the DLD Golden Visa page, 5 days on the GDRFA page and 2 days for the ICP real estate entry permit. A service time starts when a complete file is filed, so missing documents move the clock. Commercial guides quote longer overall times that include collecting documents and insurance, and the official pages do not state such totals.

Who can the holder sponsor?

The DLD page says the spouse, children and parents can be sponsored. For children over 18 it asks for an undertaking that they are unmarried, and for parents a certified dependency certificate from the consulate. The ICP guide says spouses and children of any age and parents can be included and that sponsored family members may stay for the validity of their permits if the holder dies. The u.ae portal mentions spouses and children. Each family member needs health insurance, and the file includes a certified marriage contract and birth certificates.

What Does the Dubai Golden Visa Require After You Get It?

After the Dubai Golden Visa is issued the owner has to keep the property. GDRFA Dubai states that a lien is placed on the property for the full permit period and that the property cannot be disposed of during the 10-year residency. The authority may also check that the conditions continue to be met, and renewal depends on still meeting them.

Time abroad is treated generously. The GDRFA page says Golden Residence Permit holders are exempt from the 180-day residency rule and that residency is void only if it expires while the holder is outside the UAE. The u.ae portal says the visa allows a stay outside the UAE longer than the usual six months needed to keep a residence visa valid. Either statement means that a holder is not bound to a minimum number of days in Dubai by the visa itself, which is a different matter from tax residency.

Does the Dubai Golden Visa make you a UAE tax resident?

The Dubai Golden Visa does not itself decide tax residency, which the UAE determines by separate rules. Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 and Ministerial Decision No. 27 of 2023, in force from 1 March 2023 according to the Ministry of Finance, define tax residency for individuals by tests that include where the person’s centre of financial and personal interests lies, where the person usually lives, and day counts of 183 and 90. The Ministry’s announcement says that all days or parts of a day spent in the UAE count. A holder who wants a tax residency certificate applies under those rules with the documents those rules require, and not under the visa rules.

What happens if you sell the property?

The GDRFA page says the property cannot be disposed of during the residency, and the lien is held for the permit period. A holder who wants to sell therefore has to deal with the permit first. The pages read for this guide do not describe a replacement-property process, so an owner who plans a sale should check with GDRFA Dubai before listing the unit. A sale also carries the 2% seller share of the DLD registration fee, which is AED 40,000 on a AED 2,000,000 sale.

How Does the Dubai Golden Visa Differ From the Other Property-Linked Residence Permits?

Several shorter permits sit beside the Dubai Golden Visa, and mixing them up is the most common error in articles on the topic. The DLD runs a 2-year investor residence, a 5-year retiree golden visa and a golden visa; GDRFA also lists a property owner permit. The table compares the numbers printed on the official pages.

The Taskeen investor residence is the source of the “no minimum value” headlines. The DLD page says a sole owner can apply for the license and residency visa regardless of the property value, and a joint owner needs a share worth at least AED 400,000. It is a 2-year permit, with a fee of AED 10,212.50, and it requires a Dubai Good Conduct Certificate addressed to the DLD among its documents. It is not the 10-year Golden Visa, and its lack of a floor does not lower the AED 2,000,000 line for the longer permit.

The retiree golden visa has its own mortgage rule: the DLD page asks for the paid amount to reach AED 1,000,000, or a bank letter stating the paid amount addressed to GDRFA, and says the deposit cannot be released within 3 years. GDRFA’s own retiree page describes conditions that include 15 years of prior service and alternatives to the property test, such as a deposit or an annual income of AED 240,000. Because the two pages differ, a retiree should work from the service page they are going to use.

The Green residence is the route for employees and freelancers who do not own property. The ICP page lists skilled workers with a bachelor’s degree, a valid contract, professional classification levels 1 to 3 and a salary of at least AED 15,000 a month, and freelancers with income of at least AED 360,000 in each of the previous two years. Its validity is 5 years, and the page says family members including a spouse and children can be sponsored.

Dubai Golden Visa or Oman Golden Residency: How Do the Property Routes Compare?

The Dubai Golden Visa and Oman’s Golden Residency both give 10-year renewable residence for a property purchase, but the tests differ. Dubai asks for AED 2,000,000 across one or more properties. Oman asks for OMR 200,000 ($520,160) in a single qualifying ITC property, and the decision rests with the Royal Oman Police. Oman’s separate Owner Visa has no minimum value and a shorter term.

Converted at the two pegs, OMR 200,000 is $520,160 and AED 1,910,288, so the Omani threshold is AED 89,712 lower than the Dubai one in dirham terms, and about $24,428 lower in dollars. The comparison is limited to the threshold, because the properties are not alike: the Omani route requires the title in an approved complex and the Dubai route accepts any registered property, financed or off-plan under the conditions above. Our articles on Oman Golden Residency versus the Owner Visa and on the Oman Golden Visa property route set out the Omani rules, and the wider market comparison is in Oman versus Dubai real estate investment. The Omani facts come from the Oman Observer and Gulf News reports of the Ministry’s programme and the Royal Oman Police decision.

What Mistakes Do People Make About the Dubai Golden Visa?

The mistakes below recur in articles and adverts, and each is answered by one of the official pages quoted above.

• Treating any Dubai purchase as a Golden Visa purchase. A studio at AED 596,550 or a unit at AED 1,750,000 does not reach AED 2,000,000, and our own listing pages say the project does not grant the visa.
• Assuming a payment plan is enough. The ICP guide counts off-plan units totalling AED 2,000,000, and the DLD page asks for a title deed or e-Certificate of Title, so the contract and the file should be checked together before an off-plan purchase is made for the visa.
• Confusing the 2-year Taskeen permit with the 10-year Golden Visa. The first has no minimum for a sole owner; the second has AED 2,000,000.
• Ignoring the lien. GDRFA states that a lien is placed for the permit period and that the property cannot be disposed of during the 10-year residency.
• Counting costs only at the visa counter. The visa fees of AED 9,884.75 are small beside the DLD registration fee, the trustee fee and the closing costs on a property of AED 2,000,000.
• Reading a price as a valuation. The “from” prices on any developer or listing page are asking prices for a given unit type, and the authority reads the registered value.

How Can You Check a Property Before Buying It for the Dubai Golden Visa?

A buyer who wants the Dubai Golden Visa should check the property against the documents the authorities will read, before paying. Start with the title: the DLD title-deed verification service takes the deed number, year and type and returns a validated certificate. Then check the value: a DLD valuation e-Certificate for a residential unit costs AED 4,000 plus AED 20 in system fees and is issued instantly, which makes it a cheap test of whether the unit clears AED 2,000,000 with room to spare.

Next, read the sale contract against the visa route. A ready unit that will be registered in the buyer’s name gives the cleanest file for the DLD service, because the pages ask for a title deed or e-Certificate of Title. An off-plan unit relies on the ICP wording about approved companies, so the developer’s authorisation, the contract date and the registration of the contract with the DLD should all be on the file. A mortgaged unit needs the lender’s letter, so the bank should be asked in advance whether it issues one at the paid amount the buyer expects to reach. Last, price the whole file with the cost tables above, including the lien and the rule against disposal during the permit, so that the holding period fits the owner’s plans.

Because the amounts are fixed by the property and not by the visa, a short checklist captures the order of work: confirm the registered value; confirm full ownership or the joint share rule; confirm the financing letter; confirm health insurance for the applicant and family; confirm the fee lines on the application screen; and keep the title deed and the permit together, because renewal after 10 years is conditioned on still meeting the requirements that GDRFA lists.

Where Can You Read More on Dubai Property and Residency?

Our Dubai pages cover the market from several angles. The immigration to Dubai page explains the visa types for people moving to the emirate, the Dubai city page lists the listings we publish there, and the UAE country page sets out the wider market. For buyers working to a smaller budget first, our guide to buying property in Dubai on a low budget sets out costs and payment plans, and the developer profiles at the Dubai developers directory, including Emaar Properties and Ellington Properties, show who builds what. Villa buyers can start with villa communities in Dubai, and buyers comparing districts can read the JVC apartment guide. A listing further out on the range is Opalz by Danube in Dubai Science Park, which our page describes as completed, with studios from AED 650,000.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much property do you need for the Dubai Golden Visa?

The Dubai Golden Visa through property needs one or more properties totalling at least AED 2,000,000 ($544,588), according to the GDRFA, DLD and ICP service pages. The DLD page measures the amount at the time of purchase, GDRFA asks for a total value shown by a DLD property status statement, and a joint share must itself be worth AED 2,000,000 under the GDRFA wording.

Is the Dubai Golden Visa 5 or 10 years?

The DLD, GDRFA and ICP pages describe the Dubai Golden Visa for real estate investors as a 10-year renewable permit. The u.ae government portal’s eligibility table lists 5 years for real estate investments and 10 years for public investments, so the validity printed on the application at the time of filing is the figure to rely on. The retiree golden visa on the DLD site is a 5-year permit.

Can you get the Dubai Golden Visa with a mortgage?

A mortgaged property is accepted for the Dubai Golden Visa. The DLD page asks for a bank no-objection letter showing the amount paid and the balance, GDRFA places a lien for the permit period, and the ICP accepts a loan from an approved local bank. The pages state no minimum paid percentage, and the letter is issued by the lender, so its conditions apply.

Does off-plan property qualify for the Dubai Golden Visa?

The ICP Golden Residency Guide accepts one or more off-plan units totalling at least AED 2,000,000 bought from an approved local real estate company authorised by the competent local authority. The DLD Golden Visa page does not mention off-plan units and lists a title deed or e-Certificate of Title among its documents, so an off-plan buyer should check which proof the chosen service accepts.

Can two owners share a property for the Dubai Golden Visa?

For the Dubai Golden Visa, GDRFA says that a joint-ownership applicant’s share must itself be worth at least AED 2,000,000, while the DLD page requires the property to be wholly owned by the investor. A property worth AED 4,000,000 held equally by two people therefore gives each a share of AED 2,000,000 under the GDRFA wording, and the DLD wording needs the applicant to be the sole owner. The 2-year Taskeen permit uses a lower AED 400,000 share.

How much does the Dubai Golden Visa cost?

The DLD page lists AED 9,884.75 in government fees for the applicant: AED 700 for the medical examination, AED 1,153 for the Emirates ID, AED 2,856.75 for the residency permit confirmation, AED 4,020 in DLD fees and AED 1,155 in administrative fees. Family permits are listed at AED 5,774.50 per category plus AED 318.75 for opening the sponsorship file and AED 100 per sponsored person.

How long does the Dubai Golden Visa take to process?

The Dubai Golden Visa service times printed on the official pages are 7 to 10 business days (DLD), 5 days (GDRFA) and 2 days for the ICP entry permit for real estate investors. The clock starts with a complete file, and the pages do not state a total for gathering documents, insurance and the valuation beforehand.

Who can the Dubai Golden Visa holder sponsor?

The DLD page says spouse, children and parents can be sponsored, with an undertaking that sons or daughters over 18 are unmarried and a certified dependency certificate for parents. The ICP guide says spouses and children of any age and parents can be included. The holder also needs health insurance for the family for the residency period.

Do you have to live in Dubai to keep the Dubai Golden Visa?

The Dubai Golden Visa carries no minimum stay. GDRFA says holders are exempt from the 180-day residency rule and that residency is void only if it expires while the holder is outside the UAE, and the u.ae portal says holders may stay outside the UAE longer than the usual six months. The permit still depends on keeping the qualifying property, which carries a lien for the permit period.

Is there a Dubai Golden Visa without buying property?

The Dubai Golden Visa is available without property in other categories. The ICP guide lists AED 2,000,000 in a fund or national bank deposit, a company with AED 2,000,000 in capital, an entity paying AED 250,000 a year in federal taxes, entrepreneurs with AED 1,000,000 in revenue, specialised professionals earning AED 30,000 a month with a degree, and talent or student categories with endorsements or grades.

What is the difference between the Dubai Golden Visa and the Green residence?

The Dubai Golden Visa for property owners lasts 10 years on a AED 2,000,000 property, while the ICP Green residence lasts 5 years and is based on salary or income: AED 15,000 a month for a skilled worker with a degree, or AED 360,000 a year for two years for a freelancer. Both are self-sponsored and allow family sponsorship, and the Green residence needs no property.

Can you get residency in Dubai with a cheaper property?

The DLD Investor Residence (Taskeen) is a 2-year permit open to a sole owner regardless of property value, or to a joint owner with a share worth at least AED 400,000, at a listed fee of AED 10,212.50. It is a shorter permit than the Dubai Golden Visa, with its own documents including a Dubai Good Conduct Certificate, and parents are sponsored for 1 year.

Last checked: 24 October 2026. Sources: Dubai Land Department, Golden Visa (Investor); GDRFA Dubai, golden residence permit (investors); ICP, Golden Residency Guide; ICP, entry permit for real estate investor residency; ICP, Golden Visa overview; UAE Government portal, Golden visa; ICP, Green residence; DLD, Investor Residence (Taskeen); DLD, Golden Visa (Retiree); GDRFA, residence permit for a property owner; GDRFA, residence permit for a retired foreigner; DLD, property sale registration; DLD, initial sale registration; DLD, mortgage registration; DLD, property valuation; DLD, title deed verification; Central Bank of the UAE rulebook, mortgage loans; Central Bank of the UAE, exchange rates June 2026; Federal Tax Authority, VAT; Ministry of Finance, tax residency; Gulf News, golden visas issued in 2023; IMI Daily, Dubai golden visas H1 2026; Gulf News, Oman Golden Residency; Oman Observer, Oman property-linked visas; and the listing pages on this site cited in the text.