UAE Golden Visa through property in 2026: mortgages, off-plan and how Dubai, Abu Dhabi and RAK differ

The headline number for the property route to a ten-year UAE Golden Visa is simple: AED 2 million. The basics of all three property-linked residence tiers are covered in our overview of the three tiers. What that overview leaves out is the part that decides most real purchases: how the AED 2m is counted when a bank holds a mortgage, when the building is still under construction, and in which emirate the property sits.

Mortgaged property: the January 2024 change in Dubai

Until early 2024, a Dubai buyer who financed a AED 2m apartment could not apply straight away. The rule required at least AED 1m — or half the price — to have been paid from the buyer's own funds. With a 20% deposit, that pushed the visa years into the future.

In January 2024 Dubai dropped the requirement. Eligibility now rests on one test: a Dubai Land Department valuation of AED 2m or more, whether the home was bought outright, with a mortgage, or off-plan. A financed property needs a no-objection certificate from the lender, and several properties in the applicant's name can be combined to reach the threshold.

In practice, a AED 2.1m apartment financed at 80% can now carry a ten-year visa on roughly AED 420,000 of equity. The cash requirement does not disappear, though: since February 2025, UAE banks may no longer finance the 4% DLD transfer fee or the agent's commission, so those come out of pocket too.

Same threshold, three readings

The visa is federal, but the property is certified by the land authority of the emirate it stands in, and each authority applies the AED 2m differently.

	Dubai	Abu Dhabi	Ras Al Khaimah
Threshold	AED 2m DLD valuation	AED 2m of own equity	AED 2m by contract or valuation
Mortgage	full value counts, lender NOC required	value minus outstanding loan ≥ AED 2m; loan from a national bank	accepted with a lender NOC; confirm the equity test at application
Off-plan	counts, developer must be on the DLD-approved list	at least AED 2m already paid to the developer	counts on a registered sale agreement
Several properties	can be combined	can be combined	can be combined

The difference is material. Under Abu Dhabi's published rules, a AED 5m property with AED 3m outstanding qualifies; the same property with AED 3.5m outstanding does not. Off-plan in the capital is counted by what has actually been paid, not by the contract price — a AED 3m unit that is 30% paid will not qualify until payments pass AED 2m. The identical purchase in Dubai qualifies on day one.

Ras Al Khaimah's appeal is different: the same AED 2m buys noticeably more space than in Dubai, and the emirate's growth around the Al Marjan Island resort draws buyers looking for a visa-qualifying asset that also rents. More on the emirate on our Ras Al Khaimah page.

What the Golden Visa adds beyond residence

• Family on the same term. A spouse and children are sponsored for ten years, without the age cap on sons that applies to standard residence visas.
• Long absences do not cancel it. A regular residence visa lapses after six months outside the country; the Golden Visa does not. For anyone splitting the year between two countries, this is the main benefit.
• Domestic staff. Holders can sponsor household workers.
• The Esaad card. Dubai Golden Visa holders receive a discount card accepted by thousands of UAE businesses, from schools and clinics to hotels.

What it does not give is citizenship, or tax residency by default. How the visa and a tax residency certificate differ is set out in our note on the UAE tax residency certificate.

How to structure a visa-led purchase

Choose the emirate and the payment structure first, the unit second. If you are financing or buying off-plan and need the visa within months, Dubai is the simpler route. In Abu Dhabi the visa follows full payment or a large equity stake. Either way, check that the official valuation will not come in below the contract price — on units bought at a premium to the market it happens, and AED 2.05m on paper becomes AED 1.9m on the valuation.

For the full comparison of residence options, start with the routes into UAE residency, compared, then match the property to the tier you actually need.