UAE scraps ‘minimum down payment’ for Golden Visa real estate investors

Libbie Burtinshaw – Head of Operations at PRO Partner Group

Previously, for properties bought on mortgage or instalment plans, homebuyers had to make a minimum down payment of Dh1 million, or 50% of the property’s value, to the bank or developer to be eligible for the golden visa. The recent change eliminates the need for a minimum down payment altogether.

The UAE government confirmed in January that it had withdrawn the previous requirement for an AED1 million (USD272,294) ‘minimum down payment’ for applicants to qualify for a Golden Visa through real estate investment.

The UAE Golden Visa, a 10-year renewable residency programme, was introduced in 2019 to encourage exceptional individuals and foreign investors to establish deeper ties to the country.

It is targeted at investors, entrepreneurs, skilled professionals who earn a monthly salary of more than AED30,000 (USD8,167), exceptional talents, scientists and professionals, outstanding students and graduates, property investors, humanitarian pioneers and frontline heroes.

To qualify under the property investment route, investors were required to acquire property in the UAE valued at AED2 million or above. But for properties bought on mortgage or instalment plans, applicants were further required to make a minimum down payment of AED1 million, or 50% of the property’s value, to the bank or developer. This additional requirement has now been withdrawn.

“Eliminating the financial barrier associated with the minimum down payment will open up the Golden Visa option to most property investors in the UAE because most properties are valued at more than AED2 million,” said Libbie Burtinshaw, Head of Operations at PRO Partner Group.

“This will open up the programme to many more foreign investors. Mortgage buyers will now be able to apply for the Golden Visa, which allows them to sponsor their family and domestic staff. This will provide investors with greater stability and opportunity both in Dubai and across the wider UAE.”