Dubai has made significant relief for small-scale real estate investors. The Emirate's Department of Land Resources (DLD) has abolished the minimum housing cost threshold of 750,000 dirhams (about $204,000), which was previously mandatory for obtaining a two-year residence visa. This decision, published on the DLD Cube Centre platform on April 29, has already entered into force, despite the absence of an official decree.
The changes also affected the rules of joint ownership of real estate. Now it is enough for each of the co-owners to have a share of 400,000 dirhams (approximately 109,000 dollars).. Previously, it was required that each owner individually own a property worth the full 750,000 dirhams, which made it extremely inconvenient for purchase partners to obtain a visa.
It is important to emphasize that this visa is not a "Golden Visa" of the UAE. We are talking about a residence permit linked to a real estate object. For comparison, a ten-year "golden visa" still requires an investment of at least 2 million dirhams (about $545,000), and a five-year retirement visa requires 1 million dirhams.
To take advantage of the new rules, the applicant must be the sole owner of the finished property (facilities under construction registered in the Oqood system are not suitable). You will also need medical insurance, a certificate of good behavior from the Dubai police, and a letter of no objection from the bank for mortgaged properties. The visa processing period, according to DLD, is 10-15 business days.
This step was part of a broader administrative reform: recently, the Dubai authorities changed the administration of three different residence permits related to real estate, combining them into a single service channel. Analysts note that the new "low entry ticket" is designed to revive demand for budget facilities, but its success will directly depend on how quickly customer confidence is restored after recent geopolitical upheavals.
Source: IMI
