Last week, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) announced two new ways to get a residence visa in the UAE. Both of these are connected to purchasing real estate in the Emirates.
The first of these new conditions allows you to receive a visa through joint ownership of real estate. Several people can buy a property together and each one will receive a visa. The DLD will now accept a certificate of joint ownership of a property.
Important! The joint owners can not be family members.
The type of visa the property owners will receive depends on one factor - the total amount of the investment in the property. If the real estate is purchased at more than AED 2M (USD 545K), then the owners will receive a 10-year UAE Golden Visa. If it is purchased at less than AED 2M (USD 545K), but more than AED 705K (USD 204K), then the owners will be given a 2-year UAE visa. If any of the joint owners are aged 55 or older, they will be eligible to receive a retirement visa valid for 5 years.
Note! The possibility of receiving a visa for joint ownership in a property had previously been available in Dubai but was temporarily suspended until recently reinstated.
The second of these new conditions that allows you to get a residency visa is through a certificate of assessment of the valuation of the property. A property that was purchased but has since increased in value can also be used to qualify for a visa. For example, real estate that was originally purchased for AED 1.5M (USD 408K), would fall into the 2-year visa category, however, if the owner receives a Valuation Certificate showing that the property has appreciated in value and is now worth AED 2M (USD 504K), then the owner has the right to obtain the 10-year Golden Visa. The same rules apply for the 2-year and 5-year retirement visas: if previously purchased property has increased in value and now meets the requirements for a visa or a different visa, then the owner will be granted the visa based on these changes. The Valuation Certificate costs AED 4,000 (USD 1,089) and will need to be presented to prove the property meets the visa requirements.