What a foreigner can actually own
It is the first question and almost nobody answers it precisely. In Dubai, non-resident foreigners and expatriate residents may acquire freehold ownership of a property without restriction, usufruct rights, or leasehold rights of up to 99 years, within the areas designated for it. The title deed is issued by the emirate's Land Department.
Those designated areas are set by regulation: Regulation No. 3 of 2006 determining areas for ownership by non-nationals. It is not a sales list that changes with whichever development is being pushed, it is a legislative annex — which is why "is it in a freehold area?" has an objective answer before anything is signed.
Source
The Official Portal of the UAE Government (u.ae)
Expatriates buying a property in the UAE
page states it was updated on 30 December 2024
accessed on 13 August 2026
Open the official source
Tax: what Dubai does not charge
The UAE Government's official portal states that the UAE does not levy income tax on individuals, and that a 5% value added tax applies to the purchase of goods and services.
It is worth being exact here, because this is where the exaggeration usually starts: that describes what the country where the property sits does not charge. How any specific transaction is treated — what carries VAT and what does not — is checked in the contract and with a tax adviser, deal by deal.
Source
The Official Portal of the UAE Government (u.ae)
Taxation
page shows no update date
accessed on 13 August 2026
Open the official source
What registering the purchase costs
The Dubai Land Department's official sale registration service sets 2% of the sale value payable by the seller and 2% by the buyer, plus fixed fees: title deed issuance, the map, and the registration trustee centre's fees, which depend on whether the sale reaches AED 500,000.
Who ends up paying which half of the 4% is a matter of negotiation and market practice, not of law — so this page does not assert what the custom is: it is agreed and read in the contract. What is objective is the official schedule of fees and where to check it.
Source
Dubai Land Department
Property Sale Registration (official service)
page shows no update date
accessed on 13 August 2026
Open the official source
Residence through investment
The UAE's official portal lists, for real estate investors, a minimum capital of AED 2,000,000 and a renewable 5-year residence visa. The page states it was updated on 28 July 2026.
It is a published requirement, not a promise: the immigration authority decides, case by case, with the file in front of it. Anyone guaranteeing you the visa before the file is even filed is promising something that is not theirs to promise.
Source
The Official Portal of the UAE Government (u.ae)
Golden visa
page states it was updated on 28 July 2026
accessed on 13 August 2026
Open the official source
Who holds your money in off-plan
It is the question that frightens people most from 12,000 km away, and it has a concrete answer. Amounts paid by buyers for units sold off-plan are deposited into the project's escrow account, not into the developer's till. The Dubai Land Department's FAQ also describes the retention of 5% of the total paid for one year from project completion, as a guarantee.
And off-plan sales are registered: Dubai's Interim Real Property Register is governed by Law No. 13 of 2008, included in the Land Department's own official compilation of legislation.
Source
Dubai Land Department
Frequently Asked Questions
page shows no update date
accessed on 13 August 2026
Open the official source
Source
Dubai Land Department
Dubai Real Estate Legislation (official compilation)
page shows no update date
accessed on 13 August 2026
Open the official source
Developer payment plans
You will not see a specific payment plan here, and that absence is deliberate. Dubai's off-plan offer changes week by week: a plan published on a website today would be false next month, and the person who published it is the one who would look bad.
What can be explained is the structure, which is what you actually need in order to compare two offers: how much is paid on reservation, how the rest is spread through construction — against construction milestones or against a calendar — and how much is left for handover. The percentages of each tranche are set by each developer for each project and they are in the sale and purchase agreement. We look at that together, with the document in front of us, not on a web page.
No figures: there is no official source for this because each developer sets it for each project.
What Dubai does not charge, your country might
Buying in Dubai does not remove you from your own tax residence. What is paid, declared or reported depends on the country you live in, changes over time, and is looked at case by case with an adviser in your own country before anything is signed here.
No source, because there is no single one: every country has its own, and none of them is published here from memory.