Visas
UAE Golden Visa: the 50% down-payment rule is gone — what actually changed
The 50% paid-share rule for the UAE Golden Visa property route is gone. What the live DLD conditions now say — and two changes people confuse it with.
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Overview
For years, the practical blocker on the UAE Golden Visa property route was not the AED 2 million threshold itself — it was the condition attached to financed and off-plan purchases: a minimum share of the property’s value had to be paid before the property counted. In late February 2026 that condition disappeared. A mortgaged apartment with a modest share repaid, or an off-plan unit bought at AED 2 million-plus on a payment plan, can now — on the conditions as they stand — anchor a ten-year residency.
What makes this change unusual is how it was made. There is no published circular, no gazette entry, no numbered decision to cite. The evidence sits in the conditions of the live service itself: the Dubai Land Department’s investor-visa requirements now test the purchase value of the property, not the amount paid. Below: what the current conditions say, who passes now, and the two earlier changes this one keeps getting confused with.
What changed
For financed and off-plan purchases, the Golden Visa property route used to carry a second test on top of the AED 2 million threshold: a minimum paid share of the property’s value. In the second half of February 2026 that test disappeared. Professional consensus dates the change to a federal policy circular issued around 20 February; what is beyond argument is the state of the official conditions today.
The Dubai Land Department’s "Golden Visa — Investor" service — last updated on 9 July 2026 — sets the eligibility test as follows: property with a purchase value of at least AED 2 million at the time of purchase, wholly owned by the applicant. A mortgaged property qualifies with a letter from the bank confirming no objection and stating the amounts paid and remaining. The paid-up conditions that older guides still quote — half the value, or AED 1 million paid — appear nowhere in the current requirements.
The practical result: the test moved from what you have paid to what you bought.
The missing circular
Here is the part an honest write-up cannot skip: there is no published legal instrument to cite. The circular that professional commentary refers to has not appeared in any official gazette, and no number for it circulates. The federal government’s Golden Visa page was refreshed on 26 February 2026 — days after the reported change — but it describes the investor category in general terms and does not spell out the property mechanics.
That leaves the live service conditions as the strongest official anchor — unambiguous on their face (purchase value, ownership, bank letter), but able to change the same way they changed: quietly.
“Our practice note since February is short: file on the conditions in force on the day of submission, not on coverage of the announcement. Where a change arrives without a published instrument, the authority’s live requirements are the only anchor worth relying on.” Gennady Kurdiumov Senior Partner, Co-founder
Two false trails
Two other changes keep being confused with the February 2026 one.
January 2024. Headlines that year also announced the end of a "minimum down payment" for Golden Visa property buyers. That was a separate, earlier adjustment made under different conditions. An article dated 2024 describes the rules as they stood in 2024 — treat it as history, not guidance.
The two-year property visa. In February 2026, at almost the same time, Dubai’s shorter property residence visa also changed: reports describe the removal of the minimum property value for sole owners and an AED 400,000 threshold for owned shares. That is a different permit with different conditions. Notably, the 50 per cent equity requirement for mortgaged and off-plan property is reported to remain in force for that visa — a point resting on secondary reporting only, which we verify at filing. If you are weighing the shorter route, our residence visa service covers it.
Who passes now
Mortgage buyers. A property bought at AED 2 million or more qualifies regardless of how much of the loan has been repaid. The operative document is the bank’s no-objection letter stating the paid and outstanding amounts — the current conditions set no minimum for the paid side.
Off-plan buyers. The test is the purchase value at the time of purchase. On the consensus reading, an off-plan unit bought at a full contract price of AED 2 million or more in a registered project — with interim (Oqood) registration in place — qualifies from that price, not from the instalments paid. The arithmetic that used to fail now passes: a buyer with AED 625,000 paid towards an AED 2.5 million unit meets a purchase-value test — and would have failed a paid-share one.
“Our starting point with financed purchases is the bank letter, not the visa form. Files stall far more often over a no-objection letter that omits the paid or outstanding amount than over eligibility itself — get the letter’s wording right before anything else.” Gennady Kurdiumov Senior Partner, Co-founder
What stayed the same
The February change touched one condition. Everything around it stands as before.
- The threshold. AED 2 million, assessed on purchase value, property wholly owned by the applicant.
- The investor category. The federal portal still describes investors in a single line — minimum capital of AED 2 million, property ownership, or contribution to an establishment paying at least AED 250,000 annually in taxes — and leaves the ten-year property mechanics to the DLD service.
- The benefits. Ten-year residency with no sponsor required, an official exemption from the six-month absence rule, and family sponsorship — spouse, children, and parents, who appear directly in the DLD service.
- The channels. Property in Dubai runs through the DLD together with the GDRFA, and the applicant must be inside the UAE. Property in other emirates — and every non-property category — runs through the federal ICP. The Emirates ID is issued by ICP in all cases.
- The documents. Passport, title deed, photograph, and the current Emirates ID or residency permit if the applicant already holds one.
- Work. The Golden Visa is residency, not work authorisation: employment still requires a permit, and MOHRE runs a dedicated work-permit service for Golden Visa holders.
Fees and timeline
The Dubai property route carries the following official fees for the main applicant:
- Medical fitness test — 700
- Emirates ID — 1,153
- Residency fee — 2,856.75
- DLD fee — 4,020
- Administrative fee — 1,155
- Total — 9,884.75
Dependants are sponsored separately: AED 5,774.50 per family member, a one-time AED 318.75 family-file opening fee, AED 100 added for each sponsored person, and AED 5,774.50 per parent. Standard processing runs 7–10 working days.
Refusals after February
One ground has left the list — and outdated guides still warn about it: a paid-up amount below the old threshold on a mortgaged property. Under the current conditions it is not a ground for refusal — the requirement it enforced no longer exists.
What still sinks applications, in our practice, is rarely the property test at all:
- unattested or expired supporting documents;
- personal data that does not match across the passport, the title deed and the application;
- unpaid fines or overstay records, which in practice are treated as automatic grounds for refusal;
- missing health insurance for dependants — the most common stumble in family files.
“Our refusal reviews start with the boring pages: attestation stamps, expiry dates, and whether a name is spelled identically across the passport, the deed and the form. February removed a rule; it did not remove the paperwork.” Gennady Kurdiumov Senior Partner, Co-founder
Filing checklist
- Confirm the value. The purchase value on the title deed or off-plan registration must be AED 2 million or more — the test is the price at the time of purchase, not today’s market estimate.
- Order the bank letter. For mortgaged property: a no-objection letter stating both the paid and the remaining amounts.
- Check registration. For off-plan: full contract price at AED 2 million or above and the unit’s interim registration in order.
- Pick the channel. Dubai property — DLD and GDRFA, with the applicant inside the UAE. Other emirates or non-property categories — ICP.
- Assemble the file. Passport, title deed, photograph, current Emirates ID if held; health insurance for every dependant.
- Budget and wait. AED 9,884.75 for the main applicant plus dependant fees; 7–10 working days of processing.
If you want the file reviewed against the conditions in force on your filing date, our Golden Visa service does exactly that.
FAQ
Do I still need to have paid 50% of the property’s value? No. The current DLD conditions test the purchase value of the property — at least AED 2 million at the time of purchase — and contain no minimum paid share. The 50% figure describes the rules as they stood before late February 2026.
Does a mortgaged property qualify? Yes. The requirement is a bank letter confirming no objection and stating the amounts paid and remaining. The current conditions set no minimum for how much of the mortgage has been repaid.
Does off-plan property qualify? On the current purchase-value test, yes: a unit bought at a full contract price of AED 2 million or more in a registered project, with interim registration in place, qualifies from that price rather than from the instalments paid. Confirm the registration status before filing.
Can I combine several properties to reach AED 2 million? In practice, yes — the threshold is assessed on the combined purchase value of qualifying properties. Title structure matters, so have the specific set reviewed before filing.
What happens if I sell the property? The residency is tied to holding the qualifying asset, so selling the property puts the visa at risk. Take advice on sequencing before the sale, not after.
Can I sponsor my parents? Yes. Parents appear directly in the DLD Golden Visa service, at AED 5,774.50 per parent, alongside spouse and children.
Conditions and figures in this article were verified as of 10 July 2026 against the authority’s live service cards and the federal government’s official visa pages. Requirements in this area change without published notice — re-check the live conditions, or have us re-check them, on the day you file.
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