The UAE has cancelled the minimum down payment of Dh1 million ($272,294) required to qualify for a golden visa through real estate investment. The aim is to encourage more residents and investors to buy property to establish deeper roots in the country, according to reports. For buyers to be eligible for the golden visa, the property should be valued at more than Dh2 million. If the value of the property exceeds Dh2 million, owners opting for a payment plan or mortgage can apply for the long-term visa.

”You only have to buy a property worth Dh2 million, but you don’t have to hold equity of the same value,” said Mathew Gregory, branch manager at real estate agency, Betterhomes. Until now the investor would have had to put in a down payment of Dh1 million for this.

This is huge news as most property investors will now be eligible for the 10-year golden residency.

Applicants need to submit the title deed of the property, letter from the developer or mortgage document from the bank, and their passport copy along with a photograph,” said Firosekhan, managing director of Dubai-based Profound Business Service.

Off-plan properties will be considered on a case-to-case basis, the report said. In such cases, the investor only needs to make down payment, which could be just Dh50,000 and be eligible for the golden visa. All golden visa holders can sponsor their spouses, children and parents for the same 10-year period.

Jess Stephenson, head of sales progression at Allsopp & Allsopp Group said this opens the visa to everybody who has a mortgage. “If you pay in 20 per cent of the property’s value, which most people do for a mortgage, they would be eligible for the visa,” she said.

Payment plans for Dubai-based homes range from 1 per cent monthly to five- to 25-year schemes after an initial down payment. When it comes to mortgages, up to 80 per cent of property value can be financed.

The golden visa was first introduced in 2019, allowing exceptional talents to live and work in the country on their own sponsorship through a 10-year renewable visa. It is open to investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, outstanding students and graduates, humanitarian pioneers and frontline heroes.