Last year, the UAE government announced new long term visa laws that will be granted to the foreign population, particularly investors, specialists and some students. By offering long-term residency, the government aims to further strengthen the country’s economy and to further reinforces the countries position as a primary location for international investors.



As real estate enthusiasts, the part of this governmental initiative that grabbed our attention was the long term visa that will be granted to investors. This initiative is first of its kind in the region and is expected to encourage residents and foreigners to invest in UAE’s property market. In general these are all signs of maturity in the country’s property market which will further strengthen buyer’s confidence and boost the property market in Dubai.



Before digging deep into the initiative's benefits to both the investor and the market in general, let’s first discuss the different types of investor visas as announced by the UAE Cabinet.



For investors, both within the UAE and abroad, the long term visa are two types. The most basic option being the 5-year residence visa which is granted upon a minimum investment of AED 5 Million. This can be in a form of a property of that value or any other type of investment. The second type of visa is the one that dominated the headlines creating a buzz in the real estate market, this type of visa grants 10-year residence visa to investor who invest a minimum of AED 10 Million, with the condition that at least 60% of the investment must be on a non-real estate investment. This could be in the form of a business partnership or any other public investment.



For the above visa types mentioned, there are certain conditions that have to be met. The main condition being that the entire investment amount must come from the investor without any financing or loans. These visas can be also extended to include your spouse and children.

Source : www.khaleejtimes.com



This new initiative is expected to attract and keep more international high net worth foreign investors, it will also encourage residence especially retired residence to invest in the country in order to continue living in the place they consider second home.



This law will also push many investors to stretch their investment to the AED 5 Million or AED 10 Million mark in order to benefit from the new long-term visa. In fact we are expecting to see more investments this year in areas like Dubai Hills Estate, Arabian Ranches, Downtown Dubai and JBR which all feature projects that are above the AED 5 Million mark. There will also still be a strong demand for affordable projects since some previous buyers will want to hit the same targets while other new buyers may just prefer not putting all their money in one project.



In conclusion, the new visa initiative will for sure have a great positive impact on Dubai’s real estate market giving qualified residents a sense of stability to invest in the city’s property market, it will also stabilize the real estate market in the long run as there will be more end-users in the market.



Hope this short article was helpful, if interested to learn more about investing in Dubai, feel free to get in touch with one of our expert agents by clicking on the “Book a meeting” button below or use the chat box to write us your enquiry.