7 Steps to Buying Off-Plan Property in Dubai as a Foreigner

Yes, you can — Dubai is 100% open to foreign buyers

Foreign nationals of any country can buy property in Dubai outright (no leasehold, no local sponsor) in designated freehold zones. Practically every area in our catalog — Business Bay, Dubai Marina, Downtown, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Hills Estate, Dubai Creek Harbour, JVC, JLT and more — is freehold.

You do not need a UAE residence visa to make the purchase. Many buyers complete the deal on a tourist visa, sign documents in person or remotely (via Power of Attorney), and only obtain a visa after the transaction.

Off-plan vs. ready: what's different

Off-plan means you buy a unit during construction, directly from the developer. Compared to ready property:

• You pay in installments tied to construction milestones (typical plans: 20/60/20, 50/50, 60/40).
• Entry prices are 15–30% below comparable ready inventory.
• Your payments sit in a RERA-regulated escrow account — the developer cannot touch them until specific construction milestones are verified.
• You receive the keys at handover (usually 2–4 years from launch).
• During construction you hold a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) and an Oqood (off-plan registration). The title deed is issued only at handover.

The process — 7 steps to your title deed

1. Choose the project and unit. Compare developer reputation, location, payment plan, handover date, view and tower position. Use our catalog or interactive map to filter.

2. Reserve the unit with a small holding deposit (typically AED 10,000–50,000 by card or transfer). Reservation is usually valid 7–14 days while paperwork is prepared.

3. Sign the SPA (Sale and Purchase Agreement) — the binding contract with the developer. Pay the down payment (typically 10–20%). This is when you officially become a buyer.

4. Oqood registration. Within 30 days, the developer registers the SPA with DLD and issues you an Oqood certificate — your proof of off-plan ownership. The 4% DLD registration fee is paid here (sometimes covered by the developer as a promotion).

5. Pay milestone installments during construction, per your payment plan. Each payment is escrow-released to the developer only after RERA verifies the milestone (e.g. 30% construction complete).

6. Handover. Construction completes, the developer obtains the Building Completion Certificate, and you're invited to inspect and accept the unit. You settle the final installment.

7. Title deed issuance. DLD issues the official title deed in your name. You can now register for a residency visa (if eligible), sell, lease or live in the property.

What it actually costs — full budget

Plan for around 7–9% on top of the headline property price in fees and taxes. Breakdown:

• DLD registration fee — 4% of the unit price (this is the big one). Sometimes paid 50/50 with the developer or fully covered as a promotion.
• DLD admin fee — AED 40 for off-plan (AED 580 for ready property).
• Oqood fee — AED 1,000–2,000 to issue your off-plan registration certificate.
• Trustee office fee — AED 4,000–4,200.
• NOC fee — AED 500–5,000 (paid only if you're buying from a previous off-plan owner, not from the developer directly).
• Lawyer or conveyancer — optional, AED 5,000–15,000. Strongly recommended for first-time foreign buyers.
• Money transfer fees from your home country — 0.5–2% depending on bank and currency.

Dubai has zero personal income tax, zero capital gains tax, zero inheritance tax and no annual property tax. Only the recurring service charge (AED 8–25 per sqft per year) applies once you own.

Payments — getting money into the UAE

All developer payments must go through escrow accounts at UAE-licensed banks. You'll receive an escrow account number per project and transfer your installments there.

From abroad, the cleanest options are:

• International wire transfer from your home bank in your home currency (AED is the destination). Reliable but slowest (1–5 business days) and most expensive.
• Wise, Revolut or similar fintech — much cheaper FX, faster, ideal for amounts up to USD 200K per transfer.
• Crypto (USDT/USDC) — many developers in Dubai now accept crypto for off-plan, converted on-chain to AED at the moment of payment. Fastest and lowest friction for high-value transactions.

Russian and CIS buyers: sanctioned Russian banks cannot send to UAE. Workarounds include accounts in Kazakhstan, UAE, Georgia, Armenia, or buying with crypto. Many UAE developers explicitly accept payments from non-sanctioned third-country sources.

Golden Visa — residency by property investment

Buying property in Dubai is one of the most popular paths to UAE residency:

• Investor visa (2-year, renewable) — for property worth AED 750,000+. Single owner.
• Golden Visa (10-year, renewable) — for property worth AED 2,000,000+. Multiple owners can split a single property and each qualify.

Important: you cannot apply for the residency visa using an off-plan unit until the title deed is issued in your name (i.e. after handover). During construction you are a contract-holder, not yet a registered owner under DLD eligibility rules.

Once the title deed is issued, the visa application is straightforward and takes 2–6 weeks. The visa allows you to live in the UAE, sponsor your spouse and children, and open local bank accounts. See our Golden Visa guide.

Red flags — how to avoid mistakes

Things to verify before you sign:

• The developer is RERA-registered. Check the DLD broker registry. We only list RERA-registered developers in our catalog.
• The project has an active escrow account. The SPA must name the bank and account number.
• The advertised price matches DLD-filed records for comparable units. Some brokers add hidden markups — request the developer's official price list.
• Handover date is realistic. A 2-year handover on a 60-storey tower that hasn't broken ground is unrealistic. Look at the developer's track record.
• The payment plan is interest-free. It should be by definition for off-plan — but read every clause. Penalties for late installments are normal (usually 10–12% p.a.) but they should be clearly disclosed.

We do background checks on every project listed on HomeBase. If anything seems off, we flag it on the project page.

Can I do all this remotely?

Mostly yes. The SPA can be signed remotely if the developer accepts DocuSign or notarized PDF. Some steps still need in-person presence:

• DLD registration — needs you or a Power of Attorney holder physically at a Trustee Office in Dubai. POA can be issued at any UAE embassy in your home country (or notarized + apostilled, then attested at the UAE embassy).
• Handover inspection — strongly recommended in person, but a trusted agent or property management company can attend on your behalf.
• Title deed collection — POA holder can collect.

Most successful international buyers either fly to Dubai once (2-3 days) to handle DLD steps, or appoint a local POA holder for the entire process.