Who qualifies
The owner of property in Dubai worth AED 2 million or more, measured on the purchase price registered with the Dubai Land Department, or on a current valuation from the Department. One home or several can be combined to reach the figure.
Since the 2022 changes an off-plan home from an approved developer counts, and so does a mortgaged home, subject to the bank confirming the position. Where a home is owned jointly, the shares matter, and spouses are treated differently from other co-owners, so we check the structure before the transfer rather than after it.
What the visa gives
Ten years of residence, renewable while the qualifying property is held. The holder sponsors a spouse and children, and household staff, without a separate employer. Unlike an ordinary residence visa it is not cancelled by long periods outside the country, which is what makes it useful to an owner who spends part of the year elsewhere.
It does not change the tax position by itself. The UAE levies no personal income tax, and residence for the purposes of another country's tax rules is a question for that country's tests, not the visa.
How the application runs
The application is made through the Dubai Land Department, which checks the title deed and its value, and then through the federal immigration authority for the visa itself. The steps are the title deed, a medical test, biometrics for the Emirates ID, and the visa stamp. A straightforward case takes a few weeks from the transfer, and the government fees run to a few thousand dirhams.
Heritage handles the Land Department side, books the medical and the biometrics, and keeps the documents in order. The buyer attends twice.
What a prime buyer should weigh
At AED 10 million the threshold is not the question. What matters is whether the home you want anyway also does the visa work cleanly: a ready title deed in your own name is the simplest case, a company-held or jointly held property needs a look at the shares, and an off-plan purchase qualifies on the developer's registration rather than a deed.
We put the visa route in writing with the offer, so it is settled before the deposit and never a surprise at the trustee office.