A Dubai mortgage for non-residents is a UAE home loan for somebody who lives abroad, and UAE banks do offer one. You do not need a UAE residence visa. You need a larger deposit than a resident puts down: Our calculator asks for at least 40%, and one bank we checked lends at most 50% of the value. You also need income a bank can verify, and cash for the costs on top, about 7% to 8% of the price.
This page sets out what changes when you live outside the UAE, what each cost is and who sets it, and how much a bank would lend on your income. The calculator follows the rules UAE mortgage calculators commonly use, so its figures match what a buyer sees elsewhere in the market.
Leave your details and our Dubai team will call you back. We look at your case first, then take the purchase through with you and arrange the mortgage with a bank.
UAE banks treat the same property differently depending on where you live. The rows below are the same for both.
Non-resident: no UAE residence visa
Resident expat with a UAE visa
Caps for expatriates are the Central Bank of the UAE's. Its regulation sets no separate cap for non-residents, and each bank sets its own; the ones we checked are stricter. Figures as published in September 2026.
Two calculators, on the rules UAE mortgage calculators commonly use. The first gives the monthly payment and every cost paid up front. The second shows how much a bank would lend on your income.
Monthly payment
AED 6,697a month
Capital and interest: the loan is paid off by the end of the term.
Loan
AED 1,200,000
60% LTV · 25 years
At AED 2 million or more, wholly owned by you, the property can qualify for the 10-year Golden Visa even with a mortgage, once the bank gives a no-objection letter.
AED 945,540
| Land Department transfer fee4% of the price, plus AED 580 of admin | AED 80,580 |
| Registration trusteeAED 4,000 plus VAT; AED 2,000 below AED 500,000 | AED 4,200 |
| Mortgage registration0.25% of the loan, plus AED 10 | AED 3,010 |
| Agency fee2% of the price plus VAT in the calculator | AED 42,000 |
| Bank arrangement fee1% of the loan plus VAT in the calculator | AED 12,600 |
| ValuationSet by the bank; AED 3,000 plus VAT in the calculator | AED 3,150 |
| Total costs | AED 145,540 |
An illustration, not an offer. Costs follow the Dubai Land Department's fees and common market assumptions; banks set the rate, their fees and the loan on application.
On top of the down payment, six costs are due before you get the keys. On a AED 2 million home bought from abroad, they come to about 7.3% of the price.
4% of the price, plus AED 580 of admin
AED 4,000 plus VAT; AED 2,000 below AED 500,000
0.25% of the loan, plus AED 10
2% of the price plus VAT in the calculator
1% of the loan plus VAT in the calculator
Set by the bank; AED 3,000 plus VAT in the calculator
Total costsAED 145,540
Land Department and trustee fees as published by the Dubai Land Department; bank and agency fees as the calculator assumes them. Checked September 2026. VAT is 5%.
Golden Visa
A home worth AED 2 million or more can support the 10-year Golden Visa even while it is mortgaged. The Land Department asks for a letter from the bank saying it does not object, and stating what has been paid and what is still owed.
The usual order is below. How long each step takes depends on the bank and on how complete your papers are.
Where you live, your income and your deposit decide which banks will lend to you. We start there, before any property is chosen.
A bank indicates how much it would lend, based on your documents and a check of your income and debts.
You agree the price with the seller and sign the sale agreement, with the deposit paid as agreed.
The bank values the property and issues its final offer. At one bank, life and property insurance are mandatory for non-residents.
The sale and the mortgage are registered together at a Land Department trustee office, and the fees are paid.
The title deed is issued in your name with the bank's mortgage noted on it, and the keys are handed over.
In English or Arabic, or with a certified translation. One bank asks buyers of some nationalities for tax returns attested by the UAE's foreign ministry.
The loan is the same; four things around it are not.
The loan is in dirhams. If you earn in lira or euros, a weaker currency later raises what each payment costs you.
Banks set their own lists. One bank names the nationalities it lends to and reviews all others case by case, with tax returns attested by the UAE's foreign ministry; Türkiye is not named on it.
At one bank, life and property insurance are mandatory for non-residents, and a savings account at the bank is required for the repayments.
The Central Bank caps the term at 25 years and leaves the age limit to banks. One bank lends to non-residents only until age 60 at the end of the loan.
Every listing here is one our Dubai team handles directly, from the first viewing to the transfer.
Golden Visa eligibleUAE-00059Dubai Islands, Dubai
Off-plan · 2027
Golden Visa eligibleUAE-00058Dubai Islands, Dubai
Off-plan · 2027
Golden Visa eligibleUAE-00056Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah
Off-plan · 2029
Start with where you live and what you earn: those decide the banks, the deposit and the rate. Our Dubai team then takes the purchase through with you, and the mortgage is arranged with the bank. For the purchase itself, from offer to title deed, read our guide to buying property in the UAE.
This page is general information, not mortgage, tax or legal advice. Banks' criteria and fees change; confirm yours with the bank and a qualified adviser before you commit.
Last reviewed
No. A UAE residence visa is not needed, and some UAE banks lend to buyers who live abroad. Expect at least 40% down on our calculator, and 50% at one bank.
The lower of two limits: a share of the price, and what your income supports. Your monthly repayments on all loans may not exceed half your income, and an expatriate's loan may not exceed seven times annual income (eight for UAE nationals).
About 7.3% of the price on a AED 2 million home bought from abroad: the six costs come to AED 145,540 on top of the down payment, led by the Land Department's 4% transfer fee.
Possibly: living in Türkiye does not rule you out, but each bank sets its own lists. One bank names the nationalities it lends to and leaves out Türkiye; it reviews others case by case with tax returns attested by the UAE's foreign ministry. We check which banks will look at your case before you apply.
Yes, but only up to 50% of the value, for any buyer, under the Central Bank's rules.
Yes, if it is worth AED 2 million or more. The Land Department asks for a no-objection letter from the bank showing what has been paid and what is still owed.
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A few details and a time that works for you. We'll take care of the rest.
No advisory fee. No matching fee. No markup on the property price. We are paid by the seller when a purchase completes.
A Dubai mortgage for foreigners is really two products. A foreigner who lives in the UAE borrows within caps the Central Bank publishes. A foreigner who lives abroad borrows on terms each bank sets for itself, which is why searches for Dubai mortgage non-resident terms turn up answers that differ from one bank to the next.
The calculator above works the numbers on common market rules. This section covers the questions around them.
For a resident, the ceiling is written into regulation. The Central Bank of the UAE caps an expatriate's loan at 80% of a first home below AED 5 million, 70% above that and 60% on a second home. For someone living abroad the regulation sets no separate cap, so each bank draws its own line. Our payment calculator asks a non-resident for at least 40% down, so it lends at most 60%; one bank stops at 50%.
One cap applies to everyone: an off-plan purchase can be financed up to 50% of its value, whoever the buyer is. Because the rest is the bank's figure and not the regulator's, ask for the loan-to-value in writing at pre-approval, before you agree a price.
No bank publishes one non-resident rate that holds for everybody. The calculator opens on 4.54% for a buyer abroad and 3.75% for a resident: example rates for working the numbers, not offers. The gap shows the direction: a buyer abroad pays more for the same loan.
The Central Bank's rules require a bank's key facts statement to say whether the rate is fixed, variable or a combination of the two. Many home loans combine them: a fixed rate for the first years, then a variable rate that moves with EIBOR, the interbank benchmark. The 3-month EIBOR stood at 4.35% on 25 September 2026. So ask not only for the opening rate but for the margin over EIBOR you pay once the fixed period ends.
A bank measures what you can afford at a harder rate than the one it quotes. The eligibility tab of the calculator tests your income at 5.9% over 25 years, above both example rates, so the loan it shows is one you could still carry if rates rose.
Beyond the documents, a bank runs a handful of tests, and each can change the answer:
Each UAE bank that lends to buyers abroad keeps its own list of accepted nationalities. One names the nationalities it lends to and leaves Türkiye off, but reviews everyone else case by case, with tax returns attested by the UAE's foreign ministry. For a buyer living in Türkiye that means a closer review, not a closed door. Our Dubai team checks which banks will look at your case before you apply, and the mortgage is arranged with the bank.
The cash you need is more than the down payment. On top of at least 40%, allow about 7% to 8% of the price for costs: the Land Department's 4% transfer fee plus AED 580, 0.25% of the loan to register the mortgage, and the bank's, the trustee's and the agency's fees. In Dubai the buyer pays the full 4% transfer fee, and the calculator counts it that way. A buyer abroad putting 40% down therefore needs close to half the price in cash.
The loan can sit alongside a residence plan. A property of AED 2 million or more can support the 10-year Golden Visa while it is mortgaged, once the bank issues a no-objection letter; our Dubai Golden Visa page explains the route. The UAE buying guide covers the transfer, and homes for sale in Dubai and across the UAE show what the numbers buy.
On our London mortgage page, by comparison, most lenders we checked go up to 75% of the price for a buyer abroad. This section is general information; what binds is the bank's written offer.