Off-plan: no, not for the 2-year investor visa — the property must be complete with a title deed issued. Mortgaged: yes, in principle, for both the 2-year investor visa and the Golden Visa — but exactly how much you need to have paid off is the single most disputed figure in Dubai property-visa content right now. Several sources actively contradict each other on this point, including sources published after the rule they are describing supposedly changed. This article sets out what is settled, and is explicit about where it genuinely is not — because getting this wrong before you commit capital to a property is an expensive mistake to make.
Off-Plan Property: The 2-Year Investor Visa Excludes It
This part is well established and consistent across sources. The 2-year property investor visa requires a completed residential unit with a registered DLD title deed. An Oqood contract — the interim registration off-plan buyers hold before handover — is not a title deed and does not qualify. Construction has to finish and the deed has to be issued before this specific visa route becomes available.
This is a real constraint on timing, not a paperwork formality. If you buy off-plan intending to use the property for a 2-year investor visa, that plan does not activate until handover — which for a new launch can be two to four years out. If residency is time-sensitive, factor that gap into your decision before signing an off-plan SPA.
Off-Plan and the Golden Visa: Less Clear-Cut
For the 10-year Golden Visa specifically, the position is less settled than for the 2-year route. Some guidance describes the qualifying document as “the title deed or Oqood” depending on completion stage, implying an Oqood-stage off-plan property might be presentable toward the AED 2 million threshold in some circumstances. This is not corroborated as strongly or as consistently as the 2-year visa's off-plan exclusion, and it is exactly the kind of detail that can differ by case.
Do not assume an off-plan property qualifies for either route without a specific, written confirmation from DLD or your legal adviser before you buy on that basis. If Golden Visa eligibility is a genuine factor in your purchase decision, get that confirmation in writing referencing your specific unit and payment stage, not a general article.
Mortgaged Property: Yes, But How Much You Need to Have Paid Is Disputed
This is the part of this topic where the public information genuinely conflicts, and it is worth reading carefully rather than taking any single source — including, on its own, this one — as final.
What every source agrees on: a mortgage does not automatically disqualify a property from investor visa or Golden Visa eligibility. A bank no-objection letter is required as part of the application. Multiple properties can be combined to reach the AED 2 million Golden Visa threshold, provided each is freehold and DLD-registered in the applicant's name.
Where sources disagree, sharply:
| Position | What it claims | Source type |
|---|---|---|
| Paid-up equity of AED 2 million required | The bank letter must show at least AED 2 million actually paid against the property — the mortgage balance does not count toward the threshold. A AED 3 million property with 40% paid (AED 1.2 million) would not yet qualify. | The Dubai Land Department’s own published Golden Visa service page, plus several specialist advisory sources |
| Total DLD-certified value, mortgage balance irrelevant | Eligibility is based solely on the property’s registered value reaching AED 2 million. What remains owed on the mortgage is not assessed at all, following a reported rule change in February 2026. | Several specialist property and immigration advisory sources, some published as late as mid-2026 |
The detail that makes this genuinely hard to resolve from public sources alone: the official DLD Golden Visa service page itself, as currently published, uses “paid amount” language — which supports the paid-up-equity position, not the total-value position. Yet multiple advisory sources, including ones published well into 2026, confidently describe a February 2026 shift to total value regardless of mortgage balance. These cannot both be correct as stated, and this is not an old-guide-versus-new-guide problem — the sources making contradictory claims are contemporaneous.
The practical conclusion: do not structure a property purchase or a paydown schedule around either interpretation without a direct, written confirmation from DLD or a licensed advisor referencing the current position for your specific application. If the equity interpretation is correct and you assumed the total-value interpretation, you could commit to a property believing you qualify and be rejected at application — an expensive way to discover which reading was right.
Why This Distinction Matters in Practice
Under the paid-up-equity reading, here is what qualifies and what does not:
| Scenario | Paid to date | Qualifies under equity reading? |
|---|---|---|
| AED 3,000,000 property, 40% down payment | AED 1,200,000 | No — below AED 2,000,000 |
| AED 3,000,000 property, 70% paid down | AED 2,100,000 | Yes — above AED 2,000,000 |
| AED 2,300,000 property, fully paid | AED 2,300,000 | Yes |
Under the total-value reading, all three scenarios above would qualify, since each property's registered value is what is assessed rather than the amount paid. The gap between these two outcomes for the first scenario — eligible or not — is exactly why this needs a definitive, case-specific answer rather than a general one.
A Reported April 2026 Change Worth Asking About
At least one source describes a mechanism introduced in early 2026 allowing a bank guarantee to substitute for a previous requirement of roughly 50% cash paid upfront on a mortgaged qualifying property — which, if accurate and still current, would let an investor qualify for the Golden Visa route on a financed AED 2 million property without having paid down AED 1 million in cash. This is reported by a single source in the material available and is not independently corroborated to the same standard as the other facts in this article. Ask your bank and DLD specifically whether a guarantee structure is available for your situation rather than assuming it applies.
The 2-Year Investor Visa Has Its Own Mortgage Position
Everything above concerns the Golden Visa specifically. The 2-year property investor visa is administered somewhat differently, and our guide to buying property in Dubai as a foreigner notes that mortgaged property on that route carries its own additional requirements, including a bank NOC, and that some advisers report a continuing paydown condition specific to that visa category — do not assume the Golden Visa's mortgage rules, whichever interpretation turns out to be correct, automatically transfer to the 2-year route. Confirm the position for the specific visa you are applying for, not the property-visa category generally.
What to Actually Do Before You Buy
- Get a DLD valuation certificate confirming the current registered value of the property, or combined portfolio, against the AED 2 million or relevant threshold.
- For a mortgaged property, request a bank letter early — not at application stage — confirming both the outstanding balance and the amount paid to date, since either figure may be what is assessed.
- Ask DLD or a licensed advisor directly which interpretation currently applies to your specific application, in writing, before you commit to a purchase or a paydown timeline based on either reading.
- If buying off-plan with residency as a genuine goal, get written confirmation of the specific route and timing — the 2-year visa clearly excludes off-plan until handover, and Golden Visa eligibility at the Oqood stage should not be assumed.
- If considering multiple smaller properties to reach the threshold, confirm each is individually freehold and DLD-registered in your name before assuming they combine cleanly.
Related Reading
Our guide to the Golden Visa real estate investment route covers the AED 2 million threshold and application process in full, our comparison of the investor visa versus employment visa covers which route suits which situation, and our guide to Dubai investor visa renewal costs covers how property value and mortgage status are reassessed at every renewal cycle, not just at initial application — which matters if your paydown position changes over time. If you are weighing whether to hold the property personally or through a company, our guide to corporate tax on UAE real estate covers the structuring consequences of that choice.
Confirm the Current Reading Before You Commit
Off-plan is a clear no for the 2-year investor visa, and worth confirming case-by-case for the Golden Visa. Mortgaged property genuinely can qualify — the open question is how much has to be paid off, and public sources currently disagree with each other, including the official DLD page against several advisory firms. Do not structure a purchase, a paydown schedule, or a residency timeline around either reading without a written, case-specific answer. Takween Advisory works through this exact verification before a client commits capital, as part of full real estate advisory and UAE Golden Visa services. Book a free consultation before you sign on a mortgaged or off-plan property with residency in mind.