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2-year property visa: Dubai sees rising demand for Dh750,000 homes after rule change
Real estate experts say scrapping the minimum investment threshold for the two-year property visa is drawing first-time and overseas buyers to affordable communities, even as the broader market cools
- PUBLISHED: Wed 1 Jul 2026, 8:08 AM UPDATED: Wed 1 Jul 2026, 8:13 AM
Dubai's affordable housing segment is seeing a gradual uptick in enquiries after the emirate scrapped the minimum investment requirement for its two-year property visa, according to real estate industry leaders.
“We have seen a gradual increase in enquiries for properties below Dh750,000, particularly from overseas buyers seeking residency through property ownership and residents purchasing their first home,” said Farooq Syed, CEO of Springfield Properties.
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He noted that studios continue to attract the strongest demand, as they offer the widest choice within this price segment, while the supply of competitively priced one-bedroom apartments remains comparatively limited.
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Syed pointed to sustained demand across affordable communities including Dubailand, Marjan, Dubai Production City and International City, where buyers continue to find competitively priced homes supported by established infrastructure, lifestyle amenities and strong long-term value.
In April, Dubai updated the rules for two-year property-linked visa, removing the minimum property value requirement for sole owners and relaxing conditions for jointly-owned properties.
The previous minimum property value requirement of Dh750,000 for individual investors was removed. However, the applicant must be the sole owner of the property. If the property is jointly owned by more than one person, each investor must hold a share worth at least Dh400,000 to be eligible to apply for the residency visa, even if ownership is split equally.
Visa-invisible communities
Rohit Bachani, co-founder of Merlin Real Estate, echoed the trend, saying interest has clearly sharpened at the entry level – studios and one-bedroom units – in communities such as Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC), Jumeirah Village Triangle (JVT), Dubai South, Arjan, Dubai Silicon Oasis, International City, Dubailand, and Nshama Townsquare.
“These units were effectively visa-invisible before; now every completed, fully-owned unit qualifies,” Bachani said.
He added that the pickup is being driven largely by first-time and overseas buyers from India, the UK and Southeast Asia looking for “a soft-landing residency footprint” before committing to the higher-value Golden Visa.
However, Bachani was careful to frame the shift in context.
“I'd be honest that this is a demand and sentiment catalyst more than a price event: the broader market is still cooling, so this supports volume and absorption at the lower rungs rather than igniting speculation. That’s a healthy outcome,” he said.
Widens access to the market
Both executives said the removal of the Dh750,000 threshold for sole property owners under the two-year property investor visa – processed through the Dubai Land Department's Taskeen programme – widenes access to Dubai's property market.
“By removing the minimum investment threshold for sole property owners, buyers now have greater flexibility to choose a property that aligns with their budget and long-term objectives rather than structuring their purchase around a visa requirement,” added Syed.
Bachani described the impact so far as being “primarily about confidence and access rather than an overnight price spike.”
With more than 50,000 units expected to reach handover in Dubai in 2026, he said, broadening the pool of eligible buyers helps the market absorb that supply rather than stall.
Properties below Dh750,000 accounted for roughly a quarter of all ready-home transactions in the first quarter, Bachani noted, meaning an entire segment that previously had no residency pathway is now in play.
“I’d read this as proactive governance: Dubai using a policy lever counter-cyclically to keep the market liquid through a softer patch,” he said.
