Dubai Real Estate Buyers Entitled to Residence Visa

Freehold Dubai real estate buyers are fully entitled to having residence visas. As per Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department (DNRD), anyone who purchases real estate in Dubai can be a resident in the emirate through the master developer. This confirmation comes in the wake of widespread confusion among Dubai real estate buyers regarding the matter wherein it was believed that master real estate developers in Dubai had broken the contract since visas had not been issued.

Dubai real estate owners do have the option to be sponsored either by their employer or the master developer. In spite of the fact that a lot depends on the Ministry of Labour, the buyer of Dubai real estate has the choice nevertheless. This means that in case you own a property in Dubai real estate, you won’t have to leave the UAE in the light of resignation or getting sacked from your job. However, there are conditions that apply on resident visas for freehold Dubai real estate buyers, one of them being that the buyer cannot run a business or seek employment, and has enough funds to support living in Dubai.

Residence visas in Dubai are issued for one, two or three years and are subsequently renewed by the DNRD. As long as one owns a property in Dubai real estate market, one is entitled to having a residency visa. People who stay in Dubai with a freehold real estate related residency visa and without a job can start working, but only after obtaining a work permit. An employee can then cancel the property visa and go for his/ her company’s sponsorship. But again, when the same person leaves job, s/he can return to the real estate related residency visa. The important point to note is that buying property in Dubai real estate and getting a residency visa thereby does NOT in any way guarantee jobs.

Over recent weeks, there have been cases in the emirate where buyers have gone for freehold real estate in Dubai but haven’t received their residency visas yet. With the Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department clarifying the matter and presenting a clear-cut process, it seems the delay in issuing residency visas lies with the real estate developers. In fact, the master developer can apply for the residency visa as soon as a contract is signed with the real estate buyer and the property has been bought.

The corresponding law goes thus - "If the homeowner has no alternative means of sponsorship for a residence visa, the first owner may be sponsored by your master-developer for residency in Dubai, UAE, subject to the applicable immigration laws of the country.”

The provision is indeed a good one for Dubai real estate owners.