Can foreigners buy property in the UAE? Freehold areas explained (2026)

Foreigners can own property in the UAE outright, and they do so in very large numbers. What decides whether a particular home can be bought by a foreign national is not the buyer's passport or visa status but the plot the building stands on.

That is because property law in the UAE is set by each emirate rather than by the federal government. Every emirate starts from the same default: land ownership is reserved for UAE nationals and, in most cases, citizens of the other Gulf Cooperation Council states. Each emirate then carves out exceptions, naming areas where non-nationals may own as well. Those areas are what people mean when they say freehold area in Dubai or investment zone in Abu Dhabi.

Inside a designated area, a foreign buyer gets the same title a national would: ownership without a time limit, registered in their own name, which they can sell, lease, mortgage and pass on. Outside one, a foreign buyer can usually hold only a time-limited right such as a long lease or usufruct, and in many places nothing at all.

In practice almost every new development marketed to international buyers sits inside a designated area, because developers choose their land with foreign demand in mind. The check still matters, especially in Sharjah and the smaller emirates, where the permission can attach to a single project rather than a whole district.

Four kinds of interest come up again and again in UAE property, and they are not interchangeable.

If a sales document uses any word other than freehold, ask what happens at the end of the term. A 99-year interest is valuable, but it is a wasting asset in a way that freehold is not, and lenders and resale buyers will treat it differently.

Dubai's rules come from Law No. 7 of 2006 Concerning Real Property Registration in the Emirate of Dubai. Article 4 reserves property ownership to UAE and GCC nationals, companies wholly owned by them and public joint stock companies. It then provides that, subject to the Ruler's approval, non-UAE nationals may be granted, in areas the Ruler determines, either freehold ownership without time restriction or usufruct or leasehold rights for up to 99 years.

The areas themselves are named in Regulation No. 3 of 2006 Determining Areas for Ownership by Non-UAE Nationals of Real Property in the Emirate of Dubai. Article 3 of the version on the Dubai Legislation Portal lists 23 areas by their official land-area names and plot numbers, among them Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali, Emirates Hills, The World Islands, Jebel Ali, Al Jaddaf, Ras Al Khor, Nad Al Sheba, Mirdif, Al Barsha South, Al Sufouh and Sheikh Zayed Road. Article 4 adds a usufruct or leasehold area of up to 99 years on one plot in Nad Al Sheba.

The list is not frozen. It has been amended since 2006, including in January 2025, when plots on Sheikh Zayed Road and in Al Jaddaf were brought within the freehold regime so that owners there could convert their title.

Two practical points follow. First, the regulation names land areas and plot numbers, not the community names you see in brochures. Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, Jumeirah Village Circle and Dubai Hills Estate are all sold freehold to foreign buyers, but you will not find those marketing names in the regulation itself. Second, being in a well-known community is not quite the same thing as being on a freehold plot, which is why the title deed or Oqood certificate, not the brochure, is the document to rely on.

When you buy off-plan in Dubai, the developer registers your purchase with the Land Department through Oqood, which creates an interim registration in your name. The 4% Land Department fee is paid at that point. Our guide to the true cost of buying off-plan in Dubai covers that fee and everything else you pay.

Abu Dhabi's ownership rules sit in Law No. 19 of 2005 Concerning Real Estate Ownership, read alongside Law No. 3 of 2005 on real estate registration and Law No. 3 of 2015 on the regulation of the real estate sector. ADREC, the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre, publishes all three.

Under the 2005 law, ownership outside investment areas is limited to UAE nationals and companies they own, and investment areas are whatever the Executive Council designates. Until 2019, a foreign buyer in an investment area could own an apartment or villa but not the land beneath it, holding the land under a musataha, usufruct or long lease instead.

Law No. 13 of 2019, effective 16 April 2019, changed that. It provides that non-nationals, whether individuals or companies, may own and acquire all original and secondary rights in real estate located within investment areas and dispose of them. In plain terms, a foreign buyer inside an investment zone can now hold full freehold, land included.

The established zones are Yas Island, Saadiyat Island, Al Reem Island, Al Raha Beach, Al Maryah Island, Masdar City, Al Reef, Lulu Island and Sayh Al Sedairah. The list has grown quickly since. ADREC's report for the first half of 2026 says eight new investment zones were approved in that period, bringing the total to 50, and describes the zones as open to ownership by investors of all nationalities. Newer coastal destinations such as Hudayriyat Island, Ramhan Island and Al Jurf are sold freehold to foreign buyers.

Registration in Abu Dhabi is handled by the emirate's own authorities rather than Dubai's, and the registration fee is 2% rather than Dubai's 4%. For an overview of where people buy, see our Abu Dhabi area guide.

Sharjah was, for a long time, the exception. Its real estate registration law, Law No. 5 of 2010, reserved ownership to UAE and GCC nationals, and foreigners could hold only a usufruct right of up to 100 years in designated areas. The UAE government portal still describes that older position.

Law No. 2 of 2022, issued by the Ruler of Sharjah at the end of October 2022, amended Article 4 of the 2010 law. It keeps the general rule but adds four exceptions under which others may own: with the approval of the Ruler; by inheritance; by transfer from an owner to a first-degree relative; and in real estate development areas and projects under rules set by the Sharjah Executive Council. On 1 November 2022 the Executive Council issued a decision allowing all nationalities to own real estate of all kinds, without time limit, in those development areas and projects.

What this means in practice is narrower than "Sharjah is now freehold". Foreign ownership attaches to approved development areas and projects, so one scheme can be open to every nationality while the plot next door is not. That is why the question to ask in Sharjah is never whether foreigners can own there, but whether they can own in this project, on this plot, and the answer should come in writing from the developer and be checked against the registration before you pay. Most of the new supply aimed at foreign buyers is in master-planned schemes such as those in Al Khan, Sharjah Waterfront City and Um Fanain. More in our Sharjah area guide.

Ras Al Khaimah was the first emirate after Dubai to open freehold to foreigners. Decision No. 20 of 2005 on the Permission of Freehold Ownership in Exceptional Projects, issued on 26 November 2005, allowed non-nationals to buy residential, commercial and tourist units in designated projects.

The main freehold destinations today are Al Marjan Island, Mina Al Arab and Al Hamra Village, with other master-planned projects approved for foreign ownership. Off-plan sales in the emirate are regulated by RAK RERA under Decree No. 12 of 2023, which requires escrow with per-unit sub-accounts and retains 5% of construction cost for a year after completion. See our Ras Al Khaimah area guide.

Umm Al Quwain regulated ownership through Law No. 3 of 2006. Under it, ownership anywhere in the emirate is reserved for UAE and GCC nationals and companies they own, while foreigners may own property, but not the land, in designated investment areas, with a 99-year usufruct or 50-year musataha over the land. Newer waterfront schemes such as Siniya Island and Downtown Umm Al Quwain are marketed to foreign buyers as freehold. Because the rules here have changed in stages, ask for the exact tenure in writing. More in our Umm Al Quwain area guide.

Ajman is reported to have allowed foreign freehold in designated areas since 2008, including Al Zorah, Ajman Downtown and Emirates City, with registration through the Ajman Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation. We could not confirm the legislation from an official source, so treat that list as indicative.

Fujairah has very little stock sold to foreign buyers on a freehold basis, and we do not cover it.

The table lists the areas where most foreign buying happens. It is not an exhaustive legal list: Dubai's regulation works by plot number and Abu Dhabi now has 50 investment zones.

In Dubai, area guides for Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay, Jumeirah Village Circle, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai Islands, Palm Jebel Ali and Al Jaddaf cover each community, and the Dubai area guide covers the rest. In Abu Dhabi, see Yas Island and Marsa Al Saadiyat.

There is no residency requirement for buying property in any of the freehold areas above. You do not need a UAE visa, an Emirates ID, a local sponsor or a UAE bank account to own a home.

The Dubai Land Department's own service requirements make the point: a buyer who is resident provides a copy of their UAE ID, and a non-resident provides a copy of a valid passport. Both are registered owners in exactly the same way. A non-resident pays the same 4% registration fee and receives the same title deed.

Where residency does make a difference is borrowing. Banks lend to non-residents, but at lower loan-to-value ratios and with stricter income checks. Our true cost guide sets out the caps.

A non-resident can buy off-plan in exactly the same way as a resident. In Dubai the developer registers the sale on Oqood with your passport details, and that registration is your legal interest until the building is finished and a title deed is issued.

Most of an off-plan purchase can be done without travelling. Reservation forms and sale and purchase agreements are commonly signed electronically, instalments are paid by bank transfer into the project's escrow account, and the Land Department's channels accept documents digitally. For any step that does need someone present, you can appoint a representative under a power of attorney. If you sign one abroad it will usually need to be notarised and legalised for use in the UAE, and a POA in Arabic or with a legal translation avoids delay.

Two things are worth doing in person or through someone you trust, whatever the paperwork allows. Check that the developer and the project are registered and that your payments go to the project's escrow account, not to a sales company. Our guide to off-plan buyer protection explains how to verify escrow yourself. And keep every payment receipt, because the Oqood record and the receipts together are what prove what you have paid.

Yes, but the type of company matters. In Dubai, the Land Department accepts purchases by companies with a valid UAE trade licence. A foreign company can buy only if it is registered in an authorised free zone, and the Department's service page names DMCC and JAFZA, with a no objection letter from the free zone that is valid for one year. Foreign and GCC companies also need constitutional documents legally translated into Arabic and attested.

Abu Dhabi's 2019 law extends investment-zone ownership to non-national legal persons as well as individuals.

Buying through a company is not a formality. It changes the tax position, since the individual exclusion from UAE corporate tax described below does not apply to a company, and it changes what happens on death, since the shares, not the property, pass to heirs. It also adds licence renewal costs every year. Take advice from a UAE lawyer and a tax adviser before choosing this route over buying in your own name.

Owning freehold in the UAE does not, on its own, decide who inherits it. That depends on your religion, whether you have a registered will and which law applies.

For non-Muslims, Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status, in force since 1 February 2023, lets inheritance be decided by a will and, without one, applies a default civil split rather than Sharia shares. Abu Dhabi's Law No. 14 of 2021 does the same for non-Muslim foreigners in that emirate: without a will, half goes to a surviving spouse and half is shared equally among the children, with no difference between sons and daughters.

The most widely used route for foreign owners is a registered will. The DIFC Courts Wills Service registers wills for non-Muslims aged 18 or over with assets in the UAE, and the DIFC Courts state that you do not need to be resident to register one; it can be done remotely. The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department runs its own register for non-Muslim wills, and the ADGM courts offer a similar service.

Muslim owners are generally subject to Sharia inheritance rules, although onshore will registration is available in some cases. Rules here interact with the law of your home country, so this is an area for a lawyer rather than a template. If you are buying jointly or for children, settle the will before handover, not after.

Buying property does not require a visa, but it can lead to one. The UAE's ten-year Golden Visa is available to property investors at AED 2M, measured against the Land Department's certified valuation in Dubai, and off-plan property held on Oqood qualifies. A separate two-year property investor visa exists in Dubai, which requires a completed property with a title deed.

The Golden Visa is federal, so the AED 2M threshold is the same in every emirate, but the property behind it must be registered under that emirate's rules, which brings the freehold question back in. The detail, including how mortgaged and jointly owned property is assessed, is in our Golden Visa property guide.

For an individual, the UAE tax position on property is simple.

• No annual property tax. There is no annual tax on owning a home. You will pay service charges to the owners' association and utility-linked municipal fees, but these are charges for services, not a property tax.
• No capital gains tax. The UAE does not levy income tax on individuals, and there is no separate capital gains tax on a personal property sale.
• No tax on rent for an individual. Corporate tax applies to businesses, but Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2023 excludes real estate investment income earned by a natural person, including from sale and leasing, as long as the activity is not conducted through, and does not require, a licence.
• VAT on commercial property only. The first supply of a new residential building within three years of completion is zero-rated, and later residential sales and leases are exempt. Commercial property, such as offices and shops, carries 5% VAT on sale and lease. VAT also applies to service fees such as trustee and administration charges.

The one-off costs of buying are the larger number: 4% to the Dubai Land Department, 2% in Abu Dhabi, plus administration fees. Tax in your home country may still apply to UAE rent or gains, and buying through a company changes the analysis entirely. None of this is tax advice.

1. Is the plot in a designated freehold area or investment zone, and does the developer's registration say freehold for foreign owners?
2. In Sharjah and the smaller emirates, is that permission confirmed in writing for this project, not just for the district?
3. Is the developer registered with the emirate's regulator, and is the project escrow account in the project's name?
4. Whose name will be on the Oqood or title deed, and in what shares? Joint ownership affects both inheritance and the Golden Visa.
5. If you are not travelling, who holds your power of attorney, and what exactly does it allow them to do?
6. Have you registered a will, or planned one, that covers the property?

If you would like a shortlist of projects in freehold areas that match your budget and timing, browse current off-plan projects or ask us for one.