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Dubai property finance for non-residents, in five numbers
65 % typical loan-to-value for a non-resident, sometimes 50 % · 25 years maximum term ·
50 % of gross income is the cap on all debt service combined · 7 to 8 % purchase costs, payable in cash and
not financeable · AED 2 million is the property value from which a ten-year Golden Visa becomes available.
Each of those figures is sourced on the page that explains it.
How to read this guide. Every statement is labelled:
Official rule a binding requirement set by the central bank or an authority ·
Bank practice terms set by individual banks, which can change at short notice ·
Nexus Bridge experience what we observe in live mandates ·
Worked example an illustrative calculation, not an offer.
The guides
| Dubai mortgage for non-residents The full guide: what the central bank fixes, what the bank decides, and a worked example on AED 1.8 million. |
| Dubai property for US citizens Ownership, financing, the IRS side and the dollar peg in one place: no treaty, 30-year depreciation, what the FBAR covers, what it does not. |
| Dubai mortgages for Canadians Canadian income in dirhams, cash to close in CAD at the current Bank of Canada rate, existing Canadian debt, T1135 and what changes if you move to Dubai later. |
| Down payment and loan-to-value Why 35 per cent is really 42 per cent, cost tables from AED 1m to AED 3m, and what moves a bank to 50 per cent. |
| Which UAE banks lend to non-residents There is no official list. The eight policy points lenders differ on, and how to check them before you apply. |
| Buying property in Dubai without living there Six steps from pre-approval to title deed, every official fee, and buying by power of attorney. |
| Dubai freehold areas: check the plot, not the list Designation runs plot by plot and has been extended by separate resolutions since 2006. Why published lists go stale and what the register says. |
| UAE Golden Visa through property Ten years, renewable, from AED 2 million, including what changes when the property is mortgaged. |
| Opening a UAE bank account as a non-resident A savings account, not a chequebook. The three questions every bank asks and the document checklist. |
| FAQ, 40 questions answered Mortgages, costs, process, banking, residency and letting, in short precise answers. |
| Case study 01: approved despite a job change A real, client-approved mandate: EUR 2,000 gross, 50 per cent equity, 98.1 per cent of the regulatory ceiling, let in four hours. |
| Case study 02: a studio let in three days Al Furjan, AED 800,000, furnished, at the metro: 19 per cent of net income, 7.88 per cent gross, bought under a power of attorney. |
| Case study 03: mortgage or cash? Four structures priced An internal case, disclosed: AED 1.9m, 65 per cent at 5.99 per cent over 23 years against cash, 6.97 versus 6.30 per cent on equity. Leverage buys mostly access, little yield. |
| Case study 04: holiday home or long-term let? A 6.49 per cent mortgage from 2024 An internal case: AED 1.5m, 40 per cent deposit, 5.57 per cent on equity as a long-term let; why refinancing does not pay and the nightly rate at which the holiday home wins. |
| Mortgage calculator for non-residents Instalment, cash needed including the 7 per cent costs, the 50 per cent debt-service cap, and whether the rent carries the loan. |
| Methodology, sources and corrections How we calculate and publish: one return metric, one cost model, primary sources with dates, real mandates with consent, internal cases disclosed, public corrections log. |
| Dubai rental yield, realistically: gross, net, on equity Market average 5.53 per cent gross, studios 7.8. Four real properties from gross to net to return on equity: service charge, management, voids, the rent-increase slabs, one cheque or four, and when a mortgage helps. |
| UAE corporate tax on rental income Rent from a personally held flat sits outside the tax at any level. In a company, 9 per cent applies above AED 375,000. Where the line runs. |
| Dubai property purchase costs: every fee with its source 6.5 to 8.5 per cent all in: 4 per cent DLD, 2.1 per cent agency, trustee, mortgage registration, valuation, bank fee, priced at three real purchase prices. Not financeable since February 2025. |
| Dubai service charges: the recurring cost you can check first RERA approves each charge against an audited budget, the rate is public, and 5 per cent VAT comes on top. Arrears follow the flat, not the seller. |
| Non-resident mortgage requirements: the checklist Every document a UAE bank asks for, what it proves, the form it must take, and the five reasons files stall. |
| Dubai mortgages by nationality Freehold is open to every passport and the Central Bank's ratios ignore citizenship. Four things do change with your country: documents, currency, reporting, source of funds. |
| Dubai property for US citizens Ownership and lending are open; FATCA, the missing US-UAE treaty and the FBAR are where the American passport actually bites. |
| Dubai market report, September 2026 Official July and H1 2026 figures: the split between ready and off-plan, and what it means if you are borrowing. |
| Mortgages for the self-employed Two years of accounts, the debt-burden calculation with and without a haircut, and the cover sheet that gets a file read. |
| Interest rates: EIBOR, margin, reversion How a UAE rate is assembled, which line of the offer letter governs twenty of twenty-five years, what a point costs. |
| Off-plan and handover finance Why the bank waits for completion, the timetable backwards from handover, and a worked example on AED 2 million. |
| Off-plan or ready, on the August 2026 numbers Registered data to August 2026: both segments 4 to 5 per cent below their peaks, ready back up and 2.3 per cent higher year on year. |
| What a developer is liable for, and for how long Ten years on structure from the completion certificate, one year on installations, and the three-year limit from discovery that loses most claims. |
| Financing without an Emirates ID The passport is enough. The remote process step by step, and where the distance really costs time. |
| Buying property in Abu Dhabi 2 per cent registration instead of 4, the Investment Zones, and the freehold / usufruct / musataha trap. |
| Property management and service charges What a manager must cover, the 90-day renewal deadline, and the four costs that quietly remove a point of yield. |
| Dubai rent increases, and what the index allows The five-step scale from Decree 43 of 2013, the Smart Rental Index since January 2025, the 90-day notice, and why the two-year freeze does not exist. |
| A will for UAE assets The routes with and without an Emirates ID, the eight steps, and how it interacts with the will you already have. |
| Glossary of fifty terms AIP, DBR, EIBOR, Form F, LTV, NOC, Oqood, reversion rate, defined, with the rule behind each. |
Where the Dubai market stands
2025 was the strongest year the Dubai property market has recorded: more than 270,000 transactions worth AED 917 billion, about 20 per cent up on 2024, with roughly 193,100 investors of whom 129,600 were buying for the first time.[5] The first quarter of 2026 added AED 252 billion, 31 per cent more value than a year earlier on only 6 per cent more transactions,[4] and the first half closed at AED 419.94 billion over 112,850 transactions.
Then the direction changed. The overall residential price index peaked at 223.16 in December 2025 and stood at 205.98 in July 2026, 7.7 per cent lower in seven months and 2.62 per cent below the previous year.[6] The fall was not evenly spread, and the difference matters for anyone borrowing.
| July 2026 | Index | vs previous month | vs previous year | Median AED / sqft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ready, the only financeable segment | 175.02 | +0.04 % | +1.91 % | 1,378.83 |
| Off-plan | 232.62 | −1.98 % | +0.55 % | 1,722.26 |
| All residential | 205.98 | −2.08 % | −2.62 % | 1,671.97 |
Index base January 2012 = 100.[6]
Completed property, the one segment a UAE bank will lend against, was the only one that did not fall, and it trades at a median 24.9 per cent below off-plan per square foot. Rents did not follow prices down: in the first quarter of 2026 Dubai registered AED 32.2 billion of tenancy contracts, with 135,607 renewals against 118,385 new contracts and cancellations down 25 per cent.[7] Prices lower, rents steady: arithmetically, gross initial yields improve by around eight per cent of their own value.
What that means if you are borrowing. You are shopping in the smaller, calmer, financeable third
of the market, at a quarter less per square foot than off-plan, with room to negotiate for the first time since 2022, and because the bank lends against the lower of price and valuation, a quieter market disciplines what you pay.
How we work
We are an advisory firm paid by the client, not an agent for a bank. No lender pays us a commission. Our fee is paid by the client and never by a bank, and that arrangement is the whole reason we can look for the institution whose written policy fits a particular profile rather than the one that pays best.
- Read the profile first. Income, existing debt, country of residence, source of funds, and the property. This is where it is decided whether a case is a 65 per cent case or a 50 per cent case.
- Choose the lender to match. Non-resident policies in the UAE differ on eight points and change every few months. We track them and submit where the written criteria fit.
- Prepare the file the way it will be read. Income history that survives a job change, an unbroken source-of-funds trail, everything in English, and an explanation of anything unusual before a credit committee has to ask.
- Accompany the client to the bank. The credit decision always belongs to the bank. Our work is making sure it sees an application it can say yes to.
A real mandate, published in full
An employee on EUR 2,000 gross changed employer in the middle of the process. The bank moved from 35 to
50 per cent equity, AED 195,000 more at short notice, and still approved in about three weeks, at
98.1 per cent of the regulatory debt-service ceiling. The apartment was let within four hours of handover
and covers its instalment, service charge and management from the rent. Every figure is published, with the arithmetic,
in case study 01. Three more follow it: a studio bought remotely and let in three days, an internal case priced with and without a mortgage, and a second internal case 2024 purchase weighed as a holiday home against a long-term let.
Who we are
Nexus Bridge Capital is a brand of NEXUSBRIDGE CAPITAL CONSULTING - FZCO, licensed by IFZA in Dubai under licence number 87814, based at IFZA Business Park, Building A1, Dubai Digital Park, Premises 87814-001, Dubai Silicon Oasis. We advise in English, German and French, and we act for buyers worldwide, Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Gulf. What your own country changes is set out in Dubai mortgages by nationality.
- Denise Tanrikul, Managing Partner, law degree, four years in the Dubai investment sector, editorially responsible for these guides.
- Martin Krygier, Manager, himself a property buyer, refurbisher and landlord in Germany and Dubai; reviews the guides for practical accuracy.
- Aziza Krygier, Founder and Managing Director.
We publish a monthly market report, the Dubai Monitor, in German, and we publish only real, client-approved case studies, never invented ones.
DT
Written by Denise Tanrikul, Managing Partner · Reviewed by Martin Krygier, Manager, himself a property buyer, refurbisher and landlord in Germany and Dubai
Last reviewed 5 September 2026. Regulatory statements come from the primary sources linked at the foot of each page (UAE Central Bank, Dubai Land Department, federal authorities) and are refreshed at least quarterly. Bank terms change at short notice, always confirm the current position with the lender before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
What does Nexus Bridge Capital do?
We are a licensed advisory firm in Dubai (IFZA licence 87814) that guides international buyers through financing and purchasing property in the UAE: assessing the profile, choosing the lender whose written policy fits it, preparing the file the way a UAE credit committee reads one, and accompanying the client to the bank. We receive no commission from any lender; our fee is paid by the client, never by a bank.
Do you work for a bank?
No. We accompany the client to the bank, we do not work for the bank. No lender pays us a commission, which is exactly why we can choose the institution that suits a particular profile.
What does it cost?
Our fee is agreed with the client in writing before we start and is paid by the client, never by a bank. There is no charge for the initial assessment.
Which languages do you work in?
English, German and French, from Dubai.
Do you only work with German-speaking clients?
No. We act for buyers from Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Gulf. The German-language section of this site exists because that is where the firm started, not because it is the limit of who we act for. What changes with your country is set out in the nationality guide.
Can you guarantee a mortgage approval?
No, and nobody honestly can. The credit decision and the loan-to-value always belong to the bank. What we influence is whether the bank sees an application it can say yes to.
Sources
- UAE Central Bank Rulebook, Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans, https://rulebook.centralbank.ae/en/rulebook/regulations-regarding-mortgage-loans (accessed 5 September 2026).
- UAE Central Bank Rulebook, Article 3, Important Ratios (loan-to-value, debt burden, tenor), https://rulebook.centralbank.ae/en/rulebook/article-3-important-ratios (accessed 5 September 2026).
- UAE Central Bank, EIBOR rates, published every business day, https://www.centralbank.ae/en/forex-eibor/eibor-rates/ (accessed 5 September 2026).
- Dubai Land Department, Dubai real estate transactions surge 31% to AED 252 billion in Q1 2026, https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/news-media/dubai-s-real-estate-transactions-surge-31-to-reach-aed-252-billion-in-q1-2026/ (accessed 5 September 2026).
- Dubai Media Office, Dubai's real estate market records a new historic milestone (full-year 2025), https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2026/january/12-01/dubais-real-estate-market-records-new-historic-milestone (accessed 5 September 2026).
- PropertyIndex, Dubai residential price index, median price per square foot, July 2026, https://www.propertyindex.ae/ (accessed 5 September 2026).
- Dubai Land Department, Dubai's rental market charts a stable trajectory (Q1 2026 rental data), https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/news-media/dubai-s-rental-market-charts-stable-trajectory-reflecting-integrated-regulatory-environment-and-sustained-public-confidence (accessed 5 September 2026).
- Nexus Bridge Capital, Dubai Monitor, issue 01, September 2026 (German), https://www.nexusbridgecapital.de/guide/dubai-monitor-09-2026/
- Nexus Bridge Capital, Case study 01: financing approved despite a job change, Dubai Marina (German), https://www.nexusbridgecapital.de/fallstudien/finanzierung-trotz-jobwechsel-dubai-marina/