No Automatic Residency For Property Buyers In Dubai

Property buyers should not expect an automatic residence visa upon purchasing property in Dubai, a top official clarified. There is no direct link between property ownership and residence visas. Developers should not lure investors to property sector with a promise of residence visa, Marwan Bin Galita, chief executive of Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) told Gulf News on Monday. Bin Galita said a proposal has been submitted to the concerned authorities to issue property investors a visit visa that allows them to travel in and out of the country to follow up their investments in the property market. The suggestion, if approved, might be implemented at a federal level, especially that the local laws of most emirates allow foreign ownership of property. The visit visa could replace the residence visa, which was issued by some developers in Dubai for those who bought property in their projects. Bin Galita said the suggested visa is similar to visas issued by foreign countries for property investors as in the US there are more than 250 kinds of visas.