Home Loan in Dubai for Expats: Requirements & Costs. If you’re an expat looking to buy property in Dubai, the first thing to understand is that a home loan in Dubai for expats works differently from what you might be used to back home. This guide from Bolo Asan breaks down exactly how much you can borrow, what it costs beyond the property price, and what banks will ask for before they approve you.
The short version: expats can typically borrow up to 80% of a property’s value for their first home if it’s priced at AED 5 million or less, and up to 70% if it’s priced higher. In addition to your down payment, budget for transaction and financing costs — the DLD’s 4% transfer fee, a mortgage registration fee, and a handful of smaller charges — that together can add roughly 6% to 8% of the property price, depending on the transaction, bank, and property. Here’s how it all breaks down.
How Much Can Expats Borrow? The Loan-to-Value Rules
Every home loan in the UAE, whether you’re an expat or a national, is governed by the Central Bank of the UAE’s mortgage regulations. These set a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio — the percentage of the property’s price a bank is allowed to lend you. The rest has to come from your own savings as a down payment.
Under Central Bank Resolution No. 31/2/2020, which amended the original 2013 mortgage regulations, the current LTV limits for expatriates buying their first home are:
- Property valued at AED 5 million or less: maximum 80% LTV, meaning a minimum 20% down payment.
- Property valued at more than AED 5 million: maximum 70% LTV, meaning a minimum 30% down payment.
This applies to your first owner-occupied property only, and each borrower can only claim one property under this category. If you’re buying a second home or an investment property, banks apply a lower LTV, since the Central Bank treats non-owner-occupied purchases as higher risk.
For comparison, UAE Nationals get slightly more room: 85% LTV on a first home valued at AED 5 million or less, and 75% above that threshold, under the same resolution.
Emirates NBD’s own expat mortgage page confirms it finances up to 80% of the property value for expat residents, matching the Central Bank cap exactly — a useful sign that banks aren’t offering more than the regulation allows, whatever a sales agent might imply.
LTV Limits for a Second Home or Off-Plan Property
The 80% and 70% figures above apply only to your first, owner-occupied home. The Central Bank’s mortgage regulations set lower ceilings for other purchase types:
- Second home or investment property (expatriates): maximum 60% LTV, regardless of the property’s value.
- Second home or investment property (UAE Nationals): maximum 65% LTV, regardless of value.
- Off-plan property (all buyers, any category): maximum 50% LTV. The Central Bank applies this lower cap across the board because of the extra completion risk involved in financing a property that hasn’t been built yet.
So if you’re an expat buying an off-plan investment unit rather than a ready first home, expect to put down at least half the purchase price in cash rather than the 20% many people assume applies universally.
The Debt Burden Ratio: The Other Limit on Your Loan
LTV isn’t the only cap. Your mortgage installment, combined with all your other monthly debts (credit cards, personal loans, car finance), cannot exceed 50% of your gross monthly income. This is called the debt burden ratio (DBR), and it’s set out in the same Central Bank mortgage regulations.
In practice, this means your maximum borrowing amount is whichever is lower: the LTV-based ceiling, or the amount your income can support under the 50% DBR rule. A high earner buying a modest property will usually be limited by LTV; someone stretching their budget on a larger property is more likely to be limited by DBR.
On top of LTV and DBR, the same Central Bank regulation caps the total financing amount at a multiple of your annual income: up to 7 times your annual income for expatriates, and up to 8 times for UAE Nationals. Your actual maximum loan will be whichever of these three limits — LTV, DBR, or the income multiple — produces the lowest number.
Banks may also apply the Central Bank’s required affordability and stress-testing methodology when assessing your repayment capacity, meaning your approved loan amount can come in lower than a simple calculation based on today’s rate would suggest. The regulation also specifically disallows using your end-of-service gratuity as a source of mortgage repayment — only salary or other verifiable, regular income counts.
Maximum Loan Tenure
Home loans in the UAE run much longer than personal loans. Under the same Central Bank mortgage regulations, the maximum tenor for a mortgage is 25 years, regardless of whether you’re an expat or a UAE National. Individual banks set their own maximum age at final repayment as part of their internal lending policy, so in practice your actual maximum term may be shorter if you’re already in your 40s or 50s, since the loan typically needs to be repaid before you reach a certain age.
Costs Beyond the Down Payment
The down payment is usually the biggest single cost, but it isn’t the only one. Here’s what else a home loan in Dubai for expats typically involves.
Dubai Land Department (DLD) transfer fee — 4% of the property price. This is the largest government charge on any property purchase in Dubai. Officially, it’s split 2% to the buyer and 2% to the seller, but in practice, market convention in Dubai has the buyer paying the full 4% unless negotiated otherwise in the sale contract. This structure has been in place since the DLD raised the fee from 2% to 4% in October 2013.
Mortgage registration fee — 0.25% of the loan amount. When your bank registers the mortgage against the property, the DLD charges 0.25% of the mortgage value, plus a title deed issuance fee of AED 250, and small knowledge and innovation fees of AED 10 each.
Trustee office fee. Property transfers in Dubai are processed through DLD-authorized Real Estate Registration Trustee offices. DLD’s current sale-registration schedule lists a service partner fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT for properties valued at AED 500,000 or more, and AED 2,000 plus VAT below that threshold, where applicable.
Bank processing fee. Banks may charge a processing or arrangement fee, with the amount varying by lender and mortgage product. Some banks offer partial or full fee waivers during promotional periods — FAB, for example, offers processing fee waivers of up to AED 25,000 for first-time buyers who transfer their salary, according to the bank’s own mortgage page.
Property valuation fee. Before approving your mortgage, the bank commissions an independent valuation of the property, typically costing a few thousand dirhams, paid by the borrower regardless of whether the loan is approved.
Life and property insurance. Mortgage lenders may require life insurance (to cover the outstanding loan if the borrower passes away) and property insurance as conditions of financing. The exact coverage, provider, and cost depend on the bank and mortgage product, and these are usually charged as a small monthly percentage of the outstanding balance or the property value rather than a one-time fee.
NOC fee (resale properties only). If you’re buying a resale property rather than a new unit from a developer, the developer charges a No Objection Certificate fee before the sale can be registered. This fee is set by the individual developer, not the DLD, and commonly runs into a few thousand dirhams, so it’s worth confirming directly with the seller’s developer.
Add these together, and most buyers should budget roughly 6% to 8% of the property price in transaction and financing costs on top of their down payment.
Early Settlement and Refinancing Costs
If you want to pay off your mortgage early or switch to a different bank, the Central Bank caps what a bank can charge you. Amendments to Regulation No. 29/2011 set the early or partial settlement fee for home loans at a maximum of 1% of the outstanding balance, or AED 10,000, whichever is lower. This applies to mortgages the same way it applies to personal loans, and it’s a useful figure to know if a bank ever quotes you something higher.
If you refinance to another lender for a better rate, that new bank will need to register a fresh mortgage with the DLD, which triggers its own 0.25% registration fee, plus a mortgage release fee to clear the old lender’s charge from the title deed.
Which Banks Offer Home Loans in Dubai for Expats
Nearly every major UAE bank offers a mortgage product for expatriate residents, all operating within the same Central Bank LTV and DBR framework described above. A few examples, based on what the banks themselves publish — note that advertised rates are subject to eligibility, salary-transfer requirements, property type, loan amount, and the bank’s current offer, so treat these as illustrative rather than guaranteed:
Emirates NBD finances up to 80% of the property value for expat residents, in line with the Central Bank cap for a first home under AED 5 million, and lends against both ready and off-plan property.
FAB (First Abu Dhabi Bank) advertises fixed mortgage rates starting from 3.99% per year for the first two years, according to its official mortgage page. After the fixed period ends, the rate reverts to 3-month EIBOR plus a margin of 1.5% for salary-transfer customers, with a minimum floor rate of 1.99%. FAB also offers a grace period of 60 days for expats (90 days for UAE Nationals) before the first installment is due on a new mortgage, extending to 120 days for expats refinancing an existing mortgage from another bank.
ADCB, Mashreq, RAKBANK, Dubai Islamic Bank, and HSBC all run comparable expat mortgage products, offering both fixed and variable rate structures, ready-property and off-plan financing, and Sharia-compliant alternatives through their Islamic banking arms. Rates and processing fees differ by bank and change with market conditions, so it’s worth requesting a written quote from at least two or three lenders based on your actual salary, employer, and the specific property before comparing.
Fixed vs. Variable Rate Mortgages
Most UAE banks let you choose between a fixed rate for an introductory period (commonly one, two, three, or five years) and a variable rate tied to EIBOR (the Emirates Interbank Offered Rate) plus a margin set by the bank.
A fixed rate gives you payment certainty for the agreed period, after which it typically reverts to a variable rate linked to EIBOR. A variable rate can start lower or higher depending on current EIBOR levels, and your installment will move if EIBOR changes during your loan term. Because variable mortgage rates can be linked to EIBOR, check the current benchmark and the bank’s quoted margin when comparing offers.
Islamic Home Finance as an Alternative
If you’d rather avoid an interest-based mortgage, most major UAE banks offer a Sharia-compliant home finance product through their Islamic banking arm, typically structured as either an Ijara (lease-to-own) or Murabaha (cost-plus-sale) arrangement instead of a conventional loan. Under both structures, the bank effectively buys or holds an interest in the property and you repay it over time through rent-like installments or a pre-agreed profit margin, rather than paying interest in the traditional sense.
Islamic home-finance providers are also subject to the UAE’s applicable mortgage and regulatory framework, including the same broad LTV, DBR, and disclosure principles that apply to conventional lenders. The exact structure and pricing can differ from a conventional mortgage, so applicants should review the specific Islamic finance contract and disclosures provided by the bank.
Documents Expats Typically Need
Requirements vary slightly between banks, but most mortgage applications for expats in Dubai ask for:
- Valid passport and UAE residence visa
- Emirates ID
- Salary certificate or salary transfer letter from your employer, addressed to the bank
- Last 6 months of bank statements showing salary credits
- Pre-approval or “Approval in Principle” letter, if you have one
- Memorandum of Understanding (Form F) once you’ve agreed a price with the seller
- Passport-size photographs
- For self-employed applicants: trade license and audited company financial statements, typically covering a longer period than for salaried applicants
Getting pre-approved before you start viewing properties is generally worthwhile, since it tells you your realistic budget and can make your offer more credible to sellers in a competitive market.
Ready Property vs. Off-Plan Financing
Banks treat ready (completed) properties and off-plan (under-construction) properties very differently, and the biggest difference is the LTV cap covered earlier: off-plan purchases are capped at 50% financing regardless of buyer category, compared with up to 80% for a ready first home. The Central Bank applies this stricter limit because of the added risk that a project could be delayed or not completed as planned.
For a ready property, the bank releases the full loan amount at the point of transfer, and mortgage registration happens the same day at the DLD trustee office. For off-plan property, mortgage loan providers are required to release financing in stages tied to the developer’s construction milestones, and only after the buyer’s own equity portion has been used to pay the developer first — the bank’s money is the last funding released, not the first. Because off-plan financing structures also vary by developer payment plan, it’s worth confirming directly with your chosen bank and developer how financing will apply to a specific project before assuming the same 50% cap and staged process looks identical everywhere.
Non-Resident Mortgages: A Different Category
Everything above applies to expats who hold a UAE residence visa. If you’re a non-resident — someone who wants to buy Dubai property without living in the UAE — some banks offer separate non-resident mortgage products, but eligibility, maximum LTV, and pricing for non-residents differ from resident expat terms and vary considerably by bank. If this applies to you, it’s best to confirm current terms directly with the specific bank, since non-resident lending policies change more frequently than resident products and are less consistently published.
Step-by-Step: Getting a Home Loan in Dubai as an Expat
- Check your eligibility and get pre-approved. Approach a bank (or a few, to compare) with your salary and employment details to get an Approval in Principle, which indicates roughly how much you can borrow.
- Find a property and sign the MOU. Once you’ve agreed a price with the seller, you’ll sign a Memorandum of Understanding, often called Form F, through the real estate broker.
- Submit your full mortgage application. Provide the bank with the signed MOU and your full documentation for final underwriting.
- Property valuation. The bank arranges an independent valuation of the property to confirm it supports the loan amount.
- Receive your final mortgage offer. Once approved, the bank issues a formal offer letter confirming the loan amount, rate, and terms.
- Transfer and mortgage registration. You and the seller complete the transfer at a DLD-authorized trustee office, where the DLD transfer fee, mortgage registration fee, and other charges are paid, and the property and mortgage are registered in your name.
FAQs
Can expats get a 100% home loan in Dubai? No. For standard regulated mortgage lending, expats cannot borrow 100% of the property’s value under the applicable LTV limits — a maximum of 80% loan-to-value applies to a first home valued at AED 5 million or less, meaning a minimum 20% down payment is required regardless of which bank you use.
What is the minimum salary for a home loan in Dubai for expats? There’s no single Central Bank-mandated minimum salary for mortgages; each bank sets its own threshold, and it varies by lender and by whether you plan to transfer your salary to that bank. Since this figure changes by bank and by product, confirm the current minimum directly with the lender you’re considering.
Do I need a UAE residence visa to get a mortgage in Dubai? Resident expat mortgage products, which offer the most competitive terms described in this guide, require a valid UAE residence visa. Non-residents can access separate mortgage products from some banks, but with different eligibility and pricing that should be confirmed directly with the lender.
Who pays the 4% DLD transfer fee, the buyer or the seller? Officially, the fee splits 2% to the buyer and 2% to the seller. In practice, established market convention in Dubai has the buyer paying the full 4%, though this is technically negotiable and should be confirmed in your sale contract.
Can I switch my mortgage to another bank in Dubai for a better rate? Yes, this is called a mortgage buyout or refinance. Early settlement fees on your existing mortgage are capped at 1% of the outstanding balance or AED 10,000, whichever is lower, and the new bank will register a fresh mortgage with the DLD, which comes with its own registration fee.
The One Thing to Remember
Whichever bank you choose, your maximum mortgage as an expat is limited by the applicable LTV cap, the 50% debt-burden ratio, and the Central Bank’s income-multiple limit — whichever of these you hit first. For a first owner-occupied home, the LTV cap is up to 80% for properties valued at AED 5 million or less and up to 70% above AED 5 million. It’s worth calculating all three limits before you start house-hunting, not after you’ve found a property you love.
Disclaimer: Bolo Asan is an independent informational website and is not a bank, mortgage lender, real estate broker, government authority, or regulator, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Central Bank of the UAE, the Dubai Land Department, or any bank named in this article.
The information above is for general informational purposes only, is based on publicly available information from official UAE government and bank sources at the time of writing, and may change without notice. Interest rates, fees, loan-to-value limits, and eligibility criteria differ by bank, applicant profile, property type, and prevailing Central Bank regulations. This article is not financial, legal, or real estate advice. Before signing any mortgage agreement or property sale contract, confirm current rates, fees, and terms directly with your bank and the Dubai Land Department, and consider speaking with a licensed financial advisor or real estate lawyer about your specific situation.
Last Updated: August 26, 2026
