Buying property in Dubai from India

Why Dubai is India's second property market

A three-hour flight, 3.5 million Indians already resident, no tax on rent or gains in the UAE, a dirham that holds against the rupee, and title in your own name: Dubai has been the first foreign market for Indian buyers for a decade, and Indian nationals top the Land Department's buyer tables most years. Indian searches add another motive: 'Dubai Golden Visa' is searched 9,900 times a month in India, more than any property phrase.

After the March 2026 war the market cooled. The registered median price per square foot moved from AED 1,772 to AED 1,689, -4.7%, and sales fell about a quarter. Developers kept selling: 74 per cent of registrations are off-plan, with payment plans that suit buyers moving money in stages.

What it costs in rupees

At roughly 22.9 rupees to the dirham, this month's median of AED 1,689 per square foot is about ₹39,000. A 700 square foot one-bedroom flat at the median registers at about AED 1,182,300, ₹2.71 crore. Studios in International City register from about AED 300,000, ₹68.7 lakh, and a family villa in a gated community from AED 3 million, about ₹6.87 crore.

Add the 4 per cent Dubai Land Department transfer fee and AED 580 administration, agency commission of 2 per cent plus 5 per cent VAT, and 0.25 per cent mortgage registration on any loan. There is no annual property tax; service charges are billed per square foot by each building. Rupee figures are indicative; the title deed is in dirhams.

Moving the money: LRS, TCS and the bank

Resident Indians buy Dubai property under the Reserve Bank's Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which allows each individual to send up to USD 250,000 abroad in a financial year; a couple can pool two allowances, and a larger purchase is paid over two financial years or through an off-plan payment plan that spreads instalments. Banks collect tax at source on remittances above the annual threshold; the TCS is not an extra tax, it is credited against your income tax when you file, but it is cash out of the door at the time of transfer, so plan it. NRIs buy from their NRE or NRO accounts without the LRS limit.

Every remittance needs a purpose code and the bank will ask for the sale agreement. Dubai developers and the Land Department accept transfers from Indian banks directly into escrow; for resale, funds arrive before the transfer appointment and a manager's cheque changes hands. Your chartered accountant in India should confirm the TCS rate and threshold for the year.

Tax in India on a Dubai property

Residents of India are taxed on worldwide income, so rent from a Dubai flat is declared in India under income from house property, with the standard deduction, and a gain on sale is a capital gain in India. The UAE charges nothing, so there is no foreign tax to credit, though the India-UAE double taxation agreement governs the position. Foreign assets must be disclosed in Schedule FA of the Indian return; the penalties for missing it are severe and avoidable. Non-resident Indians are outside Indian tax on UAE income.

The Golden Visa, step by step

Property worth AED 2,000,000 or more, about ₹4.58 crore, held in your name qualifies for the ten-year UAE Golden Visa. Off-plan from an approved developer counts, as does mortgaged property from an approved local bank. The Dubai Land Department processes the application; fees total about AED 9,884.75 for the ten-year permit. Holders sponsor spouse, children and parents, and need not live in the UAE to keep it. From AED 750,000, about ₹1.72 crore, the two-year investor visa applies.

Two units can be combined to reach the threshold if both are in your name. The visa does not require you to give up anything in India; it is a residence permit, not citizenship.

Where Indian buyers choose

Indian buyers spread across the whole price ladder. For yield: Jumeirah Village Circle, the busiest resale market in Dubai (779 sales a month, AED 1,411 per square foot, about ₹32,000), International City, Arjan and Dubai Silicon Oasis. For a family home: Dubai Hills, Arabian Ranches and Damac Hills. For a launch: Dubai South near the new airport (1,701 sales a month, AED 1,704 per square foot) and Business Bay, where the median fell -20.4% this year. Danube, Sobha, Emaar and Azizi are the developers Indian buyers search for most; the index on this site shows what each project actually registered.

How Natalie works with Indian clients

Natalie Burešová is a Senior Advisor at The Oppenheim Group in Dubai. She compares launches across more than 90 developers against the Land Department register, structures off-plan payment plans around LRS timing, arranges finance through banking partners when it suits, and manages the power of attorney, transfer and handover from Dubai. She publishes the Dubai Property Index weekly; the figures above are its latest. English-speaking, Dubai hours, WhatsApp first.