Answers
Can non-residents get a mortgage in the UAE?
A short answer, with the article it comes from.
The answer
Yes. The Central Bank does not treat non-residents as a separate category, so the regulation allows the same 80 percent cap as a resident expatriate on a first home below AED 5 million. In practice, banks on our panel typically lend non-residents up to about 60 percent, and each bank sets its own conditions.
CBUAE Circular 31/2013 Article 3.2, checked 2 October 2026.
Article 3.2 of the mortgage circular sets loan to value caps for UAE nationals and for expatriates. It has no separate band for people who live abroad, so a non-resident buyer falls within the expatriate caps.
What lenders actually offer is lower. Across our panel, non-residents are typically offered up to about 60 percent, which means planning for a 40 percent deposit. That is lender practice, not a rule, so it varies between banks.
The Dubai Land Department provides for non-resident borrowers in its own process: its mortgage registration service asks for "copy of passport for non-resident foreigners" where a resident shows an Emirates ID.
Because so much here is each bank's own policy, the bank you choose matters more for a non-resident than for almost anyone else. A specialist can tell you which banks would consider your country of residence and your type of income before you commit to a property.
The 60 percent figure is TLT panel practice, not regulation. The regulation itself would permit 80 percent.
Rules are the easy part. Your file is the question.
Buying from abroad? Talk to a Specialist about which banks fit your case.