A New Haven for Wealthy Retirees as the Golden Visa Rule Change Sparks Interest

Dubai is anticipated to see an influx of wealthy ‘retirees’ from around the world, with city-based proptech firms reporting a surge in queries for residential real estate investments in the aftermath of the waiver on minimum upfront investments for property purchases required under the 10-year Golden Visa rule.

“As a platform dealing in sourcing leads directly for developers like Damac, Sobha, Arada and others, we are already seeing increased queries due to the lower entry point [under the AED2 million property investment rule]”; our CEO Mr. Samer Chehab shared his thought with Arabian Business on his recent interviews.

“The Golden Visa has been a talent and investment magnet for the UAE, and we expect demand to grow even more in the coming months due to the rule change [related to minimum upfront payment]” he added.

Industry insiders said the move to drastically reduce the upfront payment requirement for property investment-based long-term residency visas and the availability of a wide range of property options will propel Dubai to the top of the ‘most favoured’ destinations for the wealthy baby bombers, especially in the West.

The average baby boomer is estimated to have a net worth of $1.2 million, with many of them approaching their retirement or have already retired.

Industry players said with the lowering of the entry barriers for seeking Golden Visas, the property purchase transactions in Dubai – as also in other rising real estate hotspots such as Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah – are expected to see a spike in the coming months and years.

Chehab said the new rule is a game changer “as it now opens up obtaining the Golden Visa through home ownership to many more prospective buyers”.