Mortgage in Dubai for Non-Residents 2026: Rates, How to Get One

Mortgage in Dubai for Non-Residents

This guide first answers whether you can get a mortgage and which banks lend to non-residents. It then explains how much you can borrow, the rates, the requirements, your country, how to apply from abroad, and the risks.

Can Non-Residents Get a Mortgage in Dubai?

Yes. Non-residents can get a mortgage in Dubai. UAE banks lend to people who live and earn in another country.

Who is a non-resident?

Banks put foreign buyers into two groups:

• A non-resident lives outside the UAE and has no UAE residence visa.
• A resident, who is often called an expat, is a foreign national who lives in the UAE on a residence visa.

Your passport does not decide your group. The place where you live and earn decides it. An Indian citizen who lives in Dubai is a resident. An Indian citizen who lives in Mumbai or London is a non-resident.

Why banks treat non-residents differently

A UAE bank can check a resident easily, because the resident's salary and credit report are in the UAE. Your income, debts and credit history are in another country. So the bank takes more care. It lends you less and asks for more proof.

If you live in the UAE, read our guide to a mortgage in Dubai for expats. Residents can borrow up to 80%.

The main terms of a non-resident mortgage in Dubai

These are the main terms of a Dubai home loan for non-residents:

• Loan size: 50% to 60% of the value of the home.
• Length: up to 25 years.
• Type of home: a finished home.
• Currency: UAE dirhams (AED). You repay the bank in dirhams every month.
• Security: the home itself. The bank can ask a court to sell it if you stop paying.

Which Banks Give a Mortgage to Non-Residents in Dubai

Five large banks advertise a mortgage for non-residents in Dubai on their own websites.

These banks publish very little. None of them publishes an interest rate for non-residents. None of them publishes a list of the countries it accepts. This table shows everything they do say:

HSBC UAE is the clearest, but it is not open to everyone. HSBC Premier is its account for wealthier customers. You need one, or you must qualify for one, before HSBC will lend to you.

Mashreq shows two different figures. Its page says up to 60% at the top, and up to 50% in its questions and answers. So ask Mashreq which figure applies to you.

You cannot compare these banks from their websites, because the important numbers are missing. So ask each bank for a written first approval. Banks call this a pre-approval. A mortgage broker can ask several banks for you.

How Much Can a Non-Resident Borrow in Dubai?

A non-resident can borrow 50% to 60% of the value of a finished home in Dubai. You pay the rest in cash. Banks call the share they lend the loan-to-value, or LTV.

The bank also sends a valuer to decide what the home is worth. If the valuation is lower than the price, the bank lends its share of the valuation.

How much cash you need

You need cash for two things: your share of the price, and the fees. Since February 2025, banks no longer add the buying fees to the loan. The fees are about 7% of the price.

This table shows the cash you need for a finished home that you buy from its owner:

The monthly payments are for a 25-year loan at 5.31%, a rate we explain below.

So with a 50% loan you need about 57% of the price in cash. With a 60% loan you need about 47%.

The biggest fee is the 4% fee of the Dubai Land Department (DLD), the government office that registers homes. Our guide to the cost of buying property in Dubai lists every fee.

Can a non-resident get a 100% mortgage in Dubai?

No. Nobody can get a 100% mortgage in Dubai. The Central Bank of the UAE does not allow it. Your share of the price must also be your own money, not a personal loan. See our guide to the minimum down payment in Dubai.

Mortgage Rates in Dubai for Non-Residents

No UAE bank publishes a mortgage rate for non-residents. HSBC UAE shows its rates for residents, and then says that "different rates apply" if you live outside the UAE. So the only rate you can trust is the one in your written approval.

You can still estimate it. Most home loans in Dubai have a variable rate, which the bank works out with a simple sum: EIBOR plus the bank's margin.

EIBOR is the interest rate that UAE banks charge each other. It is the same for every bank. The margin is the part that the bank adds.

On 30 September 2026 the three-month EIBOR was 4.32%. The Central Bank's EIBOR page shows today's figure.

This table shows the margins that two banks publish, and the rate each margin gives today:

The last row is the only published margin for buyers who live abroad. It is a little higher than the same bank's margin for residents. So expect to pay the resident rate or a little more, and plan on about 5.3% to 6.5%.

Many loans start with a lower fixed rate for one to five years, and then move to the variable rate. Our main guide to a mortgage in Dubai explains rates and has a payment table.

Requirements for a Non-Resident Mortgage in Dubai

A non-resident needs four things to get a mortgage in Dubai. You need enough income, a suitable age, a finished home, and documents that prove all of this.

Income

Each bank sets its own lowest income, and most do not publish it. These are the two published tests:

• Mashreq asks for an income of at least AED 15,000 a month. It also accepts an average bank balance of at least AED 25,000.
• HSBC UAE lends only to Premier and Private Bank customers. One way to get Premier is to keep AED 500,000 with the bank.

A bank's real test can be stricter than its web page. So send the bank your income and your country, and ask whether you qualify today.

The Central Bank also sets two limits:

• Your debts. All your monthly debt repayments together cannot be more than 50% of your monthly income. This includes your debts at home. The bank tests your new payment at 2 to 4 points above your real rate.
• Your yearly income. A loan for a foreign national cannot be more than seven times your yearly income.

Age

The loan must end before you reach the bank's age limit. HSBC UAE lends to people aged 21 to 65. Mashreq lets the loan run until you are 70.

So an older buyer gets a shorter loan, and a shorter loan costs more each month.

Type of home

The banks' non-resident loans are for finished homes. A home that is not built yet is called off-plan, and few banks lend on one to buyers abroad. Most of these buyers pay the developer in instalments. See our guide to off-plan payment plans in Dubai.

Documents for a non-resident home loan

The banks' pages list only a few documents. In practice, banks ask for more, because they need to check income that you earn abroad. Prepare these documents before you apply:

• your passport
• proof of your home address
• bank statements for the last six months
• payslips and a letter from your employer that states your salary
• a credit report from the country where you live
• two years of business accounts, if you are self-employed

The papers for the home itself are in our guide to the documents you need to buy property in Dubai.

Home Loan in Dubai From India, the UK and Other Countries

The country where you live changes three things. It changes whether a bank accepts you, how you move your cash to Dubai, and how the bank checks your credit history. The loan limits in this guide do not change with your passport.

No bank publishes a list of accepted countries

We read the non-resident pages of all five banks. None of them names a country or a nationality that it accepts or refuses. Only one page names a country at all: an Emirates NBD offer for customers from Saudi Arabia.

Banks do have their own rules about countries, and the rules change. So do not rely on a list from another website. Ask the bank these questions in your first message:

• Do you lend to people who live in my country?
• Do you lend to people with my passport?
• What is the lowest income you accept?
• What share of the value will you lend me?

Dubai home loan from India

A person who lives in India can apply for a home loan in Dubai. But India limits how much money a resident can send abroad.

The rule is called the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, or LRS, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) runs it. Each resident can send up to USD 250,000 in one financial year, which runs from April to March. That is about AED 918,000.

A 50% loan on a home of AED 2 million needs about AED 1,143,100 in cash. That is more than one person's limit.

The RBI's published answers on LRS set out three more points:

• Family members can combine their limits. They must live in India, and they must be co-owners of the home.
• A bank in India cannot lend you the money that you send abroad for a home.
• The answers do not cover a loan from a bank abroad. Ask your bank in India and a chartered accountant how your monthly payments count.

LRS is for people who live in India. An Indian citizen who lives in another country is called an NRI. For an NRI, the UAE bank looks at the country where you live and earn.

Dubai mortgage from the UK

The UK does not limit how much of your own money you can send abroad. So the bank's income test is the main thing to check.

For example, HSBC UAE lends only to Premier customers. In the UK, HSBC Premier needs an income of £100,000 a year, or £100,000 in savings or investments with HSBC. The bank will also ask for a UK credit report.

This table shows a home of AED 2 million in pounds, at AED 4.87 to £1 on 7 October 2026:

The amounts in pounds change with the exchange rate. In late September 2022 the pound was very weak, and the same payment of AED 6,028 cost about £1,533.

See also buying property in Dubai from the UK and UK tax on Dubai property.

Other countries

Many countries limit how much money their residents can send abroad, or ask for approval first. Check your own country's rule before you pay any money in Dubai. Your bank at home can tell you the rule.

How to Get a Mortgage in Dubai From Abroad

You can do most of the work from your home country. Getting the mortgage takes about six to ten weeks after you agree to buy a home. Follow these steps in order:

1. Ask the bank if it accepts you. Send your country of residence, your passport and your income.
2. Get a written first approval. It should state the share of the value and the interest rate. It is not a final promise.
3. Agree the price and sign the sale contract. In Dubai this contract is called Form F. Add a line that says the sale depends on your loan and on the bank's valuation.
4. Let the bank value the home. The bank then sends you its final loan offer.
5. Sign the loan and open a UAE bank account. The bank takes your monthly payments from this account.
6. Transfer the home. The bank pays the seller, and the Dubai Land Department registers the home in your name.

Do you need to visit Dubai?

It depends on the bank, so ask before you apply. HSBC UAE says clearly that you must come:

“"You'll then need to complete the mortgage registration with the appropriate Land Department, and provide a signature in person on the loan document."”

HSBC UAE, Non-resident mortgages, read 7 October 2026

Some other banks let another person sign for you. You give that person a power of attorney, which is a legal paper that lets them act in your name.

A power of attorney from abroad needs official stamps from a notary, your foreign ministry, the UAE embassy and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This takes a few weeks, so start early.

Risks of a Non-Resident Mortgage

A non-resident mortgage has the same risks as any home loan, and one more. You earn in one currency and you owe in another.

Currency risk

Your loan is in dirhams. The dirham is tied to the US dollar at a fixed rate. So if your own currency falls against the dollar, your monthly payment costs you more.

For example, your payment is AED 6,000 a month, and your currency falls by 10% against the dollar. Your payment is still AED 6,000, but it now costs you about 11% more in your own money.

Rent reduces this risk. If you rent out the home, the rent is in dirhams, so it can cover the payment. If you earn in US dollars, the risk is very small.

What goes wrong with a non-resident mortgage

This table shows the most common problems and how to avoid each one:

What happens if you stop paying

Living abroad does not protect you from the debt. So talk to the bank before you miss a payment.

If you stop paying, Dubai's mortgage law sets out what the bank can do:

1. The bank gives you 30 days' written notice through a notary.
2. The bank can then ask a court to sell the home at a public auction.
3. If the sale does not cover the loan, you still owe the rest.

A UAE court can also order a travel ban against a person who owes more than AED 10,000.

Non-Resident Mortgage in Dubai or a Loan at Home?

Some buyers do not borrow in Dubai. They borrow in their own country, usually against the home they live in, and then buy the Dubai home in cash. This table compares the two ways:

The interest rate should not decide this. Rates in the UAE and in your country go up and down at different times. The two questions in the table matter more.

A loan at home is not always possible. In India, for example, banks cannot lend you money to send abroad for a home. In other countries, lenders can limit what you use the loan for. So tell your lender the real purpose of the loan.

Is a Non-Resident Mortgage in Dubai Right for You?

A non-resident mortgage in Dubai is right for you when you have the cash and a bank has accepted you in writing.

A five-minute self-check

Do this check before you contact a bank. Change your income and your debts into dirhams first.

1. Your cash. Take 57% of the price. Do you have this amount in savings?
2. Your payment. Take 50% of the price as the loan. Each AED 1 million costs about AED 7,300 a month in the bank's test.
3. Your debts. Add that payment to your other monthly debt payments. Is the total less than half of your monthly income?
4. Your country. Can you send the cash from step 1 out of your country in time?

For example, a buyer earns AED 40,000 a month and pays AED 5,000 a month on other debts. The loan is AED 1 million. The total debt payment is AED 12,300, and half of the income is AED 20,000. So this buyer passes.

For the whole purchase, read our guide to buying property in Dubai.