How to buy property in Dubai from Poland – step by step (off-plan and ready)

In short: a Polish citizen can buy a flat or house in Dubai without a residence visa and without setting up a company, in designated freehold areas. Every transaction is registered by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) – an unregistered transaction is void. When you buy from a developer (off-plan), you pay instalments into the project's escrow account and the contract is entered in the Oqood interim register. When you buy a completed flat from an owner, the deal is closed at a Real Estate Registration Trustee office and the DLD issues the title deed. The main extra cost is the DLD registration fee – 4% of the price.

Updated: November 2026

Key facts

• Who can buy: foreigners who are not UAE nationals buy property in areas designated for non-UAE nationals (freehold) – as stated in the Dubai Land Department FAQ.
• Documents: a person without UAE residency presents a valid passport when the contract is registered (DLD off-plan sale registration service).
• Registration is mandatory: all transactions not entered in the DLD registers are void.
• Off-plan: payments go into the project's escrow account (Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007) and the contract goes into the interim register (Law No. 13 of 2008).
• Completed flat: you need the developer's no-objection certificate (NOC), and the transaction is completed at a DLD trustee office.
• Money does not go to an agent: you pay the developer into the escrow account, or the seller at registration.

Off-plan or a completed flat – what is the difference

There are two kinds of property you can buy in Dubai. Off-plan means a unit that is under construction (or only planned), bought directly from the developer, usually with a payment plan spread over the construction period. The secondary market (ready, secondary) means a completed unit bought from the current owner – often already let, or ready to move into.

	Off-plan (from the developer)	Completed flat (from the owner)
Who you pay	The project's escrow account, according to the payment plan	The seller, at registration of the transaction
Registration	Oqood interim register; main register once construction is finished	Main register and title deed straight away
When you get the keys	After construction is completed (date set in the contract)	After the transaction is registered
Main risk	Construction delays, market changes before handover	Technical condition, outstanding charges, a tenancy agreement in progress
DLD fee	4% of the price when the contract is registered	4% of the price when the sale is registered

Buying off-plan step by step

1. Choosing and checking the project

Before you reserve a unit, check the developer and the project in official sources: in the Dubai Land Department's Dubai REST app you can find, among other things, licensed brokers and data on off-plan projects, and on the DLD website there is a list of licensed developers. A developer selling off-plan must have a project escrow account, and advertising off-plan sales requires the DLD's written approval (Art. 5 of Law No. 8 of 2007). We explain what escrow gives you in more detail in our article Dubai off-plan: escrow account and Oqood.

2. Reservation and sale and purchase agreement (SPA)

The developer usually takes a reservation payment, and then you sign the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA). In the agreement, check: the exact description and area of the unit, the price in dirhams (AED), the payment plan, the completion date, the escrow account number, the withdrawal rules and the penalties. According to the DLD FAQ, if the actual area is smaller than the contractual one by more than 5% of the net area, the developer must compensate the difference.

3. Registration in Oqood

The developer registers the contract in the DLD interim register through the Oqood portal, and the confirmation is sent to the buyer by e-mail. This is not a formality: under Art. 3 of Law No. 13 of 2008, an off-plan sale that has not been entered in the interim register is void.

4. DLD fee and instalments under the plan

The DLD fee is paid at registration – 4% of the price in total (details and other fees: Dubai property buying costs). You pay the following instalments into the escrow account according to the schedule. The DLD explains in its FAQ that payments are linked to construction stages: if a stage has not been confirmed, the buyer is not obliged to pay the next instalment. We describe typical schedules in the article Payment plans in Dubai.

5. Completion, handover and title deed

Once the completion certificate is issued, the developer moves the project to the main register. The DLD registers the unit in the buyer's name if the buyer has fulfilled all contractual obligations (Art. 8 of Law No. 13 of 2008). Before taking over the unit, it is worth inspecting it carefully and listing any defects – yourself or with a specialist.

Buying a completed flat step by step

1. Choosing a listing and a broker. In Dubai an agent must hold a licence and be entered in the register of brokers – you can check this in the Dubai REST app. According to the DLD FAQ, the contract with the broker should clearly state the parties, the property, the amount and the commission.
2. Memorandum of understanding (MOU). The buyer and the seller sign a memorandum of understanding – also known on the market as Form F (description on the dubizzle portal). It sets out the price, the deadline, the security deposit and how costs are split.
3. NOC from the developer. In freehold areas you need the developer's electronic no-objection certificate (e-NOC), issued through Dubai REST. Without it the trustee office will not register the sale.
4. Registration at the trustee office. The transaction is closed at one of the Real Estate Registration Trustee offices (DLD sale registration service). Payment can be made, among other ways, by manager's cheque. According to the DLD, with complete documents registration takes about 30 minutes.
5. Title deed. Once the sale is registered, the DLD issues a new title deed in the buyer's name.

If the flat is encumbered with the seller's loan, the DLD has a separate procedure – the owner cannot transfer the unit without the bank's consent, and the mortgage is released during the transaction (for a separate fee).

Buying remotely: power of attorney

You do not have to fly to Dubai for every stage. With off-plan, the developer registers the contract in Oqood, and how the SPA is signed remotely is agreed with the developer. With a completed property, you can act through an attorney. The rules according to the DLD FAQ:

• a power of attorney to buy is valid for 5 years from notarisation (to sell or to create a mortgage – 2 years);
• a power of attorney issued outside the UAE must be certified by a notary, and then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of issue, the UAE embassy in that country and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From Poland this means: a notary, legalisation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UAE embassy in Warsaw, and then the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Allow time for this, and for translating the document.

Money from Poland

Prices in Dubai are quoted in dirhams. The dirham has been pegged to the US dollar for years – the Central Bank of the UAE publishes a fixed rate of AED 3.6725 per USD 1 (CBUAE exchange rate table). The zloty moves against the dollar, so with a payment plan spread over several years the cost in zloty may end up higher or lower than on the day of reservation.

You transfer money only to the account named in the contract: for off-plan, the project's escrow account; for a completed property, as agreed in the MOU and at registration. A bank in Poland may ask about the purpose of the transfer and the source of funds – prepare the contract and proof of where the money came from. How to finance the purchase and transfer money safely from Poland is covered in UAE mortgages for non-residents and transferring money from Poland.

What to watch out for

Signal	Why it is a problem
“A guaranteed 8–10% a year”	Rental income depends on the market, costs and vacancies. A promise in an advert is not a guarantee
Transfer to an agent's account or a private account	Off-plan payments go to the project's escrow account
Off-plan contract without registration in Oqood	An off-plan sale that is not registered is void
“Visa included, for sure”	UAE authorities decide on visas, not the seller – see UAE Golden Visa through property
Project advert without a permit number	Advertising property in Dubai requires a DLD permit (Trakheesi); an off-plan project must have an escrow account
Unlicensed broker, offer without company details	Law No. 8 of 2007 provides for penalties for a developer using unregistered brokers

Taxes – in general terms only

Buying in Dubai does not release you from tax obligations in Poland. A Polish tax resident is, as a rule, taxed on worldwide income, and how rental income or the sale of property in the UAE is reported depends on the double taxation treaty and your own situation. We outline the general scheme in Dubai property and Polish taxes. Talk to a tax adviser before buying – we are happy to recommend a specialist.

How we can help

TM Invest is a Polish real estate agency (company details: company facts). We help buyers from Poland and the EU understand the Dubai market, compare projects, review documents and go through the process step by step. We hold Dubai consultations in Polish, Russian, Ukrainian and English. The money for the property never comes to us – you pay the developer into the project's escrow account, or the seller at registration with the DLD. Book a free consultation.

Frequently asked questions