Investing in Dubai, from France.

What Dubai law allows

A resident of France, whatever their nationality, can buy freehold property in the areas of Dubai open to foreign buyers. This right rests on Law No. 7 of 2006 on real property registration, and these areas cover most of the neighbourhoods where international buyers invest.

The title deed is registered in your name with the Dubai Land Department (DLD). You do not need to be a UAE resident, set up a company there or have a local partner.

In my day-to-day work, buyers living in France are often Moroccans abroad, deeply attached to Morocco and settled in France for years, but also French nationals discovering Dubai. The framework is the same for everyone.

Paying in euros from your French bank

You pay from your account in France by international transfer. The UAE dirham is pegged to the US dollar at 3.6725 AED per USD, so the euro amount of each instalment depends on the euro-dollar rate on the day of the transfer. I build this currency effect into every simulation.

Your bank will ask about the source of funds, as it would for any large transfer, and the receiving bank in Dubai runs its own checks. Keep your supporting documents: statements, the deed of sale of a property, savings, a gift.

The money always goes to an identified account: the project's escrow account for an off-plan purchase, or the channel set by the DLD process for a ready property. The details are in paying for a Dubai property from abroad.

Buying without leaving France

Dubai is three hours ahead of Paris in winter and two hours ahead in summer. We talk in the early evening or at the weekend, by video call, and you receive every document electronically.

An off-plan contract is usually signed online. For a ready property, the transfer can be signed by a representative holding a power of attorney that meets DLD requirements. Everything is explained in buying in Dubai remotely.

Off-plan or ready property

Buying off-plan spreads payments over the construction period. It is governed by Law No. 8 of 2007: your payments go into the project's escrow account, supervised by RERA, the sale is entered in the Oqood register and progress can be followed on the official Dubai REST app. See buying off-plan in Dubai.

A ready property can be let or lived in straight away. The steps of a resale purchase are set out in buying a resale property in Dubai.

The costs to plan for

The main purchase cost is the Dubai Land Department fee: 4% of the price, plus administrative and registration fees. Once you own the property, you pay service charges approved by RERA and published in its official index. Every line is set out in Dubai buying costs.

On an off-plan purchase, the agency commission is paid by the developer. On a resale property, it is usually 2% of the price. In every case, everything is confirmed in writing before you commit.

On the French side: what you declare

The UAE levies no personal income tax. As a French tax resident, you remain subject to French rules on income and capital gains from a property abroad, taking into account the tax treaty between France and the United Arab Emirates. A tax adviser in France validates your situation before you buy.

If you open a bank account in the UAE, remember to declare it every year with your income tax return: accounts held abroad must be declared, as impots.gouv.fr points out. I hand your adviser all the documents they need. To go further: Dubai property taxation.

The steps, in order

A calm purchase always follows the same logic: we clarify the budget and the payment channel, choose the property, and only then make a reservation.

• A call to frame the goal: rental income, family use, Golden Visa, passing on to the next generation
• Checking the payment channel from your French bank
• A short selection of properties, with video tours and official documents
• The reservation, then the contract (SPA), usually signed online
• Registration with the DLD: Oqood for off-plan, title deed for a ready property
• Following the instalments, the handover of the keys and letting the property if you wish

Let's talk about your project

I was born in Morocco, spent more than twenty years in finance before real estate, and I run Cevitas Real Estate, a RERA-licensed brokerage in Dubai. I work with many families settled in France, in French or in Darija. The Moroccans in France page brings together what matters to them, including buying in Morocco.

The simplest first step: a free 30-minute call to review your situation. Book your call.