YOUR GUIDE TO SMARTER, HIGHER-EARNING PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
2-Year Investor Visa Dubai: What Changed in 2026 for Airbnb Owners
Dubai Land Department removed the AED 750,000 minimum property value for sole owners applying for the 2-year investor visa on 29 April 2026, a real regulatory change with a direct knock-on for the smaller apartments Royale Stays manages.
What Actually Changed
On 29 April 2026, Dubai Land Department (DLD) removed the AED 750,000 minimum property value that previously determined whether a sole owner could apply for the 2-year investor residence visa. DLD refers to this residency track internally as the Investor Residence Application, or Taskeen, and the change was rolled out through its Cube Centre digital platform rather than a new law or decree.
The distinction that matters is between sole and joint ownership. A sole owner of a completed residential unit in Dubai can now sponsor themselves for a renewable two-year residence permit regardless of what the unit is worth. Joint owners still need a threshold: each owner’s share of the property must be worth at least AED 400,000 to qualify.
Before this change, an investor who owned a studio or one-bedroom unit worth less than AED 750,000 outright, common across Dubai Marina, JVC and parts of Downtown, had no route to this particular residence permit through property ownership alone. That gap is now closed for sole owners.
How This Differs From the Golden Visa
This 2-year track is a separate residence permit from the 10-year Golden Visa, and the April 2026 rule change does not touch the Golden Visa at all. The Golden Visa still requires a property (or portfolio) worth at least AED 2,000,000, and it does not count short-term rental income toward that threshold, only the property’s value. Royale Stays has covered that qualification in detail in Golden Visa Dubai: Does Airbnb Income Count? and Golden Visa Property and Airbnb Returns, both of which remain accurate as written.
| Metric | 2-Year Investor Visa | 10-Year Golden Visa |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Property Value | None for sole owners (AED 400,000 each for joint owners) | AED 2,000,000 |
| Visa Duration | 2 years, renewable | 10 years, renewable |
| Rental Income Counted? | No, ownership and value only | No, ownership and value only |
| Family Sponsorship | Yes | Yes |
| April 2026 Rule Change | AED 750,000 floor removed for sole owners | Unaffected |
Sourced from Dubai Land Department guidance published via Gulf News (29 Apr 2026), AGBI (30 Apr 2026) and Khaleej Times (1 May 2026), cross-confirmed 12 Aug 2026.
What This Means for Airbnb Owners
The properties this rule change opens up are, in practice, exactly the properties that make strong Airbnb units: studios and one-bedroom apartments in Dubai Marina, Downtown, JBR and Palm Jumeirah that were previously priced below the AED 750,000 floor. An owner of one of these units can now hold both a residence visa through the property itself and a legitimate short-term rental income stream from the same asset, provided the property carries the required DTCM holiday home permit. See our full guide to the DTCM holiday home permit for what that process involves; it is a separate, unrelated approval from the visa application itself.
Royale Stays manages an apartment-focused portfolio across Marina, Downtown, JBR and Palm Jumeirah for owners in exactly this position, from a disclosed fee of 15%, with a 5.0-star rating from 54 reviews. If you own, or are considering buying, a smaller Dubai apartment and want to understand what it could realistically earn as a managed short-term rental, submit your property for a free assessment, or read our guide to choosing an Airbnb management company in Dubai first.
Common Questions