Joint ownership and the UAE Golden Visa
Dubai Land Department requires the AED 2 million to be wholly owned by the investor, in the applicant’s name. A couple, or any co-owners, cannot add their shares together to qualify one person. Each person who wants a Golden Visa has to meet the threshold on their own share. A spouse who does not meet it can still be sponsored as family once the qualifying owner holds the visa.
The 10-year test is the applicant’s own share
DLD’s investor condition is property worth AED 2 million wholly owned by the investor, in one or more properties under the applicant’s name. ICP’s property category is also property registered in your name. “In the family” is not a category.
| How the title is held | Golden Visa reading | Practical next step |
|---|---|---|
| You own 100% | You are the applicant if the value test is met | Ordinary property file |
| You own a share worth at least AED 2 million | Your share can be the qualifying property | Evidence of your share, not the whole building’s brochure price |
| Two owners at 50/50 on a AED 3 million home | Neither share is AED 2 million | Neither owner qualifies on this property alone |
| You hold AED 2 million across two properties, some of them joint | Only the portion in your name counts | Add your shares, not your co-owners’ shares |
| The property is in a company you own | It is not automatically your personal property | See commercial property and the business-owner routes |
Confirm the share on the title or Oqood before anyone quotes an approval.
Spouse, parents and the person who does not qualify
A spouse who is on the title with a small share does not become a Golden Visa applicant by marriage. Once you hold the Golden Visa, you can sponsor that spouse, children of any age and your parents. That is family sponsorship, with its own documents and DLD fees, described on the family page. It is often the cleaner file: one owner qualifies, the household is sponsored, and nobody pretends a 20% share is AED 2 million.
If both of you want a Golden Visa in your own name, each of you needs a qualifying basis. That can be two separate shares that each meet AED 2 million, or one property route and one other category (salary, company capital, and so on). Buying a second small studio in the other name does not help unless that holding meets the test on its own.
Joint owners on the two-year property visa
The two-year Dubai property investor visa is not a Golden Visa. On THAJ’s Golden Visa overview, DLD’s investor-visa service is described like this: a sole owner may apply without a minimum value, and a co-owner must hold a share of at least AED 400,000. That AED 400,000 figure is not the Golden Visa threshold.
Read the two-year property visa page before you choose it as a stepping stone. It is renewable only on the rules of that permit, and it does not silently become a 10-year Golden Visa. An upgrade means a new application under Golden Visa rules, including the AED 2 million test if property is the route.
Joint and mortgaged at the same time
If the joint property is also mortgaged, both tests apply. Your share has to be worth at least AED 2 million for the Golden Visa, and DLD’s paid-amount rule for mortgaged property still has to be satisfied. A bank letter in one borrower’s name does not automatically cover the other name on the title. Walk the mortgage page with the title in front of you.
Frequently asked questions
Can two owners combine shares to reach AED 2 million for one Golden Visa?
No. DLD requires the AED 2 million to be wholly owned by the applicant. The other owner’s share is not added to yours.
My spouse owns half. Can I sponsor them instead?
If your own share meets the Golden Visa test and you are approved, you can sponsor your spouse as family. Sponsorship is not the same as your spouse qualifying as an investor.
Is the AED 400,000 joint-owner figure a Golden Visa rule?
No. AED 400,000 is the joint-owner share described for Dubai’s separate two-year property investor visa, from the DLD investor-visa service as stated on the Golden Visa overview. The Golden Visa share test remains AED 2 million.
We bought in a company name. Does that count as joint personal ownership?
No. Company ownership is a different structure. Look at commercial property held in a company name, and at the business-owner Golden Visa routes, before you file a personal property application.
Official sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on 26 October 2026. Rules and fees can change; the authority’s current page always prevails.
- Golden Visa application — Investor (fees, documents, terms) — Dubai Land Department (DLD)
- Golden Residency Guide — Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP)
- Request for investor visa (two-year property investor residence — not the Golden Visa) — Dubai Land Department (DLD)
- Golden visa — eligible categories — The UAE Government portal (u.ae)
Send the title with the shares marked
We tell you which name, if any, meets the applicant test.