Buying property in Dubai and the UAE from India
How buying in the UAE works from India: money, tax, borrowing and timing.
For buyers in India. Checked
- Share of overseas interest
- 16.3%
- INR per dirham
- ₹25.56
- Mumbai to Dubai
- about 3 h
The short version
A resident Indian can buy a home in Dubai, but the money has to leave India under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, the bank collects TCS on the way out, and the property must be reported in your income tax return every year.
- Resident individuals can remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme, and buying property abroad is a permitted purpose.
- Banks collect TCS at 20% on LRS remittances above ₹10 lakh in a financial year for purposes other than education, medical treatment and tour packages; it can be claimed as a tax credit when you file.
- Indian banks may not lend to fund LRS capital account remittances, so the purchase is normally paid from your own funds.
- A resident must report the UAE property in Schedule FA of the income tax return; the Black Money Act provides a ₹10 lakh penalty for not doing so, with no small-value exemption for immovable property.
- The UAE is 1 hour 30 minutes behind India, and non-stop flights to Dubai leave from more than 20 Indian cities.
16.3%
Top two
Source: Betterhomes: What really drove Dubai's property market in 2025 (15 March 2026)
Which developments do Indian buyers choose?
We do not say, because no official figures exist: the Dubai Land Department does not publish buyer nationality by project. Any “popular with Indian buyers” list is a broker's own client mix. Judge a development on its price, plan, developer and location.
Browse developmentsHow Indian buyers buy
The UAE side is the same for every nationality. What is different for a resident Indian is how the money leaves India and what must be reported afterwards.
You do not need UAE residency or a visa to own property. Non-UAE nationals can buy freehold in the areas of Dubai designated under Regulation No. 3 of 2006, in Abu Dhabi's investment zones and in Ras Al Khaimah's freehold areas.
Off-plan. Reservations and sale agreements are signed electronically and instalments are paid by bank transfer into the project's escrow account named in the contract. In Dubai the sale is registered on the Oqood system, and the Dubai Land Department (DLD) fee of 4% of the price is paid at registration. Each transfer from India goes through your bank as an LRS remittance, so plan the payment schedule against the financial-year limit described below.
Resale and handover. You can attend, or appoint someone under a power of attorney. A power of attorney signed outside the UAE must be authenticated in the country where it is signed, then attested by the UAE embassy or consulate there and by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a legal Arabic translation, before the land department will rely on it.
Residents and NRIs. This page is written for resident individuals. An NRI paying from income earned and held abroad is not using the LRS, which the RBI makes available to resident individuals.
Sources for this section (4), checked 12 November 2026
- UAE Government portal: Expatriates buying a property in the UAE (checked 12 November 2026)
- Dubai Regulation No. 3 of 2006 on areas where non-UAE nationals may own property
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs: attestation service
- Reserve Bank of India: Master Direction, Liberalised Remittance Scheme (updated 6 September 2024)
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; confirm them for your own case before you act.
Moving money: the LRS limit and TCS
Two Indian rules shape every payment: the USD 250,000 annual limit per person, and tax collected at source on the way out.
The limit. Under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme a resident individual can remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year (April to March). Acquiring immovable property abroad is a permitted capital account purpose, subject to the Overseas Investment Rules, Regulations and Directions of 2022. At the dirham's peg of AED 3.6725 to the dollar, USD 250,000 is AED 918,125, or about ₹2.35 crore at ₹25.56 per dirham (12 November 2026). Remittances can be consolidated for family members, but for capital account transactions only where they are co-owners of the investment.
Bank conditions. You must give your PAN, submit Form A2 and route all LRS remittances through one designated bank branch. The RBI expects the account to have been held for at least a year before a capital account remittance; for newer customers the bank will do extra due diligence on the source of funds. Indian banks may not lend to fund capital account remittances under the scheme. Money sent abroad and not used must be brought back within 180 days unless reinvested.
TCS. From 1 April 2026 TCS sits in the Income-tax Act, 2025, which replaced section 206C(1G) of the 1961 Act. Kotak Mahindra Bank and Standard Chartered India publish the same rates for 2026 to 2027: nil up to ₹10 lakh in a financial year, then 20% for purposes other than education, medical treatment and overseas tour packages. A property purchase is not one of those exceptions. TCS is not a final tax: Kotak states that the remitter can claim credit for it when filing the income tax return. It does tie up cash until then.
An example. A 10% booking deposit, the 4% DLD fee and the AED 1,020 Oqood registration fee on an AED 1.5 million apartment come to about AED 211,000, or ₹53.9 lakh. With no other LRS remittances that year, TCS of 20% on the ₹43.9 lakh above the threshold is about ₹8.8 lakh, collected by the bank on top of the transfer. See the costs in rupees for full budgets.
Sources for this section (4), checked 12 November 2026
- Reserve Bank of India: Master Direction, Liberalised Remittance Scheme (updated 6 September 2024)
- Kotak Mahindra Bank: Send money abroad FAQs, TCS rates from 1 April 2026 (checked 12 November 2026)
- Standard Chartered India: LRS amendment in TCS, Finance Act 2026 (checked 12 November 2026)
- ExchangeRate-API open data: AED rates, 12 November 2026
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; confirm them for your own case before you act.
Planning payments from India?
An adviser can map a developer's payment plan against your transfers, in Indian rupees.
Indian tax on UAE property
General information, not tax advice. Section numbers changed when the Income-tax Act, 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026; check the current provisions with a chartered accountant.
- Rent. A resident and ordinarily resident individual is taxed in India on worldwide income, so rent from a Dubai flat is taxable in India in the same way as rent from an Indian property. The UAE charges individuals no income tax, so there is normally no foreign tax to credit against the Indian tax.
- Gains. Land and buildings held for more than 24 months are long-term capital assets. For transfers on or after 23 July 2024 long-term gains are taxed at 12.5% without indexation. A resident individual who acquired the property before 23 July 2024 can instead compute the gain with indexation at 20% where that gives less tax.
- Reporting. A resident must list foreign assets, including immovable property abroad, in Schedule FA of the return, and foreign income in Schedule FSI. Under sections 42 and 43 of the Black Money Act the penalty for failing to report a foreign asset, or reporting it inaccurately, is ₹10 lakh; the exemption for non-immovable assets worth up to ₹20 lakh does not cover property.
- Enforcement. The CBDT ran compliance campaigns on foreign assets in November 2024 and November 2025, asking identified taxpayers to revise their returns.
The detail is in Indian tax on Dubai property.
Sources for this section (7), checked 12 November 2026
- Income Tax Department: Tax on long-term capital gains (checked 12 November 2026)
- PIB: FAQs issued by CBDT on the new capital gains tax regime (July 2024)
- Income Tax Department: Black Money Act, section 42
- Income Tax Department: Black Money Act, section 43
- PIB: CBDT launches second NUDGE initiative on foreign assets (November 2025)
- Income Tax Department: Taxation of non-resident persons, residential status (March 2026)
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: UAE, taxes on personal income (reviewed 9 September 2026)
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; confirm them for your own case before you act.
Mortgages for Indian buyers
An Indian bank cannot fund the remittance, so finance, if any, comes from a UAE bank.
The RBI's LRS Master Direction bars banks from extending credit facilities to residents to fund capital account remittances under the scheme. That rules out borrowing in India to send the purchase money.
UAE banks lend to non-residents on tighter terms than to residents, typically 50% to 60% of a completed property's value, and eligibility depends on nationality, country of residence and income type. Most banks lend at or near handover, not during construction, so off-plan instalments are paid from your own funds. Before applying to a UAE bank, ask your chartered accountant and your bank in India how borrowing abroad and repaying from India fits the overseas investment rules in your case; we have not found an RBI statement that settles it for an individual buyer.
Rates, fees and the off-plan problem are in non-resident mortgages in the UAE.
Sources for this section (3), checked 12 November 2026
- Reserve Bank of India: Master Direction, Liberalised Remittance Scheme (updated 6 September 2024)
- HSBC UAE: Non-resident mortgages (checked 12 November 2026)
- Holo: Best mortgage banks in the UAE 2026 (3 July 2026)
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; confirm them for your own case before you act.
Residency through property
Owning a home does not by itself give the right to live in the UAE, but it can support a residence application.
Property worth AED 2 million or more can support an application for the 10-year Golden Visa, and since 29 April 2026 a sole owner of a completed Dubai property can apply for the two-year investor visa at any value. Both are decided by the authorities. Moving to the UAE can change your Indian residential status for tax, which is decided by days spent in India under Indian law, not by holding a UAE visa. See the Golden Visa guide and the two-year investor visa. Check visitor visa requirements for your passport with the UAE's federal immigration authority or your airline before travelling.
Sources for this section (3), checked 12 November 2026
- UAE Government portal: Golden visa (updated 28 July 2026)
- Dubai Land Department: Investor residence application, Taskeen
- Income Tax Department: Taxation of non-resident persons, residential status (March 2026)
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change; confirm them for your own case before you act.
Flights and time difference from India
When you can call, and how long it takes to get there for a viewing or a handover.
- Dubai
- India
Gulf Standard Time, UTC+4, no daylight saving
A Dubai working day in your time
| Dubai | India |
|---|---|
| 09:00 | |
| 12:00 | |
| 15:00 | |
| 18:00 |
Worked out for today's date in your browser, so clock changes are included.
| From | Airlines listed | Distance | Flying time, est. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji) | Air India, Emirates, flydubai, IndiGo, SpiceJet | 1,926 km | about 3 h |
| Delhi (Indira Gandhi) | Air India, Emirates, flydubai, IndiGo, SpiceJet | 2,183 km | about 3 h |
| Bengaluru (Kempegowda) | Emirates, IndiGo | 2,695 km | about 3.5 h |
| Chennai | Emirates, IndiGo | 2,933 km | about 4 h |
| Hyderabad (Rajiv Gandhi) | Emirates, flydubai, IndiGo | 2,546 km | about 3.5 h |
| Kolkata (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) | Emirates, flydubai | 3,366 km | about 4.5 h |
| Ahmedabad | Emirates, flydubai, IndiGo, SpiceJet | 1,767 km | about 2.5 h |
| Kochi | Air India Express, Emirates, flydubai, IndiGo, SpiceJet | 2,782 km | about 4 h |
| Kozhikode (Calicut) | Air India Express, flydubai, IndiGo, SpiceJet | 2,675 km | about 3.5 h |
| Thiruvananthapuram | Air India Express, Emirates | 2,947 km | about 4 h |
| Pune | IndiGo, SpiceJet | 2,050 km | about 3 h |
| Lucknow | Air India Express, flydubai | 2,552 km | about 3.5 h |
Routes from Wikipedia: Dubai International Airport, airlines and destinations table (checked 12 November 2026). The table lists further non-stop services from Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Goa, Guwahati, Jaipur, Kannur, Madurai, Mangaluru, Surat and Tiruchirappalli. Distance is the straight line to Dubai International (DXB); flying time is our estimate from that distance, not a schedule. Check the airline before you book. The shortest route listed is from Ahmedabad.
Your budget in Indian rupees
Converted at ₹25.56 per dirham, the mid-market rate on 12 November 2026. Rates move: enter the one your bank or provider quotes.
Highest Dubai off-plan price this covers
AED 1,385,000
about ₹3,53,96,030
- Your budget in dirhams
- AED 1,486,890
- Held back as a currency buffer
- AED 44,607
- Dubai Land Department fees on that price
- AED 56,420
- LRS limit for one person, one financial year
- AED 918,125
- TCS if all of it is sent in one financial year
- ₹74,00,000
This is more than one person can remit in a financial year under the LRS. Co-owners each have their own limit, or the payments can be spread across financial years.
Off-plan in Dubai: the 4% DLD fee and the Oqood admin fee. Developer admin charges, furnishing and any mortgage costs are extra. TCS assumes no other LRS remittances that year and is claimable as a credit when you file. Estimates, not advice.
Guides for Indian buyers
Buying from India: questions we're asked
How much money can I send from India to buy property in Dubai?
Up to USD 250,000 per financial year (April to March) per resident individual under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which lists acquiring immovable property abroad as a permitted purpose. At the dirham's peg that is AED 918,125. Family members can consolidate remittances for a property only where they are co-owners of it.
How much TCS will I pay on money sent abroad for a Dubai property?
Banks publish nil TCS on LRS remittances up to ₹10 lakh in a financial year and 20% above that for purposes other than education, medical treatment and overseas tour packages, under the rules in force from 1 April 2026. TCS can be claimed as a credit against your income tax when you file your return, so it is a cash-flow cost rather than an extra tax.
Can I take a home loan in India to buy property in Dubai?
No. The RBI's LRS Master Direction states that banks may not extend credit facilities to residents to fund capital account remittances under the scheme. Buyers who need finance usually look at a UAE bank's non-resident mortgage, normally available on completed property for 50% to 60% of its value.
Do I have to declare Dubai property in my Indian tax return?
Yes, if you are a resident. Foreign assets, including immovable property abroad, go in Schedule FA, and rent from it is taxable in India. The Black Money Act provides a penalty of ₹10 lakh for not reporting a foreign asset, and its exemption for small non-immovable assets does not apply to property. This is general information, not tax advice.
What is the time difference between India and Dubai?
India Standard Time is five and a half hours ahead of GMT and the UAE is four hours ahead, so Dubai is 1 hour 30 minutes behind India all year. Neither country changes its clocks. A 10am call in Dubai is 11.30am in India.
Buying from somewhere else?
Australia
Canada
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
United Kingdom
United StatesSpeak to an adviser in your time zone
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