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Glossary

Taskeen

Taskeen is the Dubai Land Department's own name for the two-year residence visa a property owner can apply for. In 2026 the AED 750,000 minimum that had applied since at least 2022 was removed for sole owners. Co-owners still need a share worth AED 400,000.

Where the word comes from

"Taskeen" is not a marketing term. It's the title of a Dubai Land Department service: the DLD e-services page is headed "Investor Residence Application (Taskeen)", and the walk-in venue it names is "Al Manara Center (Cube-Taskeen)". The word appears on dubailand.gov.ae and nowhere else official. The immigration side, GDRFA Dubai, lists the same visa under a plainer heading, "Issuing a visa to a foreigner who owns property", and never uses the name.

DLD describes the service as one that "enables real estate investors to apply for a residency visa linked to property ownership within the Emirate of Dubai, with the possibility to sponsor a spouse and children, in accordance with the type of ownership and the specified eligibility criteria." That sentence carries the three things that matter: the visa is tied to the property, it can carry a family, and the eligibility depends on how you own.

The value rule, and how it changed

Today's DLD page states two rules. For a sole owner: "The property owner is allowed to apply for the issuance of a license and residency visa, regardless of the property value." For a co-owner: "A co-owner of the property is allowed to apply for the issuance of a license and residency visa, provided that their share value is not less than AED 400,000." DLD Cube, the service centre that processes the applications, says the same in its own words: "no minimum property value requirement" for a sole owner, "each owner must hold a minimum share of AED 400,000" otherwise.

It was not always so. The archived version of the same DLD page read: "This service allows the real estate investor owning a property the purchase value of which is equal to or more than AED 750,000 at the time of purchase, to apply for a two-years renewable residence permit." That wording is on the earliest archive copy we could find, from December 2022, and it was still there in the February 2026 copy. The press reported the removal of the floor at the end of April 2026, and the live page now confirms it. We found no numbered decision or circular that made the change, and no official record of what the threshold was before AED 750,000. The page is the rule.

This is the visa people mean when they say "residency under two million". The Golden Visa keeps its AED 2,000,000 property threshold; Taskeen now has none for a sole owner. We keep a separate page on the routes under AED 2 million.

What it costs, and why two official sources disagree

Two DLD-designated sources publish the fee and the turnaround, and they don't match. We show both rather than choosing.

Both pages describe the same two-year investor visa, read on the same day. The difference is unresolved; budget for the higher figure.

DLD's page also itemises the family add-ons: wife AED 7,382.25; daughter over 18 AED 7,182.25; child under 18 AED 6,482.25; son over 18 AED 7,182.25, and for a son over 18 the permit runs one year, not two.

The document lists differ too. DLD asks for a passport, an electronic copy of the title deed, a photograph, Emirates ID, a copy of any current residence visa, and a Good Conduct Certificate. DLD Cube adds a bank liability letter or NOC if the property is mortgaged, health insurance, a passport valid for more than six months, and a national ID for nationals of Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. Take the longer list to the appointment.

What kind of ownership qualifies

Completed property only. DLD Cube's requirement is a title deed for a "completed property in Dubai". An off-plan unit doesn't qualify until it's handed over and registered.

Mortgaged property qualifies. The bank NOC on DLD Cube's list exists precisely because a mortgaged unit can carry the visa; the lender's consent is the extra step.

Two years, renewable. Both sources give two years. The archived DLD wording says "renewable", and DLD Cube quotes a renewal fee, which is the practical confirmation. Today's live DLD page doesn't use the word, so we cite the renewal fee rather than the adjective.

Family. DLD's own description says spouse and children. We have seen "parents" mentioned in fee text but could not get a verbatim line for it, so we don't claim parent sponsorship here.

The 180-day question

The general UAE rule, on the federal portal u.ae, is that "if an expatriate resident lives outside the UAE for more than 180 days continuously, his/her residence visa will be nullified automatically." Golden Visa holders are exempt, and the same page says so. Most secondary write-ups then state that Taskeen holders are not exempt and must return every six months.

That's the part we could not confirm. The u.ae exemption list also names "investors holding valid residence visas in the UAE", as a category of its own, separate from the Golden Visa line. Nothing official we could find says whether a Taskeen holder falls inside that category or outside it. It may refer to the federal company-investor residency class rather than DLD's property visa. Until DLD or GDRFA states it, the honest position is that the 180-day rule probably applies to Taskeen, and nobody official has said so in writing. If you plan to live mostly abroad, ask GDRFA before you buy, and get the answer in writing.

Taskeen against the Golden Visa

Taskeen is the route when the property is under AED 2 million, when you'd rather keep a mortgage light, or when you want the visa quickly. The Golden Visa is the route when you hold AED 2 million of property and want ten years without the absence rule. Our comparison of the visa routes and the two-year investor visa guide set them side by side, and the five-or-ten-years page covers the Golden Visa's own term.

Where this comes up

Two-year investor visa · Residency under AED 2 million · GDRFA Dubai

Frequently Asked Questions

This entry is part of the Home Guide Dubai glossary - the vocabulary a Dubai buyer or Golden Visa applicant actually meets, defined in plain English and kept consistent with our verified guides.