SPECIALISTS IN RAK REAL ESTATE
BUYING AS A FOREIGNER
Buying property in Ras Al Khaimah as a foreigner
In RAK’s freehold areas you can own a home outright, in your own name, without living in the UAE. Here is how it works, from abroad, with the risks.
Karolina Dean, Managing Director & Co-Founder
Updated 13 October 2026
Image: Ellington Properties
Who can buy, and where ↓ · How off-plan works ↓ · Buying from abroad ↓ · The Golden Visa ↓ · Tax and your will ↓ · The risks ↓
WHO CAN BUY, AND WHERE
Any nationality, in the freehold areas
People of any nationality can buy a home in RAK’s freehold areas, alone or jointly. You don’t need a UAE visa, and you don’t need to live here. RAK Municipality registers the sale and issues the title deed in your name.
There are five freehold areas we cover, each with its own guide. If you like a project somewhere else, we confirm it is freehold before you go further.
RAK Municipality
The family choice: golf, a marina, the beach and schools nearby.
The entertainment capital: Wynn opens here in September 2027.
The luxury choice: lagoons, a beach and the new island schemes.
A new district on the coast. First homes targeted for 2029.
A new business district beside the Al Hamra golf course. First homes due late in 2027.
HOW OFF-PLAN WORKS
Six steps
01
Choose the scheme, and the developer
02
Reserve
03
Sign the sale contract
04
Registration
05
Pay in stages
06
Handover
RAK Law No. 12 of 2023, Articles 29 to 31, 40 and 46
Buying a finished home instead: an offer, a memorandum of understanding and usually a 10% deposit, then the transfer at RAK Municipality and the balance.
EVERY STEP, WITH YOUR RIGHTS: BUYING OFF-PLAN → · WHAT IT COSTS, LINE BY LINE: COSTS AND YIELDS →
BUYING FROM ABROAD
You can do most of it from home, but we suggest you don’t
You can reserve, sign and pay from abroad. We still suggest you come to RAK before you commit: see the area, the site and what will be built around it, and homes the developer has already finished. A plan and a video can’t show you any of that.
Seeing it first
Come for a few days if you can. We show you the areas, the sites and finished homes by the same developers, and take you out on the boat to see the coast from the water. Video viewings help you make a shortlist, not a decision.
Paying
By bank transfer to the project’s escrow account, in dirhams. The dirham has been pegged to the US dollar at 3.6725 since 1997, so in euros or pounds the price moves with the dollar.
UAE Central Bank, via The National, Nov 2024
Signing
You can reserve and sign from abroad, and a power of attorney can cover the registration.
Checks
Like every UAE broker, we check your ID and where the money comes from before a sale. Have your passport and proof of funds ready.
UAE anti-money-laundering rules
Borrowing
Banks lend at most 50% on an off-plan home. Terms for buyers who live abroad vary by bank.
UAE Central Bank
THE GOLDEN VISA
AED 2m in property may bring a 10-year visa
AED 2m
property value, one home or several added together, off-plan or finished
10 years
the residence visa ICP issues to property investors
Property worth AED 2m or more may qualify you for the UAE Golden Visa. You need UAE health insurance, you apply from inside the UAE, and the authorities decide. Below AED 2m, buying a home doesn’t give you residency.
ICP, Real Estate Investor Residency, read 13 October 2026; RAKEZ, Dec 2025
TAX AND YOUR WILL
Two things to settle at home
Tax
The UAE has no income tax, capital gains tax or yearly property tax for individuals. Your home country may still tax the rent or the gain: ask an adviser there.
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, 2026
Your will
Without a will, a UAE court may apply local inheritance rules. A will registered with the DIFC Wills and Probate Registry can cover a home in RAK: RAK Municipality and the DIFC Courts agreed in 2016 that RAK carries it out.
DIFC Courts and RAK Municipality, memorandum of understanding, 12 December 2016
We are not lawyers or tax advisers. Take advice on both before you buy.
THE RISKS
What can go wrong, said plainly
Handover delays
Developers miss handover dates. Read what the contract says happens if they do, and don’t count on rent before you have the keys.
The developer’s record
Selling
There are fewer buyers for finished homes than in Dubai, so selling can take time. We suggest holding for seven to ten years.
Service charges
The building sets them, they can rise, and they come out of your rent: for ready apartments in Mina Al Arab, brokers’ listings state AED 10 to 15 per sq ft a year (Property Finder, 13 Oct 2026).
Currency
The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so your return in euros or pounds moves with the dollar.
QUESTIONS BUYERS ASK
Questions from buyers abroad
Do I need to be in Ras Al Khaimah to buy a home there?
No. You can reserve and sign from abroad, and a power of attorney can cover the registration. We still suggest you visit before you commit, to see the area and what will be built around it. You need to be in the UAE to apply for a Golden Visa.
How do I pay for a RAK home from abroad?
By bank transfer, in dirhams, to the project’s escrow account for an off-plan home, never to a broker. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so in euros or pounds the price moves with the dollar.
Will my will cover a home in Ras Al Khaimah?
Only if it is registered where RAK will carry it out. A will registered with the DIFC Wills and Probate Registry can cover a home in RAK. Take advice from a lawyer.
BUYING FROM ABROAD?
Tell us where you live and what you want to buy
We reply within the hour with the schemes that fit, and the questions to ask about each.
Karolina Dean, Managing Director & Co-Founder
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