If you want to buy property in Dubai from India, the first thing to settle is not the area or the developer. It is which route your money takes. An NRI paying from an NRE account and a resident Indian remitting under the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) are playing under different rules, yet a large number of online guides mix the two together and quote one set of limits for everyone.
This guide separates the routes, explains the USD 250,000 LRS limit with a worked example, and reconciles the most common contradiction we found when we compared the guides now ranking for this topic: whether tax collected at source (TCS) starts above 7 lakh or 10 lakh rupees. Then it covers the Dubai side: what you pay on top of the price, what a bank may lend to a buyer living in India, and how the Golden Visa threshold fits in.
Published: 24 October 2026
One honest note before we start. This is a property guide, not tax or legal advice. The Indian rules below come from tax-advisory and bank pages that quote the RBI and the Income-tax Act; we could not open the Finance Act text itself this session, and we say so where it matters. Confirm every Indian-side point with your authorised dealer bank and a chartered accountant before you remit anything.
How big is the Indian buyer group in Dubai?
Indian nationals are reported as the largest foreign buyer group in Dubai in 2026. A Khaleej Times report published on 9 July 2026 put Indian buyers at 20.6% of purchasing activity in early 2026, citing Harbor Real Estate and DXBinteract data, with UK buyers second at 13.3% and Egyptian buyers third at 12.6%.
Other sources give different shares depending on what they measure. Broker pages quote roughly 18% to 22% of foreign transactions, and one measure of online interest for June to August 2026 put India at 16.3%. That last figure counts searches and enquiries, not completed purchases. We did not find an official Dubai Land Department (DLD) release that breaks out the Indian share directly, so treat “about one in five foreign purchases” as a market estimate, not a government statistic.
The practical point is simple: you are not an unusual buyer, and the process is well-worn. What trips people up is the Indian-side paperwork, which is where the two routes split.
NRI route vs resident Indian route: which one lets you buy property in Dubai from India?
An NRI (a person resident outside India under Indian foreign-exchange law) pays from overseas or from NRE/FCNR(B)-type accounts and is not limited by the LRS. A resident Indian must use the LRS, which caps outward remittances at USD 250,000 per person per financial year. Residency under FEMA, not citizenship, decides which route applies.
| Point | NRI route | Resident Indian route (LRS) |
|---|---|---|
| Who it covers | Persons resident outside India under FEMA | Resident individuals under FEMA, whether or not they hold an Indian passport |
| Annual cap on sending money out | NRE and FCNR(B) balances are reported as freely repatriable; NRO balances are reported as remittable up to USD 1 million per financial year with Form 15CA/15CB | USD 250,000 per person per financial year, across all permitted purposes combined |
| Where the money comes from | Foreign earnings, or NRE/FCNR(B)/NRO balances | Own funds in a resident account, sent through an authorised dealer (AD Category-I) bank |
| Bank form and purpose code | Bank-specific; ask your bank for the NRI process | Form A2 and purpose code S0005 (investment abroad in real estate), as reported by advisory pages |
| TCS on the transfer | Not an LRS remittance, so LRS TCS is not applied | 20% on the amount above the aggregate threshold, for property purchases |
| Disclosure in Indian tax return | Depends on residency status; confirm with your adviser | Foreign property is disclosed in Schedule FA every year |
Two cautions about this table. First, the NRO limit of USD 1 million per year is a different facility from the LRS, and guides regularly confuse the two. Second, the NRI column is deliberately less specific than the resident column, because the rules depend on which account the money sits in and on your residency status. If you are an NRI who returned to India recently, or a resident who may become non-resident this year, get the status question answered before you pay a booking deposit.
How does the USD 250,000 LRS limit work when you buy property in Dubai from India?
The LRS lets a resident individual remit up to USD 250,000 per financial year (1 April to 31 March) for permitted current or capital account transactions, and buying immovable property abroad is a permitted capital account transaction. The limit is per person and covers every permitted purpose together, so a USD 60,000 education payment in the same year leaves USD 190,000 for property.
Points that come up repeatedly in the sources we checked:
- It goes through a bank. Remittances are handled by an authorised dealer bank. Property payments cannot be made by credit, debit or prepaid card.
- PAN is mandatory. Every LRS remittance is tied to your PAN, and the bank collects Form A2.
- The cap is on remittances, not property value. Bringing money back to India does not restore the year’s limit, according to the sources we read.
- Joint purchase pools the limit. Several family members can remit their own USD 250,000 each and buy together. If a family pools remittances, the property should be in the names of all the people who remitted. Three adults can therefore send up to USD 750,000 in a financial year.
- Instalments follow the same limit. For an under-construction unit, each payment draws on that year’s limit, so a payment plan that runs across two financial years can draw on two annual limits.
Can you borrow overseas to top up the LRS?
This is a live disagreement. One advisory source says a buyer can remit part of the price under the LRS and finance the balance with a loan from a non-resident lender or foreign bank, with repayment from India counting against the LRS limit and no Indian asset offered as security without RBI approval. Another source says borrowing from overseas banks is not allowed and that even some developer instalment structures can be read as creating an overseas borrowing obligation. We could not open the RBI text to settle it. If your purchase depends on a UAE mortgage or a developer payment plan, ask your authorised dealer bank in writing before you commit, and keep the reply.
A worked example: what does AED 1.5 million need from India?
The dirham is pegged to the US dollar at 3.6725, so USD 250,000 is about AED 918,000. The example below uses a ready apartment priced at AED 1.5 million and the standard resale costs we cover in our Dubai property buying costs guide: the 4% DLD transfer fee, the AED 4,200 trustee fee for properties of AED 500,000 and above, and 2% agency commission plus 5% VAT.
| Item | Basis | Amount (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | Example ready apartment | 1,500,000 |
| DLD transfer fee | 4% of price | 60,000 |
| Trustee office fee | AED 4,000 + 5% VAT | 4,200 |
| Agency commission | 2% + 5% VAT (2.1%) | 31,500 |
| Main costs subtotal | Before title deed and small administrative charges | 1,595,700 |
| One person’s LRS limit | USD 250,000 at 3.6725 | about 918,000 |
| Two people’s combined LRS limit | USD 500,000 at 3.6725 | about 1,836,000 |
Reading the table: one resident buyer cannot fund this purchase in cash from India within a single financial year. Two buyers each remitting up to their own limit can, which is why joint purchases between spouses or family members are common. The alternative is a UAE mortgage, covered below, so that only the down payment and costs come from India. The figures exclude title deed and smaller administrative charges, which are separate small items covered in the costs guide, and they exclude the exchange-rate margin your bank charges.
Why do guides quote TCS at both 7 lakh and 10 lakh?
Because the threshold changed on 1 April 2025, and many pages were written before that date or were never updated. Under section 206C(1G) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, tax is collected at source on LRS remittances above an aggregate threshold. The threshold was 7 lakh rupees per financial year until 31 March 2025 and 10 lakh rupees from 1 April 2025, according to every advisory page we checked that gives a date.
| Period | Threshold (aggregate per financial year) | TCS rate on property and other purposes above the threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October 2023 to 31 March 2025 | 7 lakh rupees | 20% |
| 1 April 2025 onward | 10 lakh rupees | 20% |
| From 1 April 2026 | 10 lakh rupees (unchanged for other purposes, per advisory pages) | 20% (rate cuts reported for education, medical and tour packages do not apply to property) |
Three things follow:
- The threshold is cumulative. It is counted across all your LRS remittances in the financial year, all purposes and all banks, per PAN. If you already sent 6 lakh rupees for another purpose, only 4 lakh rupees of property money is below the line.
- The 20% rate has not moved for property. The rate cuts reported for 2026 apply to education, medical treatment and overseas tour packages. Investment, gifts and property purchases remain in the 20% bracket on the sources we read.
- Section numbers may differ from older guides. Several pages say that from 1 April 2026 the same provision sits under section 394 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. We could only confirm that through secondary sources, so quote the section your bank’s remittance advice shows rather than one from a blog.
What does that cost in rupees?
The arithmetic is simple: TCS is 20% of the amount above the threshold. This is an illustration of the formula, not a tax computation for your case.
| Remittance in the financial year | Amount above 10 lakh | TCS at 20% | TCS if the old 7 lakh threshold were used |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 lakh rupees | Nil | Nil | 20% of 1 lakh = 20,000 rupees |
| 50 lakh rupees | 40 lakh rupees | 8 lakh rupees | 20% of 43 lakh = 8.6 lakh rupees |
| 2 crore rupees | 1.9 crore rupees | 38 lakh rupees | 20% of 1.93 crore = 38.6 lakh rupees |
The gap between the old and new thresholds is only 60,000 rupees at any size above 10 lakh (20% of the 3 lakh difference), so an outdated guide will not wreck your budget. The bigger issue is cash flow: the tax is collected when you remit, so the money has to be found upfront. Advisory pages describe TCS as creditable against your Indian income-tax liability for the year, which means it is not necessarily a final cost. Whether and when you recover it depends on your own tax position, so ask your chartered accountant before you plan around a refund.
What is the Indian tax-return side of owning Dubai property?
A resident Indian who owns property abroad must report it. Advisory pages say foreign immovable property is disclosed in Schedule FA of the income-tax return every year, and the Income Tax Department’s own return-selection guidance confirms that ITR-1 cannot be used by anyone who has an asset located outside India, so a simple return form will not do once you own in Dubai. How rental income from a Dubai property is taxed in India, and what relief a tax treaty gives, is a separate question that depends on your residency status. We are not going to guess at it here; this is exactly the part to take to a chartered accountant before you buy, not after.
Buy property in Dubai from India: what does the Dubai side look like?
Once the money question is answered, the Dubai process is the same as for any foreign buyer. Our step-by-step foreigner buying guide covers it in full. In short:
- Choose a freehold property. Foreigners can own outright in designated freehold areas. Our freehold vs leasehold guide explains what you can and cannot own.
- Sign the sale agreement and pay the deposit. For a resale, the contract is a Memorandum of Understanding (Form F). For off-plan, you sign the developer’s agreement and pay into the project’s escrow account. See our escrow account guide before you send a first instalment.
- Complete the transfer. Resale transfers are completed at a DLD registration trustee office, where the fees in the example above are paid.
- Collect the title deed. The title deed is registered in your name; the document list is in our documents checklist.
If you will not be in Dubai on transfer day, a power of attorney is possible but now comes with stricter verification. Our power of attorney guide covers the circular that governs it.
Can an Indian buyer get a Dubai mortgage?
Yes, but how much you can borrow depends on whether you are a UAE resident or not, and the guides disagree on the numbers. The Central Bank of the UAE framework, as quoted by broker pages, sets 80% loan-to-value for a resident expatriate buying a first home up to AED 5 million, with lower caps for more expensive homes, second properties and off-plan. Most pages agree that a buyer who lives outside the UAE should plan on a much lower figure, in the region of 50% to 65% for completed property, and that this is mostly each bank’s own credit policy rather than a published rule.
Our dedicated guide to whether a foreigner can get a mortgage in Dubai works through the figures. For an Indian buyer, two extra points matter:
- A mortgage reduces what you need from India. On a financed purchase only the down payment and costs have to leave India, which can keep the remittance within the LRS limit and below a high TCS bill. The UAE loan is repaid from the Dubai side, usually from rent or UAE income.
- A loan repaid from India is a different matter. If you plan to service a UAE loan with money sent from India, those payments are outward remittances and may count against the same LRS limit. Check this with your bank at the outset.
If you are weighing debt against cash, our mortgage vs cash purchase guide sets out the trade-offs, and Sanaya’s mortgage services team can introduce you to lenders.
Does the AED 2 million Golden Visa threshold apply?
The UAE government’s Golden Visa page lists a minimum capital of AED 2 million for real estate investors. Advisory pages add that mortgaged property is measured by your equity, not the price, and that leasehold property does not qualify, but the government page we reached did not state those details, so confirm them with the Dubai Land Department before relying on them. Our Golden Visa through real estate guide walks through the process and Sanaya can assist with the application.
For Indian buyers, the visa is often the second reason to buy after yield. It also changes your Indian residency analysis only if you actually move; owning a visa does not by itself change your tax status, and that is another question for your adviser.
How do you send the money, and what can go wrong?
Send it by bank transfer through an authorised dealer, to the account named in your contract, and never to an agent’s personal account. The mechanics, exchange-rate margins and source-of-funds paperwork are covered in our guide to sending money to Dubai for a property purchase. That guide is written mainly from a UK-pound perspective, so for an Indian buyer swap in these Indian-side points:
- Declare the purpose correctly. Advisory pages say property remittances should be tagged with purpose code S0005. A remittance tagged for another purpose can cause problems later at audit or if you ever want to repatriate sale proceeds.
- Keep a paper trail. Retain the bank’s remittance advice, Form A2, the sale agreement and proof of payment to the escrow or trustee account. You will need them for Schedule FA and, one day, for a sale.
- Do not split a payment to dodge a threshold. Splitting across financial years because the plan genuinely runs that way is normal. Splitting purely to get under a threshold is a different matter, and we have no source on how banks treat it, so ask your bank before you try.
- Plan the exit. On a sale, proceeds returning to India are governed by their own rules; our guide to selling from overseas covers the Dubai-side requirements for non-resident sellers.
Which areas do Indian buyers usually look at?
Budget decides more than nationality. Because the LRS cap and the first-year TCS bill both scale with the amount sent, many Indian buyers focus on the AED 1 million to AED 2 million bracket, which stays inside one or two people’s annual limits. Our affordable Dubai real estate guide compares areas in that bracket, and the Sanaya area guides for Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai South and Business Bay show typical entry points. For a larger budget, the Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah pages are the next step up. If you are weighing off-plan against ready, read our off-plan payment plans explainer, because a long payment plan interacts with the financial-year limit.
Sanaya works from offices in Dubai and London, and our team can walk through the Dubai-side numbers with you. We do not advise on Indian tax or foreign-exchange law, so we will ask you to take the Indian-side questions to your bank and chartered accountant.
Where do the guides disagree, and what should you do about it?
| Topic | What guides say | What we found | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| TCS threshold | 7 lakh in some, 10 lakh in others | 7 lakh applied until 31 March 2025, 10 lakh from 1 April 2025, per advisory pages | Use 10 lakh for current planning; ask your bank which applies on the day of remittance |
| TCS rate on property | 20% in most; 2% and 5% appear on pages about education and tours | 20% for property and other purposes above the threshold | Ignore the 2% and 5% rates; they are for other purposes |
| Overseas loan to top up LRS | Allowed in one source, not allowed in another | Unresolved; RBI text not reachable this session | Get your authorised dealer bank’s answer in writing |
| Non-resident mortgage LTV | 50% to 75% | Mostly bank policy; 50% to 65% is the commonly reported range | Get a written pre-approval before planning around any figure |
| Indian share of foreign buyers | 16% to 22% | 20.6% in early 2026 per Harbor Real Estate and DXBinteract, as reported on 9 July 2026 | Treat as an estimate, not an official statistic |
Frequently asked questions
Can an Indian citizen buy property in Dubai?
Yes. Foreigners can buy freehold property in designated areas of Dubai, and Indian citizens, including NRIs and resident Indians, buy there regularly. What differs is how the money leaves India, which depends on your FEMA residency status.
What is the maximum a resident Indian can send to Dubai for property?
USD 250,000 per person per financial year under the LRS, counted together with every other permitted remittance in that year. Joint buyers can each use their own limit.
Does the LRS limit apply to NRIs?
No. The sources we read say NRIs cannot use the LRS and have separate rules and accounts: NRE and FCNR(B) balances are reported as freely repatriable, and NRO balances as remittable up to USD 1 million per financial year with Forms 15CA/15CB. Confirm the details for your accounts with your bank.
Is TCS charged on a property purchase in Dubai?
For a resident Indian remitting under the LRS, yes, at 20% on the aggregate amount above the threshold in the financial year, according to the advisory pages we reviewed. The threshold is 10 lakh rupees from 1 April 2025. TCS is described as creditable against your Indian income-tax liability, so ask your accountant how it will be treated for you.
Why do some guides say the TCS threshold is 7 lakh rupees?
They were written before 1 April 2025, when the threshold was 7 lakh. It was raised to 10 lakh from that date. The 20% rate for property did not change.
Do I need to disclose a Dubai property in my Indian tax return?
If you are a resident Indian, advisory pages say foreign immovable property is disclosed in Schedule FA, and the Income Tax Department says ITR-1 cannot be used if you have an asset outside India. Your accountant will confirm the form and schedules for your case.
Can I take a Dubai mortgage if I live in India?
Often yes, but expect a lower loan-to-value than the 80% available to some UAE residents. Commonly reported non-resident figures are 50% to 65% for completed property, set mostly by each bank. Get a written pre-approval before you commit.
Can I get a UAE Golden Visa by buying property from India?
The UAE government lists a minimum capital of AED 2 million for real estate investors. Check how your property qualifies, including how a mortgage and the property type are treated, with the Dubai Land Department before you buy.
How much are the Dubai costs on top of the price?
Our buying-costs guide puts a resale cash purchase at roughly 6.5% to 8% on top of the price, and a mortgage purchase at about 8% to 10%. The DLD transfer fee is 4% of the price.
Should I send the money before or after signing the contract?
Sign first, then pay only to the account named in the contract or the official registry, and keep your bank’s remittance advice. Do not pay an individual agent’s personal account.
Talk to Sanaya before you remit
Sanaya Real Estate helps buyers purchase, sell, rent and manage property in Dubai, and also offers mortgage services and Golden Visa assistance. If you are planning to buy from India, we can help you shortlist freehold areas, model the Dubai-side costs and introduce you to lenders, so you know the numbers before your Indian bank asks for them. Use our contact page or message us directly.
Message Sanaya on WhatsApp: +971 50 436 5316
Sources reviewed 23 October 2026: Khaleej Times (9 July 2026) on Indian buyer share; UAE government Golden Visa page (u.ae); Income Tax Department return-selection guidance (incometax.gov.in); and tax-advisory and bank pages quoting the RBI LRS rules and section 206C(1G) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Finance Act text and RBI master directions could not be opened this session, so confirm Indian-side points with your authorised dealer bank and a chartered accountant. Figures in the worked examples are illustrations.
Overseas buyers who later plan to hold or manage the property through a company can read how to set up a UAE company from abroad, including remote incorporation and corporate tax for overseas founders.
If you plan to finance part of the purchase from the UAE side, this guide on Dubai mortgages for buyers dealing with currency devaluation and FX access limits shows how banks treat non-resident buyers whose home-country currency controls complicate payments.
