UAE mortgages for Chinese buyers.

If you're a UAE resident

Chinese nationals resident in the UAE can borrow up to 80% of the property value on a first home (70% above), on the same terms as any UAE resident.

If you're buying from abroad

Buying from China, you can finance UAE property as a non-resident, generally up to 50–75% of the value, with a larger deposit and a slightly different document set.

How we help Chinese buyers

• Finance as a UAE resident (up to 80% LTV) or as a non-resident (typically 50–75%).
• Overseas income can usually be assessed by the right lender — the question is which one.
• Remote purchase is possible through a Power of Attorney.
• Plan for currency transfer timing so funds land when the transfer is scheduled.

Currency: what the dirham peg means for you

Since 1997 the dirham has tracked the US dollar at a fixed 3.6725, a rate that hasn't shifted regardless of what's happening to other currencies around it. The yuan doesn't work the same way — it floats against the dollar — so a mortgage priced in dirhams and an income earned in yuan don't move in lockstep.

Take a property priced at AED 3,100,000. The dirham repayment on that loan is set in dollar terms and stays where it is, but the amount of yuan you need to convert each month to meet it depends on where CNY sits against the dollar at the time. Weaken against the dollar and the same payment draws more yuan from your income; strengthen and it draws less — the exposure runs both ways, not only downward.

Some Chinese buyers manage this structurally rather than by trying to time the currency: a larger deposit shrinks the dirham amount that's exposed every month, and a shorter loan term shortens how many years that exposure has to run.

We can model both approaches against your numbers so you can see the trade-off in cash terms, but we won't give you a view on where CNY is headed against the dollar. That isn't a call any mortgage broker can honestly make.

Buying from China without flying over

A Power of Attorney lets you appoint a representative — usually your broker or a lawyer — to sign the mortgage application, the purchase contract and the transfer documents in Dubai on your behalf, so the purchase itself doesn't require your presence at each stage.

Beijing and Shanghai run four hours ahead of Dubai, which compresses the overlap window compared with buyers closer in time zone. Your morning corresponds to the UAE's late morning, which is workable for calls but benefits from scheduling valuation appointments or bank calls a day ahead rather than same-day.

What the POA doesn't cover is executing the document itself — you still need to sign it and have it formally attested before it can be used in the UAE.

It's also worth being specific about scope. A POA drafted broadly for "property matters" can raise more questions with a bank than one that names the mortgage application, the purchase agreement and the transfer as separate authorised acts. We draft that scope with you before signing, so it doesn't need to be reissued mid-transaction.

One thing to plan for: the UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille on its own is not enough — a document signed abroad needs the full consular chain: authentication at home, attestation by the UAE embassy in that country, then attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plus a certified Arabic translation by a Ministry of Justice–licensed translator. For property specifically, the Dubai Land Department expects its own standard POA template naming the property (by plot, title deed or Oqood number) and the exact transaction it authorises; custom-drafted POAs are routinely rejected, and the document must be registered with the Dubai Courts Notary Public even when it was notarised overseas. Start this early — it is the step that most often delays a remote purchase.

Documents, and where applications usually slow down

Resident applicants work from a familiar set: UAE residence visa, Emirates ID, salary certificate or trade licence, and recent bank statements. Buying from China as a non-resident adds to that — passport, proof of address, and evidence of income from a Chinese employer or your own business, together with source-of-funds documentation covering both the deposit and the income servicing the loan.

Every applicant is asked for this regardless of nationality; it's standard UAE bank practice, not something specific to you.

Where Chinese applications tend to slow down is evidencing overseas income in a form the bank can assess. Statements and payslips issued in Chinese need translation, and some will need formal attestation before a bank will rely on them.

If you're self-employed, plan for a trade licence active at least two years, two years of audited financials, and six to twelve months of account statements. Banks generally apply a discount to self-employed income when assessing what you can borrow, so it's worth confirming your likely figure early rather than assuming the headline number applies. Getting translation and attestation moving in parallel with the rest of the application, rather than after a bank asks for it, is the single biggest time-saver we see.

Tax: what the UAE charges, and what to check at home

The UAE side is straightforward and doesn't change based on where you're from: no personal income tax, no annual property tax on the home you own, and no capital gains tax for individuals when you sell.

What we're not in a position to tell you is how China treats overseas property ownership or rental income for tax purposes. That's a question for a tax adviser familiar with Chinese personal tax rules, not for a UAE mortgage broker, and the answer depends on your specific residency and reporting position.

If letting the property is part of your plan, raise it with that adviser before you complete, so it's factored in rather than discovered afterwards.

Compare lenders & costs

We compare every major UAE bank for your profile — see also our Dubai mortgages guide, the calculators, and the full cost of buying. Whether you're resident or investing from abroad, we manage it end to end.