Can you qualify for a UAE Golden Visa by buying real estate using crypto?

Crypto alone does not qualify for a UAE Golden Visa, but legally registered property worth AED 2 million may, even if funded using crypto/ AI illustrative Image

In July 2025, the UAE government issued a blunt clarification that cut through months of online speculation: cryptocurrency investors do not qualify for the UAE Golden Visa. Holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other virtual asset, no matter the value, does not make someone eligible under the investment route or any other Golden Visa category.For many crypto investors, that appeared to settle the matter. Crypto is welcome in the UAE. Crypto is regulated. Crypto is not taxed at all for individuals, there is no capital gains tax or personal income tax on profits from selling, trading, staking, or mining. But crypto, on its own, does not open the door to long-term residency.Yet the position is more nuanced than it first appears. Because while crypto itself is excluded from Golden Visa eligibility, property is not. And the UAE now allows property to be purchased using cryptocurrency, including through government-regulated tokenisation platforms. That raises a practical, increasingly common question:If crypto can be used to buy qualifying real estate, can that real estate then be used to apply for a Golden Visa?

What the Golden Visa actually looks at

The UAE Golden Visa is a long-term residency programme introduced to attract and retain people the country wants to keep: investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, specialists, creatives, humanitarian pioneers, frontline workers, outstanding students, and others with recognised value to the economy. Depending on the category, it grants five- or ten-year renewable residency, does not require a local sponsor, allows extended stays outside the UAE without losing status, and permits holders to sponsor spouses, children of any age, and an unlimited number of domestic staff. If the primary holder passes away, family members can remain until the end of their permit period.Over time, the programme has widened well beyond its original investment focus. But for investors, real estate remains one of the clearest and most frequently used routes.Under the property pathway, the requirement is specific. An applicant must own one or more properties with a combined value of at least AED 2 million (approximately USD 545,000). Ownership must be officially registered with the relevant land authority, in Dubai’s case, the Dubai Land Department, and the Golden Visa application must be supported by a current valuation certificate issued by that authority. Immigration authorities assess valuation, not just the price paid or the title deed. Proof of residence, either through ownership or a tenancy contract, is also required.What matters here is not how the purchase was funded, but what the applicant legally owns at the time of application. In practice, the assessment centres on whether qualifying property ownership is formally registered, properly valued, and supported by the required documentation, alongside the broader nomination and review process that applies to all Golden Visa applicants.UAE regulators have been explicit that crypto holdings themselves do not qualify under any Golden Visa category. At the same time, they have not stated that property acquired using cryptocurrency is disqualified. For real estate investors, eligibility turns on land registration, valuation, and documentation, not on whether the funds originated from crypto, provided all compliance requirements are met.That narrow but crucial difference is what keeps the real estate route open, even as crypto remains excluded as a standalone pathway.

The July 2025 clarification

The July 2025 clarification was issued after false claims spread online suggesting that cryptocurrency holders could obtain UAE Golden Visas directly. The trigger was a July 6 post by Max Crown, CEO of the Ton Foundation, which claimed that Toncoin holders could secure a 10-year Golden Visa by paying a one-time fee of $35,000, subject to unspecified conditions.Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) responded by stating that TON is not licensed or regulated by the authority and that any suggestion linking virtual asset holdings to Golden Visa eligibility was incorrect. VARA made clear that “claims of granting golden residency to virtual asset investors in the Emirate of Dubai are false.”The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP) and the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) echoed the warning, confirming that Golden Visas are issued only under officially recognised categories and urging the public to rely solely on government sources.Crucially, the clarification addressed residency eligibility, not real estate law. It ruled out crypto holdings as a qualifying category but did not state that property purchased using cryptocurrency would be excluded from Golden Visa consideration.

Buying property in Dubai using crypto is already legal

Dubai already permits property purchases using cryptocurrency, provided transactions are conducted through licensed and compliant platforms. Both ready and off-plan properties can be acquired this way, and several major developers, including DAMAC, Emaar, and Nakheel, accept digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USDT, and USDC for selected projects.These transactions are fully regulated. The Dubai Land Department (DLD) oversees property registration, title issuance, and valuation, while the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) licenses digital asset platforms and enforces strict AML and KYC requirements.The policy context is deliberate. Dubai’s real estate transactions reached approximately AED 761 billion in 2024, with foreign buyers accounting for a growing share, while the global cryptocurrency market surpassed USD 3 trillion in early 2025. In July 2025, the DLD signed a strategic agreement with Crypto.com to develop fully digital real estate settlement systems and expand tokenisation infrastructure, aligned with the Dubai Real Estate Strategy 2033, which targets AED 1 trillion in transactions.Crypto-funded property purchases, in short, sit within Dubai’s formal real estate framework, regulated, documented, and recorded.

How property is being bought through tokenisation

Real estate tokenisation allows investors to buy fractional ownership in physical property through digital tokens recorded on a blockchain. Instead of purchasing an entire unit, buyers can invest smaller amounts, often starting from AED 2,000 (about USD 540), while still holding a legally recognised interest in the asset.In Dubai, this is already live. Through platforms such as Prypco Mint, operating under the oversight of the Dubai Land Department, both ready-to-move and off-plan properties are being tokenised and sold to investors worldwide.In May 2025, Dubai’s first fully tokenised property, a two-bedroom apartment in Business Bay valued at AED 2.4 million, sold out within 24 hours to 224 investors from 44 countries. Subsequent listings moved even faster, with some selling out in minutes. More than 70 per cent of participants were first-time Dubai property investors, highlighting how tokenisation is lowering entry barriers and widening access.Major developers are increasingly aligned with this model, seeing tokenisation as a way to attract global capital while keeping transactions fully regulated, registered, and transparent.

Where most assumptions break down

Golden Visa applications do not recognise fractional exposure. They recognise legal ownership. Buying AED 2,000 or AED 10,000 worth of tokenised property does not move an investor closer to a Golden Visa, nor does holding multiple small fractions across different properties. Unless those positions can be consolidated into a single, legally registered ownership that meets the AED 2 million threshold under one applicant, they remain investments rather than qualifying assets. This is where some tokenisation models fall short for residency purposes, while others are evolving. Platforms that offer redemption or consolidation mechanisms, allowing fractional tokens to be converted into a single title deed registered with the land department, are the ones relevant to Golden Visa discussions. The alternative route is more straightforward: using cryptocurrency as a payment method to purchase a single, high-value property outright. In that case, crypto functions simply as a regulated medium of exchange. Once ownership is registered and properly valued, the asset under review is no longer digital or tokenised, it is conventional real estate, assessed on the same basis as any other property purchase.

What actually determines eligibility in practice

For a crypto-funded property purchase to potentially support a Golden Visa application, several conditions would need to be satisfied at the same time.

If these conditions are met, the Golden Visa assessment would, turn on property registration and valuation rather than on whether cryptocurrency was used earlier in the transaction chain. As with all Golden Visa cases, final outcomes remain subject to nomination, review, and regulatory discretion.

A cautionary note: Domestic laws still apply

All of this may work within Dubai’s regulatory framework, but it does not operate in a vacuum. An investor’s home-country laws continue to apply, and India offers a useful cautionary example. With the Reserve Bank of India imposing tight restrictions on crypto usage and the finance ministry taxing digital assets aggressively, Indian authorities closely scrutinise offshore crypto movements and foreign property purchases. Transferring crypto from a resident Indian’s private wallet to a Dubai developer or intermediary can be treated as an irregular cross-border transaction under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), while purchasing overseas property without a corresponding remittance through approved banking channels may breach RBI regulations. Failure to disclose foreign property can attract action under black money laws, and rental income from offshore assets remains taxable in India.The takeaway is straightforward: before using crypto to invest abroad, domestic regulations matter just as much as foreign ones.Disclaimer: This article is for general information and awareness only. UAE residency, crypto, and real estate policies are dynamic and subject to change. It does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. Readers should verify details with official UAE sources such as the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security and the Dubai Land Department, and consult qualified legal or tax professionals before making any decisions. Go to Source