Invest in U.S. commercial real estate from the UAE.
No exchange controls. No outbound cap. No tax at source when you send capital abroad. This is the exact route a UAE-resident Professional Investor's money takes into income-producing U.S. commercial real estate.
The UAE route is open now to investors who qualify as Professional Investors. Onboarding runs through the Raveum app: create an account, verify your identity, then complete Professional Investor classification. Offering materials are shown once those checks clear, and no deal is listed publicly on this website.
10 min read
Your UAE bank
Standard international wire
Purpose code and AML
Source of funds evidenced
Converted to dollars
At the pegged rate
U.S. C-Corporation
You subscribe for shares
Property-specific LLC
One asset, not commingled
Rental income, USD
When declared, net of withholding
All investing involves risk, including loss of capital. Fractional real estate is illiquid and is normally held for several years. Distributions are not guaranteed. No UAE regulator has approved or reviewed this page or any offering. Read the offering documents in full before you commit. Regulatory thresholds, tax rates and timelines on this page reflect our understanding as at 1 August 2026, may change, and are not legal, tax or investment advice. The UAE securities regime is in transition from the Securities and Commodities Authority to the Capital Market Authority under Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2025, effective 1 January 2026, with implementing regulations still to be issued.
Yes. A UAE-resident individual who qualifies as a Professional Investor can invest in U.S. commercial real estate without a U.S. visa, by wiring funds through their UAE bank and subscribing for shares in a U.S. corporation that owns the property through a property-specific LLC.
The UAE imposes no exchange controls, no annual outbound cap and no tax collected at source on the remittance. On Raveum, these interests are offered to UAE investors under SEC Regulation S.
The dirham has been pegged to the U.S. dollar at AED 3.6725 since November 1997, and the IMF's 2025 Article IV consultation concluded that the peg remains appropriate. A currency peg is a policy rather than a guarantee, but on that record there is no conversion to time on the way into a dollar asset.
Who this is for
Two tests apply at once: the UAE Professional Investor classification that governs what may be shown to you, and the SEC Regulation S requirement that you are not a U.S. person.
✓Available to
- UAE-resident individuals who qualify as Professional Investors: net assets of at least AED 4,000,000 excluding the main residence, plus sufficient knowledge and experience of financial markets, or representation by a licensed adviser
- Individuals based in the DIFC or ADGM who meet the Professional Client tests of the DFSA or FSRA: net assets of at least USD 1,000,000 excluding the primary residence, plus an experience assessment
- UAE-incorporated companies, free zone entities and family vehicles that meet the applicable professional or deemed-professional tests, subscribing through entity KYC
- Investors able to hold an illiquid asset for several years and to evidence source of wealth
- Non-U.S. persons only, subscribing in offshore transactions under SEC Regulation S
×Not available to
- U.S. persons, who are not eligible to subscribe under this route
- Investors resident elsewhere, where a different route may apply. See all routes
- Retail investors who do not meet a Professional Investor or Professional Client test. UAE rules prohibit promoting foreign funds to retail investors onshore
- Anyone who cannot complete KYC with an Emirates ID, a valid residence visa and proof of UAE address
- Persons subject to sanctions, or unable to evidence source of funds under UAE anti-money-laundering rules
- Anyone who may need this capital back within one to two years
If you are resident in another jurisdiction for exchange-control or tax purposes, that jurisdiction's own regime governs your position, and you should take advice under it before subscribing. Raveum does not assess or advise on any investor's status under foreign law.
Interests are offered to UAE investors under SEC Regulation S. Access to any specific deal sits inside the Raveum app, behind account creation, KYC verification and a jurisdiction eligibility check. No deal is publicly listed on this website.
Five stages, start to income
The compliance work sits in stages one and two. That is where first-time investors want the detail.
STEP 01
Download the app and complete KYC
Download the Raveum app, create an account and verify your identity. Raveum checks residency, screens against sanctions lists and runs the jurisdiction eligibility check before any deal becomes visible.
STEP 02
Qualify as a Professional Investor
You complete the Professional Investor assessment: evidence of net assets on the basis the applicable test requires, plus a knowledge and experience declaration, or confirmation that you are represented by a licensed adviser where your test allows it. Classification is a legal precondition to seeing offering materials, not an administrative formality.
STEP 03
Select the property and read the documents
Review the market, tenant, lease term, debt and business plan inside the deal room. Establish who carries taxes, insurance and maintenance under the lease. The offering documents set out fees, holding period, distribution mechanics and the full risk factors.
STEP 04
Subscribe and wire through your UAE bank
You sign the Regulation S subscription documents and IRS Form W-8BEN, then instruct an international wire. Your bank will ask for a purpose-of-payment code from the Central Bank list, beneficiary and SWIFT details, and source-of-funds evidence under CBUAE anti-money-laundering rules. Settlement typically takes one to three working days.
STEP 05
Take ownership, collect distributions in USD
Your dollars purchase shares in the property-specific U.S. C-Corporation. The shareholding is recorded in your name and you receive ownership documentation. Distributions, when declared, are paid in U.S. dollars, and you receive IRS Form 1042-S each year a distribution is made showing U.S. tax withheld.
Do you qualify as a Professional Investor?
The UAE imposes no remittance cap, so the gate is who you are, not how much you may send. This is a self-assessment, not a classification decision.
Excluding the value of your main residence.
The UAE mainland test requires net assets of AED 4,000,000, excluding the value of your main residence.
Threshold applied: SCA Rulebook, Board Decision 13/RM of 2021, as at 1 August 2026.
The three tests. On the UAE mainland, an assessed Professional Investor is a natural person with net assets of at least AED 4,000,000 excluding the value of the main residence, together with sufficient knowledge and experience of the relevant markets, products and risks, or representation by a licensed adviser, under the SCA Rulebook (Board Decision 13/RM of 2021). In the DIFC, the DFSA Professional Client test requires net assets of at least USD 1,000,000 excluding the primary residence, plus the DFSA experience analysis. In the ADGM, the FSRA test requires net assets of at least USD 1,000,000, plus the FSRA experience assessment, raised from USD 500,000 with effect from 15 August 2023.
Thresholds reflect the SCA Rulebook, DFSA COB and ADGM FSRA COBS as at 1 August 2026. The UAE federal regime is transitioning from the SCA to the Capital Market Authority under Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2025, effective 1 January 2026, with regularisation required by 1 January 2027, and implementing regulations may change these thresholds. Confirm your position with your own adviser.
What you actually own
You are not on a deed. You hold shares in the U.S. company that stands between you and the building. That one distinction drives your rights, your tax and your exit.
A property-specific structure
Each property is held in its own U.S. limited liability company. The LLC is a pass-through for U.S. federal tax and pays no entity-level federal income tax.
A U.S. C-Corporation as your entry point
You subscribe for shares in a U.S. C-Corporation that holds the membership interest in the LLC. The C-Corporation is the taxpayer of record in the United States.
Why the corporation sits there
It acts as a blocker. You have no U.S. personal income tax filing obligation from holding shares or from receiving dividends, and U.S. withholding arises only when the corporation actually distributes cash to you.
The sponsor operates
The sponsor arranges financing, appoints the property manager, handles leasing and reports to investors. You do not manage tenants.
Exit is on sale, not on demand
There is no ready secondary market for these shares. Assume you hold until the property is sold and the structure is wound up. Section 06 sets out how that final step is taxed.
The structure, top to bottom
You
UAE Professional Investor
U.S. C-Corporation
You hold shares here. Taxpayer of record in the United States.
Property-specific LLC
Pass-through for U.S. federal tax. One asset only.
The property
Income-producing U.S. commercial real estate
What we will ask for
Gathering these before you start is the single biggest time saver. Tap to tick them off.
Taxed once, in the United States, with nothing to reconcile
A UAE investor has the simplest tax position of anyone on this platform. The property is in the United States, so U.S. tax applies there. The UAE levies no personal income tax, so nothing further happens on receipt. There is no second tax authority, no return to file, and no credit to claim back.
The U.S. taxes it at the corporation
Rent is earned in the United States, so U.S. tax applies. It is paid by the C-Corporation before anything reaches you, which is why you have no U.S. filing obligation of your own.
Tax is charged on income, not on cash
The property is depreciated for U.S. tax purposes. Depreciation is a deduction rather than a cash cost, so the taxable income the corporation reports is lower than the cash the property generates.
The UAE takes nothing, so nothing is left open
No UAE personal income tax applies on receipt, and none is withheld on the way out. Your position is settled when the U.S. side is settled. There is nothing to declare, reconcile or reclaim afterwards.
6.1Rent arrives at the LLC
In the United States
No entity-level federal income tax. Income passes through to the C-Corporation on Schedule K-1, after depreciation and operating deductions.
In the UAE
Nothing applies.
6.2The corporation is taxed
In the United States
Federal corporate income tax at 21% on its share of taxable income. State corporate income tax may also apply, depending on where the property sits.
In the UAE
None. UAE corporate tax does not reach a natural person's personal investment income.
6.3Cash is distributed to you
In the United States
Withholding at the statutory 30% applies to dividends actually paid, because there is no income tax treaty between the United States and the UAE. Certify non-U.S. status on Form W-8BEN before payment.
In the UAE
No personal income tax on receipt. Nothing to declare.
6.4Earnings are retained instead
In the United States
No withholding arises until an actual distribution is made, so the timing of that charge follows the distribution decision rather than the rent.
In the UAE
Nothing applies.
6.5The property is sold and the structure wound up
In the United States
The expected position is that no withholding applies to the final liquidating distribution, under the cleansing rule at IRC section 897(c)(1)(B). That depends on sequencing: the sale must fully close, all gain must be recognised and taxed at the corporate level, and the corporation must hold no U.S. real property interest at liquidation.
In the UAE
No UAE tax on an individual's gain on disposing of foreign shares. Personal investment income sits outside the corporate tax net regardless of amount.
Investing through a UAE vehicle instead of personally. A UAE mainland or free zone company that holds the shares is inside the 9% corporate tax net. Two exemptions matter. The participation exemption can exempt the dividend and any gain where the company holds at least 5% of the C-Corporation, or the acquisition cost is at least AED 4,000,000, held for at least 12 months, and the C-Corporation is subject to tax of at least 9%, which the U.S. rate satisfies. Separately, a Qualifying Free Zone Person, including a DIFC or ADGM entity, can treat holding securities for investment purposes, held for at least 12 months, as a qualifying activity taxed at 0%. Entity subscriptions change both the tax analysis and the KYC pack, so settle the wrapper with your adviser before subscribing.
U.S. estate tax, which follows from the structure. Shares in a U.S. corporation are U.S.-situs assets for the estate of a non-resident, and there is no estate tax treaty between the United States and the UAE. The exemption available to a non-resident's U.S. estate is USD 60,000. This follows from holding shares in a U.S. company rather than from anything specific to Raveum, and it is commonly addressed through estate planning. Raise it with your own advisers before you subscribe.
General information only, not tax advice. Rates and positions stated here reflect our understanding as at 1 August 2026 and may change. Treatment depends on your own facts and structure. Use advisers qualified in both jurisdictions.
Clear answers before you commit
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Nothing here determines your tax residency, your residential status under FEMA, your U.S. person status, your accredited investor status or your eligibility to invest. Those are questions of law that depend on your own circumstances, and they are settled by the applicable rules and by your own professional advisers, not by Raveum. Descriptions on this page reflect our understanding as at August 2026 and may change. Take your own legal and tax advice before you act on anything you read here.
Get early access from the UAE
Qualify as a Professional Investor in the app, then see what is available.
All investing involves risk, including loss of capital. Fractional real estate is illiquid and distributions are not guaranteed. Interests are offered under SEC Regulation S only to UAE Professional Investors, not to the general public. No UAE regulator, including the Capital Market Authority, the DFSA or the FSRA, has approved or reviewed this page or any offering. Deals are visible only in the Raveum app after KYC and an eligibility check. Review the offering documents and consult qualified UAE and U.S. advisers. Information as at 1 August 2026.