Al Marjan Island investment: Ras Al Khaimah for international buyers (2026)

Al Marjan Island investment is open to foreign buyers because Ras Al Khaimah allows people who are not UAE or GCC nationals to own property in areas the Ruler designates, under Article 12 of Law No. 11 of 2021, issued on 21 September 2021, as Al Tamimi and Company set out on 3 October 2021. The RAK Government Media Office announced on 30 September 2018 that Marjan, the master developer of the emirate's freehold property, would take over Al Marjan Island and all its real estate assets. A buyer pays 2 per cent of the value to register the purchase, according to the RAK Municipality, and Wynn Resorts said on 5 November 2026 that its resort on the island is expected to open in September 2027.

This guide is for private buyers, family offices and relocating executives in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Europe who want to buy property in Ras Al Khaimah as a foreigner. It covers the RAK freehold areas, fees, the Wynn Al Marjan Island resort and what it means for property nearby, the market data, supply, the RAK Golden Visa property route and non resident mortgages. Every legal point comes from the law as summarised by a law firm or from the authority's own page, and where sources disagree we say so.

Can a foreigner buy property in Ras Al Khaimah, and where are the RAK freehold areas?

Yes, in designated areas. Al Tamimi and Company's note of 3 October 2021 on Law No. 11 of 2021 explains that Article 12 treats anyone who is not a UAE or GCC citizen as a foreigner and bars foreigners from owning real estate or property rights in the emirate, with exceptions that include areas designated by the Ruler. A company counts as foreign if UAE or GCC nationals own less than 51 per cent of its capital. The same note says a lease of more than 50 years cannot be registered in a foreigner's name, and that registration of a right is conclusive evidence of it against third parties.

The law also created an interim register for off plan units. Developers must record units on it before selling off plan, and sales and mortgages of units on the interim register are expressly permitted, according to the same note. For an off plan buyer, the interim register entry is the document that matters before handover.

Which areas are designated is the harder question. We could not find a current list published by the RAK Municipality or Marjan on 12 November 2026. Khaleej Times reported on 7 October 2012 that the RAK Land Department had named four areas open to foreigners, including Mina Al Arab and Al Hamra, with freehold elsewhere limited to Emiratis and GCC citizens. That report predates both Law No. 11 of 2021 and Marjan's creation, so treat it as history rather than a current list.

Al Marjan Island itself is documented. The RAK Government Media Office said on 30 September 2018 that Marjan began operating as an independent master developer of freehold property, with a remit to lead freehold projects and to acquire Al Marjan Island and its real estate. A later Media Office article, dated 24 September 2020, describes the island as four coral shaped islands of more than 2.7 million square metres that add 23 kilometres of waterfront. Marjan merged with RAK Hospitality Holding under the Marjan name, according to a release of 22 October 2025.

Registration sits with the Lands and Properties Sector of Ras Al Khaimah Municipality, which publishes the sale procedure and the transaction reports cited below. Before paying a deposit on any plot or unit outside Al Marjan Island, ask the Sector in writing whether a foreigner can hold title there.

What does it cost to buy and register a property in Ras Al Khaimah?

The RAK Municipality's published procedure for the real estate sale service sets the registration fee at 2 per cent of the property value from the seller and 2 per cent from the buyer. On a property worth AED 2 million, the buyer's share is AED 40,000. The same document lists the papers required: passports for foreign investors, the seller's original ownership document and plan, a power of attorney where a representative signs, company documents with an Arabic translation where a party is a company, and a no objection certificate from the developer.

Three gaps should be noted. The document carries no date, so confirm the rate on the day. It does not list title deed, map or service centre charges. And it does not set out the fee for registering an off plan unit on the interim register; Al Tamimi's note says only that developers may not charge fees for dispositions on that register unless the Department approves them. Ask the developer and the Sector for a written statement of every charge before you sign.

What is Wynn Al Marjan Island and when does it open?

Wynn Resorts announced on 4 October 2024 that the UAE's General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority had issued a Commercial Gaming Facility Operator licence to the entity developing Wynn Al Marjan Island, describing it as "the first commercial gaming facility license in the UAE". The licensed company is a joint venture between affiliates of Wynn Resorts and RAK Hospitality Holding, and the release gave the resort 1,542 rooms and suites, including 22 Villa Estates on the marina.

Financing followed. Wynn said on 6 February 2025 that a USD 2.4 billion seven year construction facility had been arranged for the project, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Deutsche Bank as joint coordinators and First Abu Dhabi Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation among the lenders. Wynn owns 40 per cent of the joint venture, and that release set the opening for 2027.

The date has since moved once. CDC Gaming Reports said on 4 August 2026 that Wynn's chief executive, Craig Billings, put the opening at September 2027 on that day's earnings call, later than the spring date previously expected, and that the budget rose by about USD 600 million on an original cost of more than USD 5 billion. About half of the increase was tied to the regional conflict through materials, shipping, insurance and the longer schedule. Wynn's own second quarter release of 4 August 2026 confirms September 2027 and USD 1.06 billion of cash contributed to date. Its third quarter release of 5 November 2026 adds USD 62.2 million in the quarter, taking contributions to USD 1.12 billion, and says finishing works are under way, including the interior fit out of all guest rooms. Our report on Wynn's third quarter covers that release in detail.

For a buyer, Wynn Al Marjan Island property is a phrase to read carefully. None of the Wynn releases we read offers residences for sale to the public. What buyers on the island are buying is property from other developers near a resort whose opening, licence and funding are documented in a listed company's filings.

Is Al Marjan Island investment supported by the market data?

The data is positive but less uniform than headlines suggest, and the three main research firms disagree on the size of the rise.

CBRE's first half 2026 review, reported by Arabian Business on 22 September 2026, put Ras Al Khaimah apartment prices up 18 per cent in a year, villa prices up 7.3 per cent, apartment rents up 14.3 per cent and the average apartment sale value at AED 2,298 per square foot. Al Marjan Island apartment values rose 23.1 per cent and Al Hamra 14.7 per cent. CBRE also said pricing and absorption have "moderated since the end of February following an exceptional period of growth".

Cavendish Maxwell's first half 2026 figures, reported by Gulf News on 2 September 2026, show a smaller rise: apartment prices up 6.5 per cent and villa prices up almost 6 per cent in a year, with apartment prices down 0.7 per cent in the latest quarter. ValuStrat, on 25 August 2026, put its apartment index up 5.8 per cent in a year and down 0.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, with average gross yields of 5.3 per cent for freehold apartments and villas. The firms use different samples and methods, so a buyer should not average them; the honest reading is that prices rose in the year to mid 2026 and the most recent quarter was flat to slightly lower.

Transaction figures also conflict. The RAK Municipality's report for 2025 records 2,964 sales worth AED 3.19 billion, down 50 per cent by value on 2024, and AED 18.8 billion of total transactions including mortgages and waivers. Cavendish Maxwell's review of 2025 counts AED 12.4 billion across 6,600 residential sales, 85 per cent of them off plan. The Municipality report does not say whether off plan sales recorded by developers on the interim register are included, which may explain much of the gap. We prefer the Municipality for registered sales and note that it may undercount off plan activity.

For the island specifically, the Municipality's report records 250 sales on Al Marjan Island worth AED 940.3 million in 2025, against 378 worth AED 4.04 billion in 2024, a fall of 77 per cent by value, while the island remained the emirate's top area by sales value in both years. The report does not explain the fall.

Tourism is the demand behind the resort story. The Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority recorded 1.36 million visitors in 2025, up 5.8 per cent, with hotel occupancy of 75.0 per cent and an average daily rate of AED 618.1, from STR data. CBRE's review gave a weaker first half of 2026: a record 670,400 hotel visitors, but occupancy of 49 per cent and revenue per available room down 28.6 per cent to AED 348. Marjan's release of 22 October 2025 restates the RAK Vision 2030 target of 3.5 million annual visitors and nearly 20,000 hotel keys.

How much new supply is coming to Ras Al Khaimah?

A great deal, and the estimates differ by more than half. CBRE counted more than 34,000 homes due for delivery between 2026 and 2030, about 10,000 of them branded residences, and 8,500 hotel keys planned from 2027 to 2030, almost two thirds on Al Marjan Island, as reported on 22 September 2026. ValuStrat expected about 25,600 residential units by 2030, 97 per cent of them apartments, on 25 August 2026. Cavendish Maxwell expected 13,800 homes by the end of 2028: 2,200 in 2026, 4,700 in 2027 and 7,500 in 2028, as reported on 2 September 2026.

What is not published matters as much. No authority publishes a unit by unit delivery schedule for the island, and developers' handover dates move. The RAK Municipality's report counted 3,469 investors in 2025, which gives a sense of the size of the buyer pool against tens of thousands of new homes. A buyer relying on rental income should assume that many similar apartments, including hotel branded stock, will complete in 2027 and 2028.

Does RAK property qualify for the Golden Visa?

On the federal rules, yes, if it meets the value test. ICP's Golden Residency guide, published on 27 July 2026 and updated on 10 September 2026, gives "10 years for investors in the UAE's real estate sector" to owners of one or more properties worth at least AED 2 million in total, registered in their name. It accepts property financed by an approved local bank and off plan units bought from a real estate company authorised by the competent local authority. It lists no emirate restriction.

The Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone's Golden Visa page for real estate investors states that the property must be worth at least AED 2 million, off plan or complete, that several properties can be combined, and that the application needs an evaluation letter from the Real Estate Registration Department addressed to ICP in Ras Al Khaimah, or a sale and purchase agreement stamped by the developer for an off plan unit. The applicant must be in the UAE when applying. The page does not mention mortgaged property, where ICP's guide does, so a buyer using a loan should confirm the treatment with ICP.

At the peg, AED 2 million is about USD 544,600. Our Golden Visa page and our guide to property and the Golden Visa set out how the Dubai and federal sources differ. No developer or broker grants a visa, and no purchase guarantees one.

Can a non resident get a mortgage on RAK property?

Some banks lend on Ras Al Khaimah property, and each sets its own terms for non residents. The Central Bank of the UAE's Regulations Regarding Mortgage Loans, Circular 31/2013, cap an expatriate's first home at 80 per cent of value below AED 5 million and 70 per cent above, a second or investment property at 60 per cent, and any off plan purchase at 50 per cent regardless of value or buyer. The regulation does not mention non residents.

RAKBANK's home loan page, read on 12 November 2026, lists Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah as locations it finances, with minimum down payments of 20 per cent below AED 5 million and 30 per cent above and terms of up to 25 years. The page carries no date and does not say whether non residents are eligible, so we do not quote its rate. Off plan homes made up 85 per cent of Ras Al Khaimah residential sales in 2025, according to Cavendish Maxwell, and buyers usually pay those on the developer's payment plan until handover rather than with a mortgage. Our non resident mortgage page lists the documents UAE banks ask for.

What it means for investors

First, the title is sound but the map is thin. Law No. 11 of 2021 gives a registered right conclusive effect, and Al Marjan Island is held by the emirate's freehold master developer. What is missing is a published, current list of designated areas, so the first check on any property outside the island is a written answer from the Lands and Properties Sector.

Second, the resort is real and dated, but it has moved once. Wynn's licence, USD 2.4 billion facility and USD 1.12 billion of contributions are documented in its own releases. A buyer whose handover falls in late 2027 or 2028 will take delivery as the resort opens, if September 2027 holds. We would read each quarterly release for changes.

Third, the market evidence needs to be read whole. CBRE's 23.1 per cent rise on the island sits beside a 77 per cent fall in registered Al Marjan Island sales value in 2025, a first half 2026 hotel occupancy of 49 per cent, and between 13,800 and 34,000 new homes depending on the firm and the horizon. Underwrite on current rents for completed comparable units, not on growth. We make no forecast of prices, rents or returns.

For a buyer paying in US dollars, the dirham is pegged at AED 3.6725 to the US dollar, so CBRE's average of AED 2,298 per square foot is about USD 626 and the AED 2 million Golden Visa threshold about USD 544,600, with no currency risk against the dollar. Wynn Resorts is a US company that reports in dollars, so its quarterly releases give a US buyer a familiar source on the island's anchor project. On home reporting, the IRS states on its Form 8938 questions page, last reviewed 17 August 2026, that foreign real estate held directly is not a specified foreign financial asset for that form, but that an interest in a foreign company or trust holding it may be; other forms and rental income rules can still apply, so confirm with your own adviser. Our page for investors from the Americas covers the wider points.

On financing, the Central Bank of the UAE caps any off plan mortgage at 50 per cent of value under Circular 31/2013, so a non resident buying a completed Ras Al Khaimah home can borrow more against it than one reserving an unbuilt unit on Al Marjan Island.

What we recommend

1. Confirm the area. For any property, get the Lands and Properties Sector's written confirmation that a foreigner can hold title, and for an off plan unit, the interim register entry.
2. Ask for every fee in writing. Budget the buyer's 2 per cent of value and ask the developer and the Municipality for any title, map or interim register charge.
3. Read the resort as a date, not a price. Track Wynn's quarterly releases and do not pay a premium for an opening that has already moved once.
4. Test the rent. Price the unit on the rents of completed comparable apartments, and count the competing units due in the same year.
5. Check residency and finance before you sign. If the Golden Visa matters, write to ICP with the property's value, status and financing. If you need a loan, get a bank's written non resident terms first.

Confirm the current position with the authority before relying on it, because ownership areas, fees and visa conditions change by decree and circular.

Castilion Estates presents projects on Al Marjan Island, including Fairmont Residences Al Marjan Island, listed on our project page from AED 2.1 million with handover scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2028, terms verified on 3 November 2026. Castilion Estates can set the published facts for any project on the island beside its payment plan and the questions above.