Mortgages With Foreign Income

Yes, you can, although it’s not a simple process. Although some lenders will consider mortgages based on foreign income, it’s not the majority, and criteria vary significantly between lenders depending on your circumstances and the currency.

In 2016, new obligations were set out for lenders that required them to monitor exchange rates for borrowers lent to based on foreign currency and warn them if rates exceeded set limits. Because of this extra layer of administration and cost, some lenders chose to stop offering foreign currency mortgages, reducing the pool even further.

Any money you earn outside of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland counts as foreign earned income, including from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Foreign earned income could be money you earn by working abroad or providing services to companies outside the UK.

Foreign income could also include foreign investment income, rental income from overseas properties, or income from pensions held overseas. Whether or not these other forms of foreign income are counted as income for the purposes of a mortgage may depend on the individual lender, as a specialist broker will be best placed to advise.

It’s difficult to give a definitive list here as lenders’ criteria are always subject to change, and eligibility will vary depending on your broader financial picture.

To give you an idea of the complexity of criteria when it comes to foreign income mortgages, we’ve picked out a few examples here:

• Santander can accept an applicant who is employed and paid in US Dollars, Euros, Swiss Francs, or UAE Dirham. The sterling equivalent must be calculated based on a specified average exchange rate and discounted by 25% to allow for currency fluctuations.
• HSBC can accept foreign currency applications in any currency but only through an intermediary. Depending on the currency you are converting from, income will be discounted by 10%, 20% or 30%.
• Livemore Capital will consider foreign currency mortgage applications in US Dollars, Euros, or Swiss Francs, but it will only accept 65% of the foreign income for affordability calculations and only when the foreign income is up to 25% of the total income.

Your best option when looking for a mortgage with overseas income is always to use a broker who can research and approach lenders on your behalf, as they’ll have an in-depth knowledge of exactly what they’re looking for and what evidence you’ll need to provide.

Many factors will come into play when applying for a mortgage with overseas income, not just the currency you’re paid in, so it’s important to consider the wider picture, too. If you don’t consider your broader financial and personal circumstances, you could risk having your mortgage application declined and reducing your future chances of success.

Some things to consider include:

• Where you’re based: For foreign currency mortgages, most lenders require you to be permanently based in the UK, even if you do sometimes have to travel for work.
• Your employment status: Whether you are employed or self-employed will impact your application, as self-employed mortgages are generally considered higher risk. If you are self-employed, are you registered in the UK and paying tax within the UK?
• How do you prove foreign income for a mortgage: This will depend on how you’re paid and lender-specific requirements, but will include payslips, accounts if you are self-employed and bank statements.
• The company you work for: Again, this comes down to risk, and if you work for a relatively unknown or small foreign company, lenders may want to carry out additional checks or ask for extra information to help support your application.
• The reason for borrowing: Are you buying a home to live in, as a buy-to-let, or for another commercial reason? The type of loan you’re looking for, and the type of property you’re buying can be important factors.
• Your credit history: Although you can get bad credit mortgages, you’ll have more options and get a better deal if your credit history is good, especially when your lender is already taking on the risk of foreign income. Get copies of your credit reports before you start to ensure you’re in a strong position.

The standard process for foreign currency mortgage applications is for all overseas income to be converted first into pounds sterling. This is usually done using a particular exchange rate or average rate specified by the lender.

To allow for currency fluctuations, lenders will apply a discount percentage to this income to give them safe margins for how much they think you can afford to borrow. The discount applied will vary depending on the lender, the currency, and its stability.

For example, assume you earn $100,000 yearly from a US job. The first stage will be to convert this into pounds, so let’s say that equates to £76,000 (based on a rate of $1 to 76p at the time of writing, November 2025) for illustration purposes. The lender will then accept a percentage of this; we’ll take 80% as an example, and will use £60,800 as your annual income in its affordability calculations.