Mortgages for Foreign Nationals
Over half of mortgage lenders consider foreign nationals, depending on your residence and visa status. We’ve helped over 1,300 foreign national customers get the right advice, with 8 experts dedicated to this type of mortgage. We guarantee to get your mortgage approved and find you the best deal. If we can’t and someone else does, we’ll give you £100!*
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Author: Pete Mugleston
CeMAP Mortgage Advisor, MD
Quick Summary
The good news – Foreign nationals can get a UK mortgage, and we help with this every day!
The requirements will depend mostly on:
- Where you currently live – If you’re not in the UK yet, your options are limited. If you’ve been in the UK for less than 2–3 years, expect to need a bigger deposit, sometimes 20% or more).
- Your visa type & residency status – Lenders usually prefer borrowers with long-term visas like tier 1 visas, Skilled Worker (Tier 2) or settled/pre-settled EU status (right to reside), and spousal visas, but there are flexible options with lenders in other situations.
Having a decent deposit and a solid UK credit history can boost your chances, but if you don’t have that, don’t worry. There are lenders out there offering higher loan-to-value (LTV) options, especially if the rest of your application stacks up – that’s where we can help.
Yes, it’s possible. You don’t have to have a UK passport to take out a buy-to-let, residential or commercial mortgage. You’ll have to apply for what’s called a foreign national mortgage.
These mortgages operate similarly to a standard mortgage but can be more complex to apply for, given that lenders generally view overseas borrowers as higher risk.
The key criteria lenders will look at when they assess your application are as follows:
- Type of visa or residency (Tier 2, ILR, EU settled)
- Length of time in the UK
- Currency and proof of income
- UK credit file and deposit size
They’ll also want to know the answers to the following questions:
- What is your nationality? Where do you live now?
- What type of visa or residency do you currently hold?
- How long have you been living and working in the UK?
- Is your income paid in GBP or a foreign currency?
- Do you have a UK credit file and bank account?
- Are you applying for a residential or buy-to-let mortgage?
Your eligibility for a foreign national mortgage will be based on which of the following categories you fall into and whether your home country is on a list of countries deemed acceptable to the lender. If you have any doubts about which category you may fall into, you can discuss this in more detail with a specialist advisor.
Perhaps you work in the UK or are married to a UK citizen and have a corresponding visa. In this case, you can expect to be treated as a British national.
Perhaps you live and work in Australia or the U.S. and enjoy visiting the UK. In this scenario, expect more stringent checks, but a mortgage is still possible.
Pre-Brexit, EU citizens could expect a similar mortgage experience to that of Brits, but the process has since become more complex.
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How to get a mortgage as a foreign national
If you think you’d like to apply for a mortgage, you’ll need to follow a series of steps.
Check your eligibility
Do you have an acceptable visa? Have you been in the UK long enough? And do you have a big enough deposit?
These are some of the questions you should ask yourself and research before investing time and resources into a mortgage application (for help and guidance, see point 3 below—a broker would certainly be a lot of help here).
If you get in touch, we can arrange for a broker we work with who has experience dealing with mortgages for foreign nationals to contact you straight away.
We're so confident in our service, we guarantee it.
We know it's important for you to have complete confidence in our service, and trust that you're getting the best chance of mortgage approval at the best available rate. We guarantee to get your mortgage approved where others can't - or we'll give you £100*
What are the guidelines?
Unfortunately, not everyone from anywhere can take out a mortgage in the UK. Lenders need reassurance that you’ll be committed to repaying the loan despite not being a UK citizen. To ascertain that, there are a few questions they’ll be asking.
- What type of visa do you have? Not all visas are acceptable to mortgage lenders. Those on student visas, for example, can be rejected because such a visa implies a short stay, but a working visa is more acceptable as it signals a longer-term arrangement.
- How long is left on the visa? The further away the expiration date is, the better the chances of approval, as it implies you’ll be in the country long enough to be committed to the property.
- How long have you been in the UK so far? It’s not unusual for lenders to stipulate that an applicant must have been in the UK for over a year. Some lenders even state a five-year minimum.
- Where will the money for repayments come from? If you derive a salary from UK employment or self-employment, that will work in your favour. If you plan to remain living overseas and use foreign income for repayments, the country, currency, and company you work for will influence approval and interest rates.
Certain lenders may also have their own criteria applicants would have to meet. For example, some lenders only loan to those from a pre-set list of countries, have stipulations about the level of spoken English and instil minimum income requirements and maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. As with any mortgage application, lenders will also look at your deposit, income type and the property in question while conducting more stringent checks on your income, expenditure and credit history.
European Union citizens
As it stands, being a citizen of a country within the EU allows you to enjoy the same mortgage options as Brits if you’ve lived in the UK for over two years and have a permanent job there. However, there could be some changes to this arrangement as the effects of Brexit continue to unfold. If you want to learn more, contacting a broker may be worthwhile.
Interest rates on foreign national mortgages
Seen as a riskier product, interest rates for non-UK resident mortgages tend to be higher than on other mortgage types. They usually lie between 3% and 6%. You’ll likely be at the higher end if you have bad credit, a smaller deposit and an inconsistent or overseas income.
Which lenders will consider your application?
High street lenders such as Barclays, Natwest, and HSBC lend to foreign nationals. However, each has its own specific requirements. For example, HSBC will only loan to those with a minimum income of £75,000 and a 75% or lower LTV, Barclays requires a minimum of £100,000 or currency equivalent in savings or investments, and Halifax only offers mortgages to those who have been in the country longer than five years.
Aside from the well-known lenders, many lenders specialise in UK mortgages for non-citizens. Their rates and applicant criteria will differ, but the brokers we work with are familiar with the foreign national mortgage market and will be able to share which lender might be best suited to you.
Speak to a broker who specialises in foreign national mortgages
Trying to obtain a mortgage is a difficult enough process without trying to do it in a country where you’re considered a foreigner. In this scenario, expert guidance is almost a necessity.
Specialised brokers matched to your needs can help you understand the nuances of the UK lending market while breaking down the various criteria you’ll need to meet and the paperwork needed to support an application based on your visa type. Our brokers operate in this space daily and, via a free initial consultation, can get you on your way to owning a home in the UK.
Call 0330 818 7026 or fill out our enquiry form to be matched.
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Maximise your chance of approval with a specialist in foreign national mortgages
FAQs
As long as they have a visa that is acceptable to a lender and meet all other criteria you should be able to apply for a joint mortgage.
Most lenders require applicants to have been working for over a year in the UK so a refugee would need to first acquire refugee status and then the right to work in the UK. Once the year mark has passed, they could apply for a mortgage as long as they meet all other requirements and have the relevant paperwork.
Yes. Many lenders, including Natwest and Metro Bank, list US citizens as acceptable applicants for foreign national mortgages. A broker would be able to share which they are.
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Pete Mugleston
CeMAP Mortgage Advisor, MD
Pete, a CeMAP-qualified mortgage advisor and an expert in all things mortgages, cut his teeth right in the middle of the credit crunch. With plenty of people needing help and few mortgage providers lending, Pete successfully went the extra mile to find mortgages for people whom many others considered lost causes. The experience he gained and his love of helping people reach their goals led him to establish Online Mortgage Advisor, with one clear vision – to help as many customers as possible get the right advice, regardless of need or background.
Pete’s presence in the industry as the ‘go-to’ for specialist finance continues to grow, and he is regularly cited in and writes for both local and national press, as well as trade publications, with a regular column in Mortgage Introducer and being the exclusive mortgage expert for LOVEMoney. Pete also writes for Online Mortgage Advisor of course!
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