Mortgages for Foreign Nationals

The also appreciate that the terms of any Visa are not indefinite and we will need to assess how long remains from the outset.

Our Process

As a UK specialist mortgage company, we understand that buying a home, for most people including skilled migrants, is the biggest single investment they make. It therefore pays to seek proper professional advice from an expert.

On making contact, we will assess your situation and the terms of your visa, be it a skilled migrant visa or other form of permissions. We will look at your time here in the UK and consider both the family and employment ties you have secured. We will look at the time remaining on your Visa and also consider the long term affordability of the mortgage, based not on interest rates today, but also those longer term.  This will make sure you can fully satisfy the lender of your financial commitments and can meet the repayments and monthly instalments.

We will seek to produce you a formal decision in principle from the finance provider and this document is important, given it will allow you to show it to estate agents, will clearly let them know you are serious and in the market to purchase a new home. It will officially indicate your ability to obtain credit and provide you, the customer, with the assurance, that once the flat or house purchase is agreed, you are able to complete on the transaction.

The decision in principle will be accompanied by a helpful detailed loan illustration which provides full details on the set up costs and charges of the finance. This will include not only the initial interest rate, but future interest rates, lender arrangement fees and any penalty periods. We will also be able to indicate to you upfront, the incidental liabilities and costs such as valuation and survey charges, solicitor’s fees and stamp duty. It is these charges, which can often be hidden when comparing mortgage products and full disclosure, allows you to make an informed choice.

Deposit Requirements

We understand that foreign nationals in the UK, trying to obtain a foot on the property ladder, may not necessarily have a substantial deposit.  Even if you have a modest deposit we may be able to assist.

Many customers tell us they have previously experienced difficulty when money, being used for the deposit, is abroad in a foreign bank account. There are a range of UK anti-money laundering regulations and often, foreign nationals run into difficulty when these regulations are applied. Lenders understandably, often want clients to have been saving regularly from income sources derived from the UK and these funds may need to be evidenced in a UK bank account.

We are specialists in this area and will be able to advise on your first telephone call to us as to whether you will fall foul of the regulations or whether we can provide an appropriate, lawful explanation to the lender, to accept the income coming in from abroad. We are typically successful in these circumstances.

Types of Visa

There are a number of visas issued in the UK. The Tier 1 visa, previously known as the High Skilled Migrant Visa is often granted to professionals or those with a skill-set in high demand. This allows the holder to work anywhere in the UK.

Tier 2 visas are usually employee sponsored visas and the rights under such an arrangement are more limited. In the event the holder was made redundant or was unemployed, the rights to reside in the UK expire as they are dependent on the employer effectively sponsoring the worker. It is not uncommon for those on Tier 2 visas to experience more difficulty in arranging finance and we are specialists in assisting Tier 2 visa holders.

We also find it is not uncommon for one partner to have a spousal visa or a dependent relative visa. These are also problematic as they are conditional upon the other partner maintaining visa rights and home loan lenders, when making a lending decision, have to build any uncertainty into their finance decision.

We have a particularly specialism for those on entrepreneurial visas and those who may have right to reside through an ancestry visa.

As UK experts in this area, whatever the type of visa you hold, you can be rest assured that we will likely have helped someone in similar circumstances. We use our relationship with the lender to talk through the full circumstances and position the application in order to obtain maximum success. In order to do this, you will need to assist us with full details of your employment, including not only your income, but also an up-to-date CV, your potential future career path and long term intentions to remain here in the UK.

As foreign national mortgage experts we have helped many clients achieve their goal of owning their own home. If you work and live here, we may be able to assist. Call us now to discuss your requirements or simply complete the online enquiry form and One of our specialist consultants, will make contact.