According to https://www.gov.uk/, 189,459 working visas and a further 180,257 family visas were granted in the year ending September 2019. This was a massive increase of nearly 20% from the previous year. That’s close to 400,000 people that have moved here looking to settle in 2019 alone! That means there are a lot of people in the UK, on visas looking to purchase property, yet this isn’t as straightforward as it should be. This may be in part to Brexit and fears that it may be more difficult to get a visa after we left Europe in January 2021.

Being on a visa certainly restricts the options available as many lenders require their Customers to have Permanent Right to Reside in order to offer a mortgage. For those that do offer Mortgages to people on Visas, the main issue facing people is time. These Lenders typically require you to have been residing in the country for a certain amount of time before offering a mortgage. Either this or they require a certain amount of time left on the Visa before they will lend.

You might also find the Loan to Value limit is restricted. Nationwide limit their mortgages to 75% loan to value if you don’t have indefinite leave to remain.

Here are a few key pointers for those thinking about purchasing a property in the UK whilst on a Visa:

Most lenders will only lend if you are on Tier 1 or 2 visa. These Visas hold a few subcategories.

Tier 1

  • Tier 1, Exceptional Talent.
  • Tier 1, Entrepreneur.
  • Tier 1, Investor.
  • Tier 1, General (highly skilled workers).
  • Tier 1, Graduate Entrepreneur

    Tier 2
  • Tier 2, General (persons that have been offered a skilled job)
  • Tier 2, Minister of Religion
  • Tier 2, Sportsperson
  • Tier 2, Intra-company Transfer.

More information on these can be found at https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration or https://www.immigrationdirect.co.uk/uk-visas/uk-tier-visa.jsp.

  • To keep options open you’ll typically need to have lived in the UK for 2 years or have at least 2 years remaining on your visa.

Other areas that can help are if you have a large deposit of 25% or more or have an income above £100,000.

It is important to note that the areas above are the requirements to keep your options open. If you don’t quite meet all of these requirements or any of them, it may still be possible. There is only one way to know for sure, contact an experienced Mortgage Broker…like us.

Next Steps

We are happy to talk through all the options with you, find the right lender, and manage the process for you all the way through.

If you are thinking about buying while on a visa then do give us a call on 01174 520 330. Our initial conversations usually last around 15 minutes.

Alternatively, you can email enquiry@lloydwellsmortgages.co.uk and let us know how we can help you.

We will discuss:

  • How much you can borrow
  • What that will cost
  • What fees can you expect
  • How Lloyd Wells Mortgages work
  • What insurances you will need
  • What documentation you will need to provide
  • Next steps

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.