If you are a foreign national who has moved to the UK, you may be wondering whether you can get a mortgage on a Tier 2 or skilled worker visa. You can, and more easily than most people realise.
Most guides on this subject will tell you that a foreign national on a visa needs a large deposit. Our own records show otherwise. Across 71 mortgage applications for clients on visas, half of the first-time buyers borrowed 85% or more of the property value, which is a deposit of 15% or less. 12 borrowed 90% or more.
Your nationality does not make a difference either. We have helped clients from 15 countries, including India, Nigeria, the United States and Turkey. What really determines your application is:
- your visa type
- the time left on your visa
- your income
- your credit history
- and whether you apply alone or with someone else
Who this guide is for: anyone living and working in the UK on a skilled worker visa, a Tier 2 visa, a spousal visa or a Tier 1 visa, who wants to buy a home here. Twenty-nine of the thirty-eight clients we placed were first-time buyers.
This guide covers the deposit you are likely to need, which mortgage lenders accept visa holders, what usually goes wrong, how long it takes, the documents you will need, and when a mortgage broker is worth using.
Who this is not for: anyone living outside the UK who wants to buy a UK property. That is non-resident lending, and it works differently, so speak to a mortgage broker who covers it, and we will point you in the right direction.
YesCanDo are a fee-free mortgage broker, so getting a UK mortgage through us costs you nothing.
Is a Tier 2 visa the same as a skilled worker visa?
Yes. The ‘Tier 2 Visa’ was replaced by the ‘Skilled Worker Visa’ in December 2020, and the two names describe the same route into UK employment. Mortgage lenders and their criteria documents still use both.
If you hold what you think of as a Tier 2 visa, everything on this page applies to you.
Can you get a mortgage on a skilled worker visa?
You do not need indefinite leave to remain, you do not need five years of UK residency, and you do not need a specialist mortgage lender.
All figures on this page come from 71 mortgage applications for visa holders arranged by YesCanDo Money. The lender and deposit figures below are drawn from 38 of those cases. Sixty-five of the applications were made in 2025 and 2026, so they reflect current lending rather than historical policy.
How much deposit do you need on a skilled worker visa?
Less than you have probably been told, and it depends heavily on whether you already own a home.
Here is what our own visa-holding clients actually put down as a deposit.
| Deposit | Amount borrowed | Clients |
|---|---|---|
| 10% or less | 90% or more of the property value | 12 |
| 10% to 15% | 85% to 90% | 5 |
| 15% to 25% | 75% to 85% | 8 |
| 25% or more | 75% or less | 13 |
Of the 38 clients, 17 secured their mortgage with a deposit of 15% or less, while 13 put down 25% or more. The section below explains who typically falls into that second group, and why.
Why home movers need a larger deposit than first-time buyers
This is the pattern our mortgage advisers see most consistently, though you would have to dig through several lenders’ criteria to spot it.
“Most first-time buyers on a visa will be fine with a 10% deposit, subject to criteria. Anyone who is not a first-time buyer, or who has owned a property before, usually needs at least 25%.”
Grant Humphries, one of our senior mortgage advisers
A second mortgage adviser agreed, and added a detail worth knowing: it is first-time buyer status that matters, not whether you currently own. If you have owned a property before, here or anywhere else, you are likely to need the larger deposit.
Our own cases bear that out almost exactly. Our first-time buyers typically borrowed 85% of the property value, and twelve of the twenty-nine borrowed 90% or more. Our home movers and landlords typically borrowed 73.5%, which is a deposit of just over 26%.
Does owning a property abroad affect first-time buyer status?
Yes, and this catches people out more than anything else on this page. If you have owned a property abroad, you are not considered a first-time buyer in the UK.
A first-time buyer, as HMRC defines it, is someone who has never held a major interest in a residential property anywhere in the world. A flat in Mumbai, an inherited share of a family home in Lagos, a holiday apartment in Portugal. All of it counts, whether you still own the property or sold it fifteen years ago, and the status never resets.
Two things follow, and both cost money:
- You will need the larger deposit, because most mortgage lenders will not treat you as a first-time buyer either.
- You will not get first-time buyer stamp duty relief, which on a £300,000 purchase will cost several thousand pounds.
If you still own the overseas property when you complete, you will usually pay the higher rate of stamp duty that applies to additional properties, on top of the standard rate. Your solicitor can confirm the position, and the timing of any sale abroad can change it.
None of this stops you buying. It changes what you should budget for, which is why it is worth raising at the start rather than three weeks before completion.
What do mortgage lenders actually check?
Three things decide most applications, and none of them is your nationality. Lender criteria vary widely on all three, which is why the same person can be declined by one mortgage lender and offered 90% by another.
Time remaining on your visa. Less than the guidance suggests, and the type of skilled worker visa does not change it. A Health and Care Worker visa is assessed the same way as a standard skilled worker visa. Seventeen of the thirty-six clients we placed had under two years remaining, and six had under one year. What matters more than the months left is whether the mortgage lender believes your employment will continue, and a settled job with an established sponsor reads very differently to an underwriter than a visa about to expire with no renewal in progress.
How long you have lived in the UK. Many mortgage lenders want three years of address history, and some want more. Our clients had typically lived here for four years, and four of the clients we placed had been in the UK for less than three years.
Some mortgage lenders set that requirement aside entirely. Halifax will consider a non-UK national without proof of permanent right to reside if the applicant is borrowing 75% or less, or meets an income threshold, currently an annual income of £50,000 individually where at least one applicant has been living in the UK a year or more. That rule is how we placed a client who had been here less than a year.
Your UK credit history, which is the thing most likely to cause a problem and is covered next.
The problem nobody warns you about: UK credit history
If your application is going to run into trouble, this is the most likely reason.
Someone who moved to the UK three years ago will usually have a thin credit file. Not bad credit, a thin file. No long borrowing record, possibly no electoral roll registration, and a credit score that reflects a short history rather than poor conduct. Mortgage lenders read that as risk, and one of our own applications was declined by Halifax on credit score alone.
Do you need a high credit score?
Less than you might think. A good credit history matters more than chasing a high credit score, and the more common problem is a short record rather than a poor one. A mortgage lender can work with a modest score built over four years far more easily than a perfect score built over eight months.
Four things can strengthen your mortgage approval, and each takes time to build, so it is worth starting well before you apply:
- Register on the electoral roll at your current address if you are eligible. It is the quickest improvement available.
- Open and use a UK bank account and a UK credit card, clearing the balance each month.
- Keep your address history consistent across your bank, your employer and any credit agreements.
- Check your credit report before you apply rather than after, because errors are common and easier to correct in advance. Our guide to checking your credit file explains how.
What about settled status, pre-settled status and British National Overseas?
These are not visas in the working sense, and most lenders treat them separately.
Settled status or indefinite leave to remain puts you close to the position of a UK citizen, and most mortgage lenders will consider you on standard criteria. Pre-settled status is treated more like a visa, because it is time-limited, so your application is assessed on time in the UK, employment, deposit and credit history. British National Overseas status is accepted by a smaller group of mortgage lenders, often with additional conditions.
If you expect settled status in the next year or two, you can usually switch to a better mortgage rate once you have it.
Can you get a mortgage with pre-settled status?
Yes, and it is usually easier than a work visa. Pre-settled status is time-limited, so mortgage lenders assess it much as they assess a visa: how long you have been in the UK, your employment, your deposit and your credit history.
The difference is that pre-settled status carries a route to settled status, and mortgage lenders know it. Our clients with pre-settled status were treated more favourably than those on Tier 2 visas.
If your five years is close, it is worth knowing that you can usually switch to a better mortgage rate once settled status comes through. That can make a two-year fixed rate a better fit than a five-year one.
Applying jointly with UK citizens or settled status holders
It helps considerably, and our figures show it. Our clients on spousal visas typically borrowed 90% of the property value, against 82.6% for clients on Tier 2 visas.
Applying jointly with a British citizen, or with anyone who holds settled status, gives the mortgage lender an applicant with full residency rights and usually a longer UK credit history. Your partner will still need to evidence their own address history and identity, and your joint income is what the affordability calculation uses.
Which mortgage lenders accept foreign nationals on skilled worker visas?
This is where our own records contradict almost everything written about visa mortgages. You probably do not need a specialist mortgage lender. Every one of those 38 cases went to a high street name or a building society.
Here is where those cases went, and why.
| Mortgage lender | Cases | What our records show |
|---|---|---|
| Barclays | 14 | Named repeatedly by our advisers as the mortgage lender that could work with a client’s visa status and affordability together when others could not. |
| Halifax | 10 | Sets aside its foreign national requirements for applicants who meet an income threshold. Five of our clients borrowed 90% or more, and one case was accepted on a single year of tax returns. |
| HSBC | 3 | Chosen on the combination of Tier 2 visa, time in the UK and the amount being borrowed. Our cases sat at around 85%. |
| Principality Building Society | 2 | Placed the only application in our records at 95% of the property value, on a Tier 2 visa. |
| Santander | 2 | Both cases had deposits above 25%. |
| Nationwide | 2 | No visa-specific reasoning recorded. |
| Skipton, NatWest, Virgin Money, BM Solutions, Accord | 1 each | Individual cases with no visa-specific reasoning recorded. |
When asked which lenders work best for clients on visas, our advisers most often recommend Barclays, Skipton Building Society and Santander. For clients looking to borrow more than 90% of the property’s value, Halifax and Principality Building Society are also worth considering.
What the mortgage lenders publish
The Halifax, NatWest and Principality entries come from those mortgage lenders’ own intermediary sites, and the Barclays entry from our own advisers. The rest are from published summaries and should be treated as a guide.
| Mortgage lender | Where they stand on visa holders |
|---|---|
| Halifax | Considers non-UK nationals up to 95% of the property value. No proof of permanent right to reside needed if you have lived in the UK more than five years, or are borrowing 75% or less, or meet the income requirement: £50,000 individually or £75,000 jointly with a year or more in the UK, rising to £75,000 or £100,000 with less than a year. |
| NatWest | At least six months remaining on the visa. Without permanent right to reside, borrowing is capped at 75% on a repayment basis only, and the deposit must come from your own resources. British National Overseas visas are treated as not having permanent right to reside. |
| Barclays | No minimum income and no minimum time remaining on the visa. Two years of UK residency opens up a 10% deposit. Barclays took more of our cases than any other mortgage lender. |
| Skipton Building Society | Deposits from 10%, but wants at least two years remaining on the visa. |
| Santander | Accepts most visa types. Our advisers place cases at 10% deposit subject to criteria, although published summaries often quote 25% for sole visa applications. |
| Principality Building Society | Up to 95% of the property value for both EEA and non-EEA applicants. Non-EEA applicants need two years of UK residency, subject to passing a credit score, and only 12 months remaining on the visa. That visa requirement is among the shortest of any mortgage lender here. |
| HSBC | Up to 85%. Standard criteria for settled, pre-settled and indefinite leave to remain, and a separate route for sole visa holders needing 12 months in the UK or income above £75,000, with a 15% deposit from your own funds. |
| Nationwide | Up to 85% for applicants without indefinite leave to remain, with an income threshold above 75%. |
Lending rules for foreign nationals change more often than most, so it is worth asking us what a mortgage lender’s position is today rather than relying on anything written down, this page included.
Client case study: We searched 343 mortgages, and found one that could lend
Charlotte Williams, one of our mortgage advisers, explains how she found a lender for two first-time buyers on Tier 2 visas.
The situation. My clients were first-time buyers on Tier 2 visas, buying a house for £147,000 with a £17,000 deposit from savings. That is a little over 88% of the property value, so the amount they were borrowing was already at the higher end of what a mortgage lender would consider on a visa.
What I did. I searched the whole market, which returned 343 products, and Barclays came out at position 39.
That sounds like a poor result until you look at why. The thirty-eight products ahead of Barclays were cheaper, but not one of those mortgage lenders would lend my clients the amount they needed on their visa status. Barclays was the only mortgage lender able to work with both the visa and the affordability at once, and the cheapest option that cannot lend is worth nothing.
The outcome. Barclays issued the mortgage offer 15 days after the application, and the purchase completed.
Not sure which mortgage lenders will consider you? Tell us your visa type, your deposit and how long you have been in the UK, and we will tell you where you stand. Speak to an adviser
Why do visa mortgage applications fall through?
We looked at every one of our visa applications that did not complete. Of the fifteen where a reason was recorded, only one was about the client’s visa or residency status.
Here is what stopped the other fourteen.
- Something about the property, in five cases. A mortgage lender wanting a cladding safety certificate on a flat. A ground rent the lender would not accept. A valuation that came back lower than the agreed price.
- The client changed their mind, in four cases. Buyers withdrawing from a property or finding a different one part-way through.
- The mortgage lender declined the applicant, in two cases. One was on credit score, and one was where the lender could not verify the income and employment details to its satisfaction.
- The deposit fell short, in one case. The client had 15% and needed more for that particular mortgage lender, so we looked at 10% mortgage options elsewhere.
- Two were administrative, where the case was replaced rather than lost.
- And the one visa-related case. The lender declined on residency status, but the property had also been down-valued, so the visa was not the only problem.
That is worth knowing if you are worried about your visa being the thing that stops you. Overwhelmingly, it is not.
How long does a visa mortgage take?
About as long as any other mortgage. Half our applications received a mortgage offer within seven days, twelve were offered on the same day, and the slowest took 41 days.
Being on a visa does not slow the mortgage process down. Delays come from applying to the wrong mortgage lender, because a decline on visa status means starting again somewhere else.
What documents will you need?
The usual mortgage documents, plus evidence of your right to live and work here: your passport and visa or biometric residence permit showing the expiry date, three months of payslips and bank statements, your employment contract, three years of address history, and evidence of your deposit.
If any of your deposit is a gift, particularly from family overseas, you will need a gift letter confirming it is a gift rather than a loan. Having that ready at the start avoids a delay later.
Common questions
Below are the questions we are asked most often about visa mortgages.
Can I get a mortgage with less than a year left on my visa?
Yes. Six of the clients we placed had under a year remaining.
Our advisers make a useful point here: if you are near the end of your visa, there is a good chance you have already been in the UK for more than five years, which puts Halifax’s standard criteria within reach. If you have not, Barclays has no minimum time remaining on the visa at all.
Do I need indefinite leave to remain?
No. None of our clients on skilled worker or Tier 2 visas had indefinite leave to remain, and they were placed with high street mortgage lenders.
What is the minimum deposit for a skilled worker visa mortgage?
Some mortgage lenders will consider 10%, and in one of our cases a client borrowed 95% of the property value. A larger deposit gives you more choice and better mortgage rates, but 25% is not the requirement it is often described as.
Does my nationality affect my application?
Not directly. Our clients have come from 15 countries, including India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the United States, Nepal and Turkey, and their nationality made no difference to what they could borrow. What matters is your visa type, how long you have been in the UK, your deposit and your income.
Does my visa type change which mortgage lenders will consider me?
Yes, more than most other factors. A spousal visa is treated more favourably than a skilled worker visa, and pre-settled status more favourably again. Our clients on spousal visas typically borrowed 90% of the property value, against 82.6% for those on Tier 2 visas.
Is a Health and Care Worker visa treated differently?
No. Some mortgage lenders name it separately in their criteria, but in practice it is assessed the same way as a skilled worker visa.
Can I get a buy-to-let mortgage on a visa?
Yes, though the choice is narrower than for a residential mortgage. Three of our visa clients were buy-to-let investors, and we have also handled remortgages for visa holders who already own a home here.
Do I need a specialist lender?
Almost certainly not. Every one of the 38 cases we looked at went to a high street mortgage lender or a building society, not to a specialist lender.
How YesCanDo Money can help
The mortgage lenders who publish the friendliest foreign national criteria are not always the ones who lend, and the ones who will lend do not always advertise it.
We work out which mortgage lenders will consider your visa type, your time in the UK and your deposit before an application is submitted, rather than after one has been declined. Where a mortgage lender applies a rule that sets aside its usual foreign national criteria, we will know about it.
Our mortgage advice is free. We are paid by the mortgage lender on completion, so there is no fee to you. We are a family-run, fee-free, experienced mortgage broker, with over 2,400 client reviews averaging 4.9 out of 5.
