Getting A UK Mortgage With Foreign Income
If you are a British expat living and working overseas and you are paid in a non sterling currency, you may experience difficulty securing a mortgage on a UK investment property property or remortgaging with an existing lender. The positive news is that there are lender options for UK expats and foreign nationals when it comes to remortgaging or purchasing property in the UK. It is possible to get a UK mortgage from abroad using foreign currency or a combination of Sterling and a foreign currency, typically US Dollar or Euro.
Foreign currency mortgages are available
Despite the seemingly overly restrictive regulations and the influence they have over traditional lenders’ appetite for lending to those with foreign currency income, it is still possible to access the funds you need to purchase a property in the UK.
The lenders who are willing to provide mortgage of this type often work through specialist brokers (intermediaries). Therefore, if you require a UK expat mortgage or UK refinance, then it is advisable to contact a specialist expat and foreign national mortgage broker like Premier Expat Mortgages.
Proof of income
There are still lenders that are prepared to provide UK mortgages to those paid in foreign currency. One of the biggest hurdles that you will face in the application process for a foreign currency UK mortgage is providing proof of your income.
Documents Required
The documents that you have to provide will vary from lender to lender, however as a rule of thumb you should expect to require:
Your employer’s details
A number of months’ payslips
Information regarding the property you want to buy
Personal details including proof of address
A letter from an accountant and tax returns (if you are self employed)
Documents in foreign languages
The majority of lenders we work with will require the documents that you have to be written in English. However, there are some lenders that are willing to accept documents that are in a foreign language. Examples of this is if we use a Chinese bank to secure your mortgage and the client lives and works in China. The lender will have staff on hand that can read Chinese and so there will not be a need for the documents to be translated.
In the event that your documents are in a foreign language, you will have to have them translated into English. Unfortunately, even if you are fluent in said foreign language, the translated document must be done by a professional translator (with the appropriate credentials).
Once the lender has site of the original documents, translated documents and the translator’s credentials, the original documents can be returned.
UK mortgage for foreign nationals
The vast majority of lenders that offer mortgages to foreign nationals looking to get a mortgage in the UK are happy to lend but do thorough and stringent checks during the mortgage application process.
If you are an EU citizen foreign national, then you will need to meet the following criteria to secure permanent residency:
You have been resident in the EU for more than 3 years
You have a UK bank account
You have a permanent job in the UK
If you are an non EU citizen foreign national, then you will need:
to have a permanent job in the UK
a UK bank account
to have spent between 2 and 5 years in the UK, depending on your circumstances
