Mortgage Porting for Expats
If your existing UK mortgage is on genuinely good terms – a low fixed rate arranged before rates moved, favourable conditions you’d struggle to get again – the last thing you want is to lose it just because you’re moving to a new property. Porting lets you carry your existing deal across to the new purchase, subject to the new property and your circumstances still meeting the lender’s criteria.
We’ve helped expat clients navigate porting since 2008, checking whether it genuinely makes sense compared with simply remortgaging elsewhere.
What porting actually involves
- Your existing lender reassesses you and the new property as though it were a fresh application, even though you’re keeping the same rate
- If the new property costs more, you’ll typically need additional borrowing on top, often at a different rate than your ported portion
- Timing matters – the sale of your old property and purchase of the new one usually need to complete simultaneously for porting to work cleanly
When porting isn’t the better option
Sometimes remortgaging elsewhere genuinely works out better, particularly if rates have moved favourably since you took out your original mortgage, or if your existing lender simply won’t consider expat applicants for porting even though your rate is attractive. We’ll compare both routes properly rather than assuming porting is automatically the right call just because it preserves your rate. Our Expat Residential Remortgage page covers that alternative route in more detail.
Our fees
£295 application fee, 1% completion fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my lender automatically let me port as an expat?
Not automatically – it depends on your specific lender’s policy toward expat applicants, which is exactly what we check first.
What happens if I need to borrow more than my current mortgage?
The additional amount is usually arranged as a separate part of the loan, often on a different rate to your ported portion.
Do I lose my rate if the timing doesn’t line up exactly?
Most lenders require the sale and purchase to complete around the same time – delays can jeopardise porting, so timing needs careful management.
Are there early repayment charges if porting falls through?
Potentially, depending on your mortgage terms, which is another reason to have a backup plan in place before relying solely on porting.
How do I know if porting or remortgaging is better for me?
We’ll compare both options against your specific numbers rather than assuming one is automatically right.
Get in touch with details of your existing mortgage and the property you’re moving to, and we’ll check whether porting is genuinely on the table.
