Guides

Home loans by visa

What lenders ask of people on each type of temporary and provisional visa, and what changes when permanent residency comes through.

• Can you still get a home loan on a 457 visa?The 457 visa is closed to new applicants. What brokers say lenders do with it now, how it relates to the 482 and 186 visas, and which older advice is out of date.
• Can you get a home loan on a 482 visa?Skills in Demand (482) visa holders can apply for an Australian home loan, but lender limits vary. Visa term, sponsor and foreign buyer rules explained.
• Can you get a home loan on a 485 graduate visa?Brokers record the 485 Temporary Graduate visa as unacceptable to some lenders. The two streams, foreign buyer limits and a cost example as at October 2026.
• Can you get a home loan on a 489 visa?The 489 is an older regional visa, separate from the 491. What lenders say about 489 holders, which Home Affairs pages cover the 887 and 191, and what you can buy.
• Can you get a home loan on a 491 visa?A 491 visa holder can apply for an Australian home loan, but lenders set their own limits and foreign buyer rules shape what you can buy. Checked October 2026.
• Can you get a home loan on a 494 visa?What lenders look at for a 494 visa holder, how the regional employer link and the path to the 191 visa fit in, and what you can buy. Checked October 2026.
• Can you get a home loan on a bridging visa?One broker says most mainstream banks decline bridging visa holders, while another reports lending up to 80%. What A, B, C and E mean and what you can buy.
• What first home buyer help can visa holders get in Australia?Which first home grants, duty concessions and federal schemes need citizenship or permanent residency, and what temporary visa holders can claim, by state.
• How much deposit do you need for a home loan as a temporary resident?How much deposit a temporary resident may need: published maximum LVRs from 70% to 95%, what they cost in dollars, and where mortgage insurance fits.
• Can a new migrant get a home loan in Australia?What recent arrivals need for an Australian home loan: visa evidence, income documents, credit file and deposit, with what lenders and official sources say.
• Can you get a home loan while waiting for permanent residency?What lenders, FIRB, state duty surcharges and the 5% Deposit Scheme say about buying while a PR application is pending, and what changes at grant.
• How long do you need to work in Australia before you can get a home loan?No official rule sets a minimum time in the job. What lender pages and brokers say about probation, casual work and months on the payroll for visa holders.
• Can a New Zealand citizen get a home loan in Australia?How lenders, FIRB, state duty surcharges and first home buyer schemes treat New Zealand citizens on a Special Category (444) visa. Checked October 2026.
• Can you get a home loan on a partner visa?Some lenders accept 820 and 309 partner visa holders, and a citizen or PR spouse can widen the options. Title, FIRB and surcharge rules as at October 2026.
• Can you get a home loan on a student visa?Whether a student visa holder can get an Australian home loan depends on the lender, and foreign buyer rules limit what you can buy. Checked October 2026.
• Can you get a home loan on a working holiday visa?No lender or broker page reviewed lists the 417 or 462 working holiday visa as accepted. What the visa allows, the foreign buyer limits and what to ask.

Australians living overseas

Keeping, refinancing and buying with an Australian home loan while you live abroad, and coming home again.

• Buying an investment property in Australia from overseas: citizens abroad and foreign buyersCan you buy an Australian investment property from overseas? What changes for citizens abroad and foreign nationals: FIRB, lending, land tax and tax on rent.
• Australian expat first home buyer: which grants and schemes can you use?Can an Australian expat use first home grants and schemes? What federal, NSW and Queensland pages say on citizenship, moving in and overseas homes.
• Moving overseas with an Australian mortgage: what to tell your lenderWhat three major lenders' published loan terms ask you to report when you move abroad, how renting out the home can affect your loan, and where tax comes in.
• Refinancing an Australian home loan while overseasCan you refinance an Australian mortgage from overseas? It turns on the new lender's residency rules, the costs of switching and your income documents.
• Returning to Australia: getting a home loan as a returning expatComing home as an expat? What published lender checklists say about new-job payslips, foreign income and savings held overseas, plus the ATO basics.

Lenders and expat loans

What the big banks and others publish about lending to expats and non-residents.

• ANZ home loan for Australians living overseas: what ANZ publishesANZ publishes no expat home loan, and its online application asks for primary income in Australian dollars. What its pages say, as at October 2026.
• Commonwealth Bank expat home loan: what CBA publishesCBA has no separate expat home loan, but its 2026 target market determinations name citizens and PRs living overseas. What they say and what they leave out.
• Macquarie Bank home loan for expats: what Macquarie publishesMacquarie publishes no expat home loan. Its online page asks for tax residents living in Australia, and its broker guidelines require an Australian address.
• NAB home loan for Australians living overseas: what NAB publishesNAB says its home loans are not available to applicants who reside overseas, whatever their citizenship. What its pages and forms say, October 2026.
• Westpac home loan for Australians living overseas: what Westpac publishesWestpac publishes no expat home loan, and its pages say residential lending is not available to Non-Australian Resident borrowers. As at October 2026.
• Which lenders lend to Australian expats and non-residents?No list of expat lenders is complete. See what five major lenders publish about overseas borrowers as at October 2026, and how to check any other lender.

Documents, money and process

Powers of attorney, signing from abroad, moving money, proving foreign income and the other practical steps.

• Australian credit score and credit file for expats and new arrivalsHow an Australian credit file is built, what happens to it when you leave or arrive, how long items stay on it and how to check it, per the OAIC and Equifax.
• Buying off the plan in Australia from overseasHow buying off the plan works from overseas: FIRB developer certificates, NSW buyer protections, finance and valuation at settlement, and surcharge timing.
• How lenders assess foreign income for an Australian home loanHow lenders turn overseas pay into a borrowing figure: conversion, shading, bonuses, tax rates, debts and proof, with a worked example of the arithmetic.
• How long an expat home loan takes, step by stepOfficial timeframes for each step of buying from overseas: pre-approval, FIRB, cooling-off and settlement, plus what brokers claim and what slows things down.
• Lenders mortgage insurance for non-residents and expatsHow lenders mortgage insurance works, what insurers publish about residency, and what brokers report about loan limits for expats and foreign nationals.
• Power of attorney for buying Australian property from overseasWhat a power of attorney does in an Australian property purchase, how it is signed and witnessed from overseas, and what land titles offices and lenders say.
• Sending money to Australia for a property depositHow overseas buyers move a deposit to Australia: banks versus transfer businesses, exchange-rate timing around settlement, source-of-funds records and scams.
• Signing a contract and settling on an Australian property from overseasHow overseas buyers sign an Australian property contract, what cooling-off applies by state, and how identity checks and electronic settlement work.
• Stamp duty for expats and non-residents buying in AustraliaForeign buyer surcharges of 7% to 9% by state, how concessions tied to living in the home work, and when your status is tested, with a Victorian example.
• Translating and certifying overseas documents for an Australian home loanWhat a certified copy, witnessing, an apostille and a NAATI translation each mean for an Australian home loan from overseas, and what lenders publish.

Tax on Australian property from overseas

Residency, rates, rental income, capital gains and the clearance certificate, explained from ATO sources.

• Australian tax residency tests explained: are you a resident or a foreign resident?The four ATO residency tests (resides, domicile, 183-day, super) in plain terms, with the ATO's examples of Australians who moved abroad and its free tool.
• Do Australian expats pay the foreign buyer stamp duty and land tax surcharges?Australian citizens living overseas are not foreign persons under the state surcharge definitions checked. State rates, NSW rules for PRs and trusts.
• Double tax agreements and Australian property: how treaties treat rent and sale gainsHow Australia's tax treaties treat rent and sale gains on property, the foreign income tax offset, which countries are listed and what to check for yours.
• Foreign resident tax rates for 2026-27: what the ATO charges non-residentsForeign resident tax rates for 2026-27: 30% to $135,000, 37% to $190,000, 45% above, with no tax-free threshold or Medicare levy. ATO figures and examples.
• HECS-HELP repayments when living overseas: what the ATO requires and what it means for a home loanHELP debts do not stop when you move abroad. The 183-day rule, 7-day notice, worldwide income, 2026-27 thresholds and how HELP debt can affect a home loan.
• Main residence exemption for expats and foreign residents: what the ATO rules sayForeign residents generally cannot claim the CGT main residence exemption on sales after 30 June 2020. The dates, life events test and 6-year rule explained.
• Selling an Australian property from overseas: the clearance certificate and 15% withholdingHow 15% capital gains withholding works when you sell from overseas, who can get an ATO clearance certificate, and what foreign residents can do instead.
• Tax deductions for non-resident landlords: what you can and cannot claimWhich rental expenses a landlord living overseas can claim in Australia, what the ATO rules out (travel, second-hand assets), how losses work and records.
• Tax for Australian expats: what the ATO expects while you live overseasHow the ATO taxes Australians living overseas: residency, foreign income, rent, property sales, HELP debts, super and filing from abroad, as at October 2026.
• Tax on rental income for non-resident landlords: how the ATO treats rent from AustraliaHow the ATO taxes rent from an Australian property when you live overseas: 30% from the first dollar, who declares what, losses, lodging and records.

Expat Finance is an independent guide. It is not a lender, mortgage broker or credit provider, it does not hold an Australian credit licence, and it does not give credit, legal, tax or migration advice. It is not affiliated with any bank, the ATO or the Foreign Investment Review Board. General information only, not legal, tax, migration or financial advice.