Can you get a home loan on a partner visa?

The four partner visas

Home Affairs describes two pathways, one applied for in Australia and one applied for outside Australia.

Your grant letter and VEVO show the conditions on your 820 or 309. If your substantive visa ends while the 820 application is processed, a bridging visa A may apply, which Home Affairs describes as letting you stay in Australia after your current substantive visa ceases. A lender will see that as a different case, covered in the bridging visa guide.

Home Affairs says a holder of a temporary partner visa (309 or 820) is eligible for assessment of the permanent visa two years after applying for the temporary one. It says it may prioritise an application involving special circumstances of a compassionate nature, though a request does not ensure higher priority.

What brokers say lenders do

Two brokers describe the lending side. Neither speaks for a lender.

• One says that with some lenders, up to 95% is possible when the citizen or permanent resident spouse is the sole owner and both spouses are on the loan. It warns against assuming the same limit applies if both want to own the home.
• The other says a loan of up to 95% may be possible with a citizen or permanent resident partner, but not in every situation. It adds that a loan relying heavily on the temporary visa holder's income may get more scrutiny than one the citizen or permanent resident could service alone.
• In the first broker's table of ten lenders (records dated 30 July 2026), one lender lends up to 95% on a joint application where both applicants live in Australia. Another excludes loans that need the temporary resident's income or rely mainly on it. A third lists a partner visa holder applying with a permanent resident spouse, with the exact visa to be checked.

On a $600,000 purchase, the 95% both brokers mention and two lower loan sizes for comparison look like this:

A broker says that above 80% you will usually pay lenders mortgage insurance, and that the lender's treatment of the premium changes the cash you need. Stamp duty, any state surcharge and legal costs are extra. See costs of buying.

Title and loan are separate decisions

The title records who owns the home. The loan records who must repay it. The options brokers and Treasury describe are:

• Joint tenants. Treasury's residential real estate page lists joint tenants buying with an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen spouse as not needing to apply.
• Citizen or permanent resident as sole owner, both spouses borrowing. One broker says some lenders accept this and check that the spouse not on title benefits from the arrangement. That spouse can owe the debt without owning the home, so independent legal advice on their rights matters.
• Tenants in common. Treasury's page does not list it. Both brokers warn against assuming the exemption carries over, so ask a solicitor.

A lender accepting a structure does not settle the legal, duty or tax questions. A solicitor or conveyancer is the person to ask, and see questions to ask a mortgage broker.

What you can buy

A temporary resident is a foreign person for foreign investment purposes. From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 the policy is that foreign persons are generally banned from buying established dwellings, with limited exceptions. New dwellings and vacant land remain possible with approval, and the 2026-27 application fee is $15,600 for a new dwelling or vacant residential land priced from $75,000 to $1 million.

One broker says a couple may be able to buy an established home together without foreign investment approval as joint tenants, and that no separate application or fee is needed if the exemption applies. The other lists the exemption and the ban separately and does not say how they interact, and Treasury's page does not mention the ban, so ask a solicitor how they fit together for your purchase. Treasury's guidance says permanent visa holders do not need approval to buy residential property, which changes the position once an 801 or 100 is granted.

State surcharges are a separate test

Being exempt from federal approval does not decide the state surcharge. The two states checked for this guide treat partner visa holders differently.

• NSW. Revenue NSW (page updated 27 May 2026) says a holder of a 309 or 820 is not treated as a foreign person for the surcharge if they have been in Australia at least 200 days in the 12 months before the liability date, generally the contract date. A second route applies to someone buying as an individual and living in the home as their principal place of residence for at least 200 continuous days within 12 months of the contract, on conditions Revenue NSW sets.
• Queensland. The Queensland Revenue Office page (last updated September 2024) defines a foreign individual as someone who is not a citizen or permanent resident, and says a permanent resident holds a permanent visa. Ask the office or a solicitor how additional foreign acquirer duty applies to your share.

Other states have their own rules. The temporary visa page has the state table, and the sister guide on stamp duty surcharges covers the foreign buyer side.

Frequently asked questions

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.