fbpx

Mortgage Advice Experts

Menu
  • Home
  • Videos
  • Mortgage Calculators
  • Residential
    • Mortgage Deals
    • First Time Buyer
    • Remortgage
    • Right to Buy Mortgage
    • Bad Credit Mortgage
    • Self Employed
    • High Income Multiple
    • Help To Buy Mortgage
    • Gifted Deposit
    • Foreign Nationals
    • Debt Consolidation
    • Equity Release
    • Close
  • Buy to Let
    • Buy to Let Mortgage Deals
    • Buy to Let Tips
    • BTL 80% Loan to value
    • Buy to let Remortgage
    • Let to Buy
    • HMOs
    • Buy to Let with Bad Credit
    • Limited Company
    • Portfolios
    • Holiday Lets
    • Ex Pats
    • Rent to Family Memeber
    • DSS Tenants
    • Into Retirement
    • Foreign Nationals
    • Inherited Property
    • Close
  • Bridging Loans
    • Commercial Mortgage Tips
    • Bridging Loans Explained
    • Why use Bridging Finance
    • Bridging Finance Rates
    • Auction Finance
    • Auction Finance Rates
    • Non Standard Commercials
    • Development Finance
    • Close
  • Protection
    • Will Writing Service
    • Probate Services
    • Close
  • Testimonials
  • About Us
    • Why Niche Advice
    • Our Fees
    • Testimonials
    • Blog
    • Join our Team
    • Privacy Notice
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Close
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Mortgages / Foreign National Mortgage / Buying a UK home with a Mortgage as a refugee

by Payam Azadi

Buying a UK home with a Mortgage as a refugee

What you need to know about getting a Mortgage as a refugee.

In this article, we look at buying a home as a refugee in the UK with particular reference of using a mortgage to finance the purchase. It is not aimed at asylum seekers but could still be read as a future goal.

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) there are about 124,000 refugees in the UK, which makes us fairly accepting of this complex humanitarian issue. We are neither the most welcoming or the worse. However, if you are reading this no doubt you have experienced the difficulty of the entry system and now you are here homeownership with the use of a mortgage is another tough barrier to the outcome.

I am a professional Mortgage Broker and before I launch into your eligibility for a mortgage let me explain the dynamics of the mortgage market here in the UK which is quite different from the rest of Europe and the world.

Entrenched into our culture is the quest for owing your own home. So much so Mortgage Lenders have stepped into the high loan to value mortgage lending to meet with demand. Whilst most of the world sit at a minimum of twenty five percent deposit there are mortgages available with as little as five or ten percent for what the Mortgage Lenders see as the customers they want to attract.

In general Visa cases sit still with the twenty five percent requirement so in, essence, the same as other countries but at a distinct disadvantage to the indigenous population. This rule may be reversed, depending on the individual Mortgage Lenders policy if you are looking to make a joint mortgage application with someone who you plan to live with, who has permanent rights to reside – then in this instance ten percent deposit may be achievable.

Mortgages Lenders look at your earnings in relation to borrowing levels. As a guide it is typically 4 to 5 times your annual wage. If you are on a daily rate contract a typical formula would be 5 x daily rate x 46 weeks (allowing for a holiday period out of a full year). As a refugee it is likely you will have needed to be in the UK for 12 months before being permitted to work, and to compound the problem the Mortgage Lenders are likely to want at least 6 months UK employment track record and likely to be 12 months. The net result being your time in the UK will typically need to be 18 to 24 months before a mortgage is a possibility if you are buying on your own. Its even longer if you are self employed as two full years accounts will be required.

The other main consideration is the availability of documents to evidence your deposit if the funds derive from your originating country to satisfy international money laundering requirements. Guidance on this should be able to be provided on this matter by your professional Mortgage Broker should they be accustomed to the Visa mortgage market, such as Niche Advice.

If you already have a UK mortgage, remortgages still follow the same processes and requirements so switching rates will mean a small pool of Mortgage Lenders to go at so its vital to seek professional help as to not pay over the odds.

Lastly, Buy to lets are also open to refugees provided you have an existing UK property.

Mortgage as a refugee.

We can help you get a Mortgage as a refugee. We really do know our stuff

Get in touch
Payam Azadi

Author: Payam Azadi

Payam Azadi is a partner at Niche Advice who are whole of the market Independent Mortgage Brokers. His role is very much focused on Property financing both on residential and commercial lines. To get in contact with him please click here.
Twitter Facebook Linkedin

Filed Under: Foreign National Mortgage

Proud to be sponsors

Watch our video on Getting the maximum mortgage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywIi32kxUPQ
visa mortgages

Contact Us

Our Fees

Why Niche Advice

Mortgage Deals

Tools / Calculators

Latest News / Blog

Payam Azadi

UK Mortgage for Asylum Seekers on a Refugee Visa

Asylum seekers on a refugee visa Mortgage options from the Experts This article is aimed at mortgages for Asylum seekers on a Refugees Visa who are in the UK and are looking to buy a property. The World is sadly divided with conflicts in Syria, … [Read More...]

10% deposit Mortgage for Foreign Nationals with a Visa December 2020

Buy To Let Foreign Nationals Tier 1 Tier 2 Visa

Mortgages for EU Nationals now Brexit has taken place.

Mortgage guide for foreign nationals on visas

Buy to Let Mortgage On A Visa

AS A MORTGAGE IS SECURED AGAINST YOUR HOME OR PROPERTY, IT COULD BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP THE MORTGAGE REPAYMENTS.

If you are thinking of consolidating existing borrowing you should be aware that you may be extending the terms of the debt and increasing the total amount you repay.

Niche Advice Limited is a Credit Broker and does not lend money directly to clients. Niche Advice Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA Number: 750263.

Commercial Buy-to-Let and commercial mortgages are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Our Fees

Click here for our fees structure. A full detailed fee plan will accompany all our quotes.

Niche Advice Limited has a commercial arrangement under an affiliate programme with Check My File and is remunerated for referrals.

Terms and Conditions

If you wish to register a complaint, please write to us on the details below or call us on: 020 7993 2044.

Correspondence Address: Niche, Unit F6, The Addington Business Centre, Vulcan Way, New Addington, Surrey CR0 9UG.

A summary of our internal complaints handling procedures for the reasonable and prompt handling of complaints is available on request and if you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or by contacting them on 0800 0234567.

Site Terms and Conditions
Customer Privacy Notice

niche youtube

CONTACT NICHE ADVICE
Tel: 020 7993 2044

Registered Office: Niche, Unit F3, The Addington Business Centre, Vulcan Way, New Addington, Surrey CR0 9UG. Registered in England & Wales. Company registration number: 06599033.

Members of The Financial Intermediary & Broker Association - Number SBS36389

logo

© 2022 · Niche Advice Limited · Site Designed by Niche Advice Design Team

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}