Money
Mortgages and buying property abroad
What happens to your UK mortgage when you move, which UK lenders will lend to you once you live abroad, the stamp duty surcharge for non-residents, what foreigners can buy and pay in 15 popular countries, and brokers compared from their own pages.
Checked on 17 October 2026. Lenders change their criteria often and many only publish them to brokers. Some country facts come from law firms and banks rather than governments: each row links its sources. This is general information, not mortgage, tax or legal advice. Your home may be repossessed if you don't keep up repayments on your mortgage.
The short version
- Don't let your home without asking your lender. Consent to let is usually short term and costs a fee or about 0.5% on your rate. For good, lenders point you to a buy-to-let mortgage. Halifax, can I rent out my home, Nationwide, mortgage fees and charges, Santander, consent to let form, January 2025, NatWest, consent to let, April 2026, Coventry Building Society, consent to let
- Many UK lenders won't lend to you once you live abroad. Santander UK, Leeds and Bath among them. A smaller group of expat lenders will, often only for buy-to-let, and usually with a bigger deposit. Santander, moving abroad, Leeds Building Society, lending criteria, August 2026, Bath Building Society, residential criteria, Skipton International, key criteria, Saffron Building Society, expat residential, Market Harborough BS, expat solutions
- Non-residents pay more stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland. It's 2 percentage points more, and if you already own a home, that comes on top of the 5% extra for additional homes. HMRC, Stamp Duty for non-UK residents, April 2025, HMRC, higher rates rise to 5%, October 2024
- Some countries ban or limit foreign buyers. Canada bans most non-Canadians until at least 1 January 2027, Australia bans foreign buyers from existing homes until 30 June 2029, and New Zealand usually says no. Justice Laws, Non-Canadians Act, ATO, foreign investment, May 2026, LINZ, buying a home to live in, March 2026
- Purchase taxes vary a lot. From none (New Zealand) or about 3% (Croatia, Greece) to 13% in parts of Spain, plus surcharges for foreign buyers in Ontario and New South Wales. Multilaw guide (Tompkins Wake), July 2025, Altenburger via Mondaq, November 2025, Chambers Real Estate 2026, Croatia, Panorama de la Fiscalidad Autonómica y Foral 2026, Ontario, non-resident speculation tax, May 2026, Revenue NSW, surcharge purchaser duty, August 2026
Moving abroad with a UK mortgage
- Consent to let
- Letting out a home on a residential mortgage without your lender's permission breaks the mortgage terms. Lenders treat consent to let as temporary: Halifax says that if renting is permanent, you should consider a buy-to-let mortgage. Barclays, rent your home out, Halifax, can I rent out my home
- New deals
- Lenders differ on whether you can move to a new deal once you've left. NatWest lets you switch to a new residential deal while your home is let and HSBC lets you switch rate by phone, but Santander says you need to be UK resident to apply for any of its products. TSB doesn't let buy-to-let customers living overseas switch rate. NatWest Intermediary, product transfers, HSBC UK, consent to let, Santander, moving abroad, TSB Intermediary, rate switch
- Keep your address up to date
- Nationwide and Santander ask you to give them your new address and contact details. Nationwide, living and working abroad, Santander, moving abroad
Consent to let, from each lender's own pages, alphabetical:
| Lender | What it costs | How long | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barclays | Not stated | The tenancy can't run past the end of the mortgage | You need its permission, or you break the mortgage terms |
| Coventry BS | Not stated | Usually a year or less | For longer, it says you'll probably need a buy-to-let mortgage |
| Halifax | 0.5% added to your rate | 12 months at a time, reviewed each year | Mortgage active for at least 6 months; the rent must cover the payments |
| HSBC UK | Not stated | Up to 27 months | Held at least 6 months. You can switch rate by phone while it's let, but make no other changes |
| Lloyds Bank | 0.5% added to your rate | 12 months, checked each year | Mortgage active for at least 6 months |
| Nationwide | No fee; 0.5% added to a fixed or tracker rate | Not stated | No extra interest for the Armed Forces |
| NatWest | £120, then £120 a year | Not stated | Held at least 6 months; no other consent-to-let property with it. You can still switch to a new residential deal |
| Santander UK | £295 for each consent | Not stated | Held more than 6 months. You need to be UK resident to apply for any new product, and it can't take Direct Debits from overseas accounts |
Sources: Barclays, rent your home out, Barclays, renting out your home, Coventry Building Society, consent to let, Halifax, can I rent out my home, HSBC UK, consent to let, Lloyds Bank, letting your property, Nationwide, mortgage fees and charges, Nationwide for Intermediaries, existing borrowers, Nationwide, living and working abroad, NatWest, consent to let, April 2026, NatWest Intermediary, product transfers, Santander, consent to let form, January 2025, Santander, moving abroad
- Tax on the rent
- Your letting agent, or your tenant if there's no agent and the rent is over £100 a week, takes basic-rate tax off the rent unless HMRC approves you to receive it without deduction (form NRL1i). You still pay the tax through Self Assessment. GOV.UK, rent from UK property if you live abroad
- Registering as a landlord
- Private landlords in England will have to register on a new database, opening in stages from 15 December 2026, at £65 a year for each property. In Scotland you must register with Landlord Registration. We couldn't check the rules for Wales. Torbay Council, landlord database, GOV.UK, landlord registration in Scotland
A UK mortgage while you live abroad
From each lender's own pages, alphabetical. "Not stated" means we couldn't find it; many lenders only publish full criteria to brokers.
| Lender | Lends on | Up to (loan to value) | Income | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barclays International | A UK home or investment property | Not stated | Income in a range of currencies; no UK payslip needed | The account needs £100,000 in savings or investments, and you must live in a qualifying country |
| HSBC Expat | Buy-to-let (homes to live in go through HSBC UK) | 75% | Not stated | For HSBC Expat customers; not open to residents of every country |
| Market Harborough BS | Homes, buy-to-let and holiday lets | 80% | USD, CAD, EUR, CHF, HKD, SGD and other EU currencies as standard | Expats in "many countries"; no minimum income for buy-to-let. Its expat criteria are on its broker pages |
| NatWest International | Homes and buy-to-let (up to 10) in England, Scotland and Wales | Not stated | Not stated | Only through an FCA-regulated mortgage broker |
| Saffron BS | Homes (expat residential) and buy-to-let | 90% on homes, 75% on buy-to-let | Homes: sterling income only, and one tax residence only | Minimum loan £100,000 on homes. Regulated buy-to-let isn't offered to people living in the Netherlands |
| Santander International | Interest-only let property in England or Wales | 75% (below £5 million) | Not stated | Minimum loan £500,000; for residents of Jersey, the Isle of Man or other places it accepts |
| Skipton International | Buy-to-let only, in England, Wales and mainland Scotland | 75% up to £1.25 million | At least £50,000 a year for one employed applicant, or the equivalent in local currency | Doesn't accept residents of about 80 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Australia. Minimum loan £100,000 on its criteria page (£200,000 in a June 2025 leaflet) |
| Vida Home Loans | Buy-to-let, if every applicant is an expat | Not stated | Not stated | No homes to live in for people living abroad. The property must be worth at least £150,000 if you're a landlord outside the EEA |
Sources: Barclays International, mortgages, HSBC Expat, UK home loans, HSBC Expat, buy-to-let, Market Harborough BS, expat solutions, Market Harborough BS, criteria hub, June 2026, NatWest International, mortgages, September 2026, NatWest International, for mortgage brokers, Saffron Building Society, expat residential, Saffron Building Society, buy-to-let, Santander International, UK property for non-residents, Santander International, product summary, February 2025, Skipton International, key criteria, Skipton International, restricted countries, Skipton International, buy-to-let leaflet, June 2025, Vida Home Loans, lending criteria
Lenders that say no: Bath Building Society and Bluestone don't accept expats on their residential mortgages, Leeds Building Society usually needs you to be a UK taxpayer paid in sterling, and Precise needs you to live in the UK at completion for a home to live in. Bath Building Society, residential criteria, Bluestone, residential product guide, July 2026, Leeds Building Society, lending criteria, August 2026, Precise, residential criteria
The rules that protect you
- Earning in another currency
- If you repay a regulated UK residential mortgage from income in another currency, it counts as a foreign currency loan (most buy-to-let lending isn't covered). You get the right to convert it into the currency you're paid in, or into sterling, or the lender must have other ways to limit your exchange-rate risk. It must also warn you if what you owe moves by more than 20% because of the exchange rate. FCA Handbook, MCOB 2A.3, FCA Handbook, MCOB 7A.4, FCA Handbook, PERG 4.4
- Letting your old home
- A buy-to-let on a home you or a close relative have lived in isn't automatically treated as a business loan, so it can count as consumer buy-to-let, which has its own protections. Landlords who already let other property are treated as running a business. Mortgage Credit Directive Order 2015, Part 3, FCA Handbook, PERG 4.4
Stamp duty when you live abroad
- England and Northern Ireland
- Since 1 April 2021, non-residents pay 2 percentage points more on homes, on top of every other rate. HMRC, Stamp Duty for non-UK residents, April 2025
- Who counts as non-resident
- Anyone who wasn't in the UK for at least 183 days in the 12 months before buying. If you're buying with a spouse or civil partner who is UK resident, you're both treated as resident. Crown employees posted abroad have special rules. HMRC, Stamp Duty for non-UK residents, April 2025
- Getting it back
- If you're in the UK for at least 183 days in any continuous 365-day period between 364 days before and 365 days after the purchase, you can claim the surcharge back by amending your return within 2 years. HMRC manual SDLTM09880, September 2026, HMRC, Stamp Duty for non-UK residents, April 2025
- A second home
- If you already own another home, you usually pay 5% more (since 31 October 2024), on top of the non-resident 2%. HMRC, higher rates rise to 5%, October 2024, GOV.UK, Stamp Duty residential rates, HMRC, Stamp Duty for non-UK residents, April 2025
- The rates
- 0% up to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5 million, and 12% above. First-time buyers pay nothing up to £300,000 and 5% to £500,000, with no relief above £500,000. Non-residents add 2 percentage points to every band, including the first-time buyer rates. GOV.UK, Stamp Duty residential rates
- Scotland and Wales
- Neither mentions a non-resident surcharge. Scotland's extra charge on additional homes is 8% (since 5 December 2024); Wales's higher rates run from 5% to 17% (since 11 December 2024). Revenue Scotland, December 2024, Welsh Government, LTT rates, December 2024
Buying a home abroad as a foreigner
For UK and US citizens buying an existing home, alphabetical. Notary, legal and agent fees come on top.
| Country | Can you buy? | Main purchase tax | Extra for foreign buyers | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | New homes or vacant land only, with approval. Foreign buyers are banned from established homes from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 | State stamp duty | New South Wales adds a 9% surcharge on top (other states weren't checked) | |
| Canada | No, for most non-Canadians. The ban runs until at least 1 January 2027, and we found no official word in October 2026 on whether it will be extended | Provincial land transfer tax | Ontario adds a 25% non-resident speculation tax | Check whether the ban has been extended again before you plan anything |
| Croatia | Non-EU buyers need prior consent from the Ministry of Justice, and a reciprocity agreement (Wise says the UK has one; we couldn't confirm one for the US) | 3% of market value | Consent, not a tax | You need an OIB tax number |
| Cyprus | Non-EU buyers need Council of Ministers permission, usually for one home or up to 4,014 m² of land | Land registry transfer fees of 3%, 5% and 8% in bands, halved where no VAT is charged, and none where it is | Permission, not a tax | Permanent residence for €300,000 in new residential property |
| France | Yes | Departmental transfer duty of 3.8% to 4.5%; departments can add 0.5 points (up to 5%) until 30 April 2028, but not for first-time buyers. Smaller local and state charges come on top; we couldn't confirm the total from an official source | None found | |
| Greece | Yes, except border and military zones without a special permit | 3.09% transfer tax, including a municipal surcharge, a law firm says | None found | You need an AFM tax number. Golden visa from €250,000, €400,000 or €800,000 depending on area and type, with at least 120 m², in a single property, and no short-term letting (EY, April 2024) |
| Italy | Yes, subject to reciprocity with your country; EU and EEA citizens and legal residents are exempt | Registry tax 9%, or 2% on a first home bought from a private seller if you move your residence to that town within 18 months (minimum €1,000) | None found | You need a codice fiscale. We couldn't confirm reciprocity for UK or US citizens from an official source |
| Mexico | Yes; within 100 km of a border or 50 km of a beach only through a bank trust (fideicomiso) with a permit, for up to 50 years | ISAI, set locally: roughly 2% to 5%, BBVA México says, and as high as 6.5% in Querétaro | None found | |
| New Zealand | Usually no. Exceptions include residence-class visa holders who are ordinarily resident, and Australian and Singaporean citizens | No stamp duty, a law firm says | Not applicable | Offshore buyers need a New Zealand bank account before they can get an IRD number |
| Portugal | Yes | IMT on a second home: bands from 1% to 8%, then a flat 6%, and 7.5% above €1,150,853 (2026) | None found | You need a NIF; non-residents name a fiscal representative. Property no longer qualifies for a golden visa (since 2023) |
| Spain | Yes | ITP, set by each region: from 6% (Madrid, Navarra) to 13% (top bands in the Balearics and Catalonia) | None in force. A proposed 100% tax on non-EU buyers had stalled in Congress in March 2026 | You need an NIE (we couldn't read the official page). The golden visa for property ended on 3 April 2025 |
| Switzerland | Restricted: foreigners living abroad, and non-EU or EFTA nationals in Switzerland without a C permit, need authorisation (Lex Koller). Holiday homes are limited by cantonal quotas and to 200 m² of living space | Set by each canton: none in Zurich, 3% in Geneva, 3.3% in Vaud | Authorisation, not a tax | |
| Thailand | Condo units only: foreigners can't own land, and foreigners together can own at most 49% of the total floor area of all the units in a building | Transfer fee 2% of the appraised value, often split; the seller also pays 3.3% specific business tax and 1% withholding | None found | From a law firm's guide: we couldn't read the official page |
| UAE (Dubai) | Yes, in designated freehold areas such as Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah | Dubai Land Department fee of 4%; legally split, but usually paid by the buyer | None found | 10-year golden visa for property worth at least AED 2 million, according to RAKEZ (Ras Al Khaimah); we couldn't read the federal page |
| United States | Yes; we found no federal ban | No federal transfer tax; state and local taxes vary, and 16 states charge none | None federally | When a foreign person sells, the buyer usually withholds 15% of the sale price for the IRS (FIRPTA). There's no withholding if the buyer will live in it and pays $300,000 or less |
Sources: ATO, foreign investment, May 2026, Revenue NSW, surcharge purchaser duty, August 2026, Justice Laws, Non-Canadians Act, McCarthy Tétrault, February 2024, Ontario, non-resident speculation tax, May 2026, Chambers Real Estate 2026, Croatia, Wise, buying property in Croatia, January 2026, European Land Registry Association, Cyprus, Zeno Legal, August 2026, Chambers Private Wealth 2026, Cyprus, Service-Public.fr, April 2025, Altenburger via Mondaq, November 2025, EY, April 2024, Italian Foreign Ministry, reciprocity, Italian notaries' first-home guide, January 2025, Italian Embassy Sofia, codice fiscale, Mexico Foreign Ministry (SRE), BBVA México, ISAI, LINZ, buying a home to live in, March 2026, Multilaw guide (Tompkins Wake), July 2025, Inland Revenue, property information requirements, 2015, APCMC, IMT tables 2026, idealista, getting a NIF, January 2026, Greenberg Traurig, October 2023, Panorama de la Fiscalidad Autonómica y Foral 2026, Reuters via MarketScreener, March 2026, KPMG, January 2025, Swiss Federal Office of Justice, Lex Koller, January 2025, dreamo.ch, April 2026, Multilaw guide (Tilleke & Gibbins), July 2025, Dubai Legislation Portal, Regulation 3 of 2006, Property Finder, July 2026, RAKEZ, golden visa for property, December 2025, IRS, FIRPTA withholding, July 2026, PropertyShark, transfer taxes by state, December 2025
Getting a mortgage abroad
- Spain
- A Place in the Sun Mortgages says non-residents can borrow up to 70% of the value, over up to 25 years. We found no official figure. A Place in the Sun Mortgages
- The US
- Foreign buyers without a US credit history use "foreign national" loans from specialist lenders. Lendz Financial lends up to 80% on investment property through brokers; HomeAbroad asks for at least 25% down; LendSure doesn't lend on a main home. Lendz Financial, foreign national loans, HomeAbroad, US mortgage without an SSN, LendSure, foreign national loans, June 2023
- Paying the deposit
- A big transfer for a deposit or completion is where exchange rates matter most. Some transfer firms let you fix a rate in advance with a forward contract. OFX, forward contracts, April 2026
Brokers compared
What each one's own pages say, alphabetical. None of the expat or overseas specialists publishes a broker fee. Check a UK broker on the FCA register before you go ahead.
| Broker | What it does | Fee | Regulated as | Worth knowing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Place in the Sun Mortgages | Mortgages in Spain for overseas buyers; its enquiry form also lists Cyprus, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Turkey and the US | "Competitive fees"; amount not published | Run by Mortgage Direct S.L., on the Bank of Spain's register (D108) | Says non-residents can borrow up to 70%, over up to 25 years | Go to A Place in the Sun Mortgages |
| Better.co.uk (formerly Trussle) | UK mortgages; has a guide for UK nationals abroad buying in the UK | "Fee-free mortgage broker for most customers" | FCA, FRN 924229 | Its guide doesn't say it arranges expat mortgages itself: ask | Go to Better.co.uk (formerly Trussle) |
| Clifton Private Finance | UK property for British expats and non-UK citizens, homes and commercial; lists 25 countries it often helps in | No fee published; usually paid by lender commission, confirmed before you go ahead | Appointed representative of Fair Investment Company (FRN 192852) | Minimum loan £100,000 on one page and £150,000 on another | Go to Clifton Private Finance |
| Enness Global | International mortgages, including US buyers in Europe and international buyers of US property; covers France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Portugal and the UK | No fee published; how it's paid is confirmed before you go ahead | FCA, no. 565120 (some of its business isn't regulated); in France, registered with ORIAS | Go to Enness Global | |
| John Charcol | UK homes and buy-to-let for UK nationals living abroad | Not stated on its expat page | FCA, FRN 665649 | Says it doesn't arrange mortgages on property outside the UK | Go to John Charcol |
| Propertyguides | Passes Spanish mortgage enquiries to brokers it vets (such as Spectrum and Mortgage Direct) | Not stated | Not stated: it's a referral service, not a broker | Spectrum's minimum loan in Spain is €50,000 | Go to Propertyguides |
Sources: A Place in the Sun Mortgages, Better.co.uk, expat mortgages, November 2024, Clifton Private Finance, expat broker, Clifton Private Finance, countries, September 2026, Enness Global, international mortgages, April 2026, John Charcol, expat mortgages, Propertyguides, Spain mortgage services