You earn well, you’ve kept a healthy deposit in savings, and you’ve found a buy-to-let in the North West that the numbers support. Then the high street bank you’ve banked with for fifteen years tells you it can’t help, because you live in Dubai and your salary is paid in dirhams.
That answer is more common than it should be, and it rarely means you can’t borrow. It means you’re talking to the wrong part of the market. A smaller group of specialist lenders, international banks and private banks lend to people living abroad, and they assess you differently from a UK resident. Below, I’ll explain how those lenders think, what they’ll ask for, and how to put yourself in the strongest position before you apply.
We’re not mortgage advisers and nothing here replaces advice from a qualified broker, who can match your circumstances to current lender criteria. The aim is to help you walk into that conversation knowing what matters.
The short answer
Expats can get UK buy-to-let mortgages, but from a narrower group of lenders than UK residents. Expect to need a deposit of 25% to 35%, though it can be as high as 40%, to show that the expected rent covers the mortgage interest by a set margin, and to meet criteria on your country of residence, the currency you’re paid in and your UK credit history. A specialist broker is the quickest route to the lenders that fit.
Who lends to expats?
The lenders active in this space fall into three broad groups. Offshore and international banks, such as Skipton International and HSBC, run products designed specifically for UK expats. Specialist buy-to-let lenders accept some overseas borrowers on their standard ranges. Private banks will lend to wealthier clients, usually as part of a wider banking relationship.
Many mainstream UK lenders either don’t lend to borrowers living abroad or won’t accept income paid in a foreign currency. That’s why your own bank saying no tells you little about whether you can borrow elsewhere. Criteria change regularly and differ between products, so treat any lender’s published rules as a starting point and check current terms with a broker.
How do lenders decide how much you can borrow?
A buy-to-let mortgage is sized mainly on the rent, not on your salary. The lender takes the expected monthly rent and checks that it covers the mortgage interest by a set margin, called the interest coverage ratio, calculated at a notional interest rate rather than the rate you’ll actually pay.
For UK lenders regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority, that notional rate must be at least 5.5%, or 2 percentage points above the initial rate if higher, unless the rate is fixed for five years or more. Coverage ratios are set by each lender, typically 125% for basic rate taxpayers and limited companies and 145% for higher rate taxpayers.
Here’s how much a monthly rent of £1,000 could support at a 5.5% stress rate:
| Coverage ratio | Annual interest the rent can support | Maximum loan at 5.5% |
|---|---|---|
| 125% | £9,600 | £174,545 |
| 145% | £8,276 | £150,470 |
The working: £12,000 of annual rent divided by the coverage ratio gives the interest the rent can support, and dividing that by 5.5% gives the loan. Because a five-year fix can be tested at a lower rate, it often supports a larger loan on the same rent, though not every lender applies that concession.
What else do expat lenders look at?
On top of the rent test, lenders who work with overseas borrowers check several things a UK resident rarely thinks about:
- Where you live. Each lender keeps its own list of countries it will and won’t lend to, often shaped by anti-money laundering risk and how easily it can verify overseas income.
- Your income and its currency. Many expat products set a minimum income. Lenders that accept income in a foreign currency may count only part of it, to allow for exchange rate movements.
- Your UK footprint. A UK bank account and an active UK credit history make an application far simpler, and some lenders require both.
- Your experience and existing property. Some expat products are only open to borrowers who already own property in the UK or have let property before.
- Your deposit and where it came from. Lenders run the same source of funds checks as your solicitor, so money that has moved between countries needs a clear paper trail.
How much deposit does an expat need?
Plan for a deposit of 25% to 35% of the purchase price, although it can be as high as 40% depending on the lender, the product, your country of residence and the property itself. A larger deposit widens your choice of lenders and usually improves the rate.
The deposit is only part of the cash you need. Stamp duty for an overseas buyer purchasing an additional property in England includes a 2% non-resident surcharge and a 5% additional property surcharge on top of the standard rates, and you’ll also pay legal fees, a survey, mortgage arrangement and valuation fees and possibly a broker fee. A specialist expat tax adviser can confirm exactly which stamp duty rates apply to you.
What interest rates should expats expect?
Expat buy-to-let rates are usually higher than the equivalent rates for UK residents, because lenders price in the extra risk and cost of verifying overseas income. The exact gap depends on the lender, your deposit and your circumstances, so a broker’s live quote is the only reliable figure.
The wider rate backdrop matters too. The Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75% in September 2026, with three of the nine committee members voting for an increase, and its next decision is due on 5 November 2026. That’s a reason to stress-test your numbers at a higher rate than today’s, whichever product you choose.
Personal name or limited company?
Both are possible for expats, but the company route narrows the market further. Fewer lenders offer limited company mortgages to directors who live abroad, those that do usually require personal guarantees, and the company needs a UK business bank account, which can take longer to open for non-resident directors. Every director of a UK company must also verify their identity with Companies House.
The decision between the two is mainly a tax one, and it depends on your position in the UK and in the country where you live. Get tax advice before you apply, because changing the ownership later can trigger further stamp duty and capital gains tax.
How does currency affect an expat mortgage?
If you’re paid in one currency and your mortgage is in sterling, exchange rate movements change what the mortgage costs you in real terms. A buy-to-let softens this, because the rent is paid in sterling and covers most or all of the interest, but your deposit, any shortfall months and any capital repayments are still exposed.
It’s worth planning when you move your deposit into sterling rather than leaving it to the week of completion, and having a buffer in a UK account so a rate swing doesn’t force a transfer at a bad moment. Some lenders also reduce the value of foreign currency income when assessing affordability, which can lower the amount you can borrow.
How can you improve your chances of approval?
Most of what makes an expat application straightforward is in place long before you apply.
- Keep a UK bank account and credit history active. Even a modest account with regular use keeps your UK credit file alive, which some lenders rely on.
- Gather your income evidence early. Recent payslips, employment contracts, tax returns or company accounts, translated where they aren’t in English.
- Build a clear paper trail for your deposit. Lenders and solicitors both need to see where the money came from and how it reached the account it’s in.
- Speak to a specialist broker before you reserve a property. An agreement in principle tells you what you can borrow and which lenders fit, so you don’t commit to a purchase your finance can’t support.
- Choose a property lenders are comfortable with. Standard construction, a sensible rent relative to the price and a good energy rating all make the valuation and the rent test simpler.
James’s view: choose your broker carefully
If there’s one thing I’d tell a friend living abroad before they apply anywhere, it’s to check who they’re speaking to. Make sure your broker works with overseas investors regularly and that investment lending is what they specialise in, rather than a firm that mainly arranges mortgages for homebuyers and takes on the odd investor on the side.
Expat buy-to-let has its own lenders, its own criteria and its own pitfalls. A broker who deals with it every week will know which lenders fit your country, currency and income before you spend time on applications that were never going to work. A simple test is to ask how many expat buy-to-let cases they’ve placed recently, and with which lenders.
How Frater helps
We don’t give mortgage advice ourselves, because that should always come from a qualified mortgage broker. What we do is introduce you to brokers who handle expat buy-to-let cases and understand how our purchases work, then work alongside them and your solicitor so the property, the lending and the legal work stay on track while you’re overseas.
Frater Property Partners sources hands-off buy-to-let property across Greater Manchester, the North West, Yorkshire and the Midlands. If you’d like to talk through what’s realistic for you, book a free call with James. For the wider process, read my article on buying UK property from abroad.
Sources
- Bank of England, Underwriting standards for buy-to-let mortgage contracts (SS13/16)
- Pinsent Masons, PRA buy-to-let rules and the five-year fix exemption
- Cambridge Currencies, Bank of England decision 17 September 2026
- Skybound Wealth, UK buy-to-let mortgages for expats 2026
- Mortgage One, expat remortgages and FCA comments on foreign currency income
- The Mortgage Lender, buy-to-let expat criteria
- Wise, buy-to-let mortgages for non-UK residents
About the author
James Cohen is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Frater Property Partners. He has spent his career in UK property investment and has helped investors purchase over £30 million worth of property in the UK.
This article is general information and not mortgage, financial or tax advice. Frater Property Partners is not a mortgage adviser. Lender criteria and rates change frequently, so speak to a qualified mortgage broker about your own circumstances.
