In short: Nepal Rastra Bank does not permit capital transfers out of Nepal to buy property overseas, so a deposit for an Australian home cannot lawfully come from selling assets in Nepal and wiring the proceeds here. Australian lenders and AUSTRAC-regulated banks want a documented, legal source of funds: your own Australian savings, a gift from family already living in Australia, or money that arrived through a channel Nepal's rules genuinely allow.
Key takeaways
- Under Nepal's Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) does not permit capital to leave Nepal to buy property abroad. It is Nepal's rule, but it decides what an Australian lender can accept.
- NRB does allow limited outbound payments for specific purposes, such as student tuition and living costs with a no-objection certificate, and small travel allowances. Those are not a deposit channel.
- Australian lenders need a legal, documented source of funds; untraceable money is unusable, however large.
- The safe sources are Australian savings, a gift from family already living in Australia, and funds that arrived through a channel Nepal's rules genuinely allow, with paperwork to prove it.
- Get legal advice in both countries before moving any significant sum. A broker can say what a lender will accept; only a lawyer can say what is lawful.
Nepali families in Melbourne's north ask us the same question every month: "My parents want to help with the deposit from Nepal. How do we send it?" In most cases you cannot, and workarounds create problems on both sides of the ocean. This post explains the rule, what lenders check, and the deposit sources that are legal and easy to document. New arrivals should also read our guide to home loans for new migrants.
What Nepal Rastra Bank allows and does not allow
Nepal controls foreign exchange tightly. The Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act gives NRB authority over money leaving the country, and the published position is that capital transfers to purchase real estate abroad are prohibited. There is no quiet exception for family gifts, and hundi or other informal transfer arrangements are illegal in Nepal and a serious red flag in Australia.
| Purpose of outbound transfer from Nepal | Position at the time of writing |
|---|---|
| Buying property abroad, including a deposit | Prohibited |
| Gifting capital to a relative abroad so they can buy property | Not permitted as a capital transfer |
| Student tuition and living expenses (with NOC) | Permitted within limits |
| Personal travel allowance | Permitted, small amounts |
| Informal hundi or cash carried through airports | Illegal, and unusable as a loan deposit |
Confirm current rules with Nepal Rastra Bank or a Nepali lawyer; circulars change, and the table above is general.
What Australian lenders and AUSTRAC actually check
Two separate checks happen when deposit money arrives.
The bank's anti-money-laundering obligations
Australian banks and remittance businesses are regulated by AUSTRAC under anti-money-laundering law. International transfers and large cash deposits are reported, and a bank can freeze or question funds that do not fit your profile. A $60,000 arrival from an unfamiliar overseas account, with no paperwork, is exactly the pattern their systems flag.
The lender's source-of-funds review
The credit assessor wants to see where the deposit came from and whether it counts as genuine savings. Lenders typically ask for three months of statements for every account holding deposit funds, plus an explanation and evidence for any lump sum. If the trail leads back to a transaction that breaches Nepal's rules, the lender will usually decline to use those funds, and the application can fail on character grounds.
Read our genuine savings guide and the home loan documents checklist for what to prepare.
Legal deposit sources, ranked by how easily lenders accept them
| Source | Evidence lenders want | How lenders usually treat it |
|---|---|---|
| Your own Australian savings, built over months | 3 months of statements showing regular growth | Genuine savings, the strongest option |
| Gift from a parent or sibling living in Australia | Signed gift letter, giver's statement showing the funds, transfer record | Accepted by most lenders; may need 5% genuine savings alongside |
| Sale of an Australian asset (car, shares) | Sale contract or contract note, deposit into your account | Accepted with evidence |
| First Home Super Saver withdrawal | ATO release documentation | Treated as genuine savings by most lenders |
| Funds already in Australia for years, brought when you migrated | Historic statements and original transfer records | Accepted if the trail is clean |
| Funds from Nepal through a channel NRB permits | NRB approval, bank remittance records, lawyer's confirmation | Rare; take legal advice first |
A gift from family in Australia is the most common path for our clients; our post on gifted deposits from parents shows the wording lenders expect. The letter must be truthful: a loan described as a gift is still a liability.
Red flags that stall or sink an application
- Multiple small transfers from different individuals in Nepal that add up to a deposit. Structuring transfers to stay under reporting thresholds is itself an offence in Australia.
- Cash deposits at a branch with no paper trail.
- A gift letter from someone overseas who cannot show the funds in their own account.
- A "loan" from a relative described as a gift.
- Land or property sale proceeds from Nepal remitted through an intermediary business.
Worked example: a $650,000 first home in Craigieburn
Sunita and Bikash, both permanent residents, want a $650,000 house in Craigieburn. Bikash's father in Kathmandu offers to send $130,000 for a 20% deposit. That transfer cannot lawfully be made, and if it somehow arrived, the lender would not accept it.
The legal route looks like this:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | $650,000 |
| 5% deposit under the First Home Guarantee (no LMI) | $32,500 |
| Victorian stamp duty | Sliding first-home-buyer concession applies between $600,001 and $750,000; confirm the figure with the SRO |
| Conveyancing, inspections, other costs | Roughly $3,000 to $5,000 |
| Total cash needed, approximately | $40,000 to $50,000 |
Sunita earns $78,000 and Bikash $72,000. Saving $2,200 a month between them, they reach $40,000 in about 18 months. If Bikash's sister in Sydney gifts $15,000 with a proper gift letter, the timeline shortens to roughly a year. The couple never touches money in Nepal, so the file is clean. Moneysmart has budgeting tools to tighten the plan.
Use the deposit savings calculator to test your own timeline, and read how the First Home Guarantee works for permanent residents.
If you are still on a temporary visa
The same source-of-funds rules apply on a 482, 485 or 491 visa, on top of FIRB rules, foreign purchaser duty and the current restriction on buying established dwellings. See home loans for visa holders and our FIRB approval explainer.
Frequently asked questions
Can my parents in Nepal gift me money for a house deposit in Australia?
Not through a capital transfer, because Nepal Rastra Bank does not permit funds to leave Nepal for buying property abroad. Even if the money were labelled a gift, an Australian lender would need evidence of how it left Nepal, and that evidence would fail their source-of-funds check. A gift from family who already live in Australia, drawn from their Australian accounts, is the legal alternative.
What if I sell land in Nepal? Can I use that money?
Selling property in Nepal is fine, but remitting the proceeds to Australia to buy real estate is a capital transfer that NRB does not permit at the time of writing. Get advice from a Nepali lawyer on what you can legally do with the proceeds. From an Australian lender's perspective, the money is unusable as a deposit unless every step is lawful and documented.
How much genuine savings do I need if part of my deposit is a gift?
Many lenders want to see 5% of the purchase price as your own genuine savings held for three months, even when a gift covers the rest. Some lenders relax this if you have a long rental history paid on time. Policy varies, so we match your deposit mix to lenders that accept it.
Will an Australian bank report my transfer from Nepal?
Banks and remitters report international funds transfers to AUSTRAC, and large cash transactions are reported too. Reporting is routine, not an accusation. Problems arise only when the funds cannot be explained. Keep every remittance receipt, bank statement and letter so you can answer questions quickly.
Talk to GNT Finance
Gorakh Timilsina understands both the Nepali family context and the credit officer's checklist, having assessed hundreds of loan files before founding GNT Finance. We will map your deposit sources, tell you what each lender accepts, and point you to the right legal advice before you move a dollar. There is no cost to you for our home-loan service in most cases. Book a free consultation or call 0426 403 703. We work in English, Nepali and Hindi through our Nepali mortgage broker service, Australia-wide by phone and video.
This post is general information only and not migration, legal, tax or credit advice. GNT Finance is a mortgage broker, not a law firm, and does not advise on Nepali foreign exchange law. Nepal Rastra Bank rules and Australian anti-money-laundering requirements change; confirm your position with a qualified lawyer in Nepal and in Australia before transferring any funds. Migration rules change often — confirm with a registered migration agent (MARA) or the Department of Home Affairs.
Written by Gorakh Timilsina
Founder, CEO & Senior Mortgage Consultant at GNT Finance. Gorakh started as a broker assistant, spent years as a senior credit officer assessing loan applications, and now helps Melbourne families get the right loan approved. English, Nepali and Hindi spoken.