---
title: Home Loans by Visa Subclass in Australia | GNT Finance
description: Which Australian visas can get a home loan? Compare 500, 485, 482, 189, 190, 491, 820, 309, 186 and bridging visas on FIRB, deposit, LVR and duty surcharge.
url: https://gntfinance.com.au/guides/home-loans-by-visa-subclass/
section: guides
updated: 2026-09-02
author: Gorakh Timilsina, GNT Finance
---

# Home loans by visa subclass

**In short:** Your visa subclass decides three separate things: whether you are a foreign person who needs foreign investment approval, whether you can buy an established home at all, and how much a lender will let you borrow. Permanent visas (189, 190, 186) remove almost every restriction. Temporary visas (500, 485, 482, 491, 820, 309) keep them all.

Most people ask one question: can I get a home loan on my visa? The honest answer is that the visa is only the first of three gates you have to pass through, and they are set by three different bodies that do not talk to each other. Getting one right and the other two wrong is how buyers end up losing a deposit or paying tens of thousands they had not budgeted for.

## The three gates every visa holder passes through

### Gate one: are you a foreign person?

This is federal law, and it has nothing to do with lending. Under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act you are a foreign person unless you are ordinarily resident in Australia. Holders of permanent visas are not foreign persons. New Zealand citizens who hold or are eligible for a Special Category visa are also exempt. Everyone else on a temporary visa is a foreign person and must apply for approval through the Australian Taxation Office before signing an unconditional contract.

The Foreign Investment Review Board defines a temporary resident as someone holding a temporary visa that lets them stay for a continuous period of more than 12 months, or someone on a bridging visa with a permanent visa application on foot. If your visa is shorter than that, you are treated as a foreign non-resident, which is a harder category again.

### Gate two: what are you allowed to buy?

From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, the government's policy is that foreign persons are generally banned from buying established dwellings in Australia. The published exceptions are commercial: redevelopments creating at least 20 extra dwellings, housing supplied at commercial scale such as build-to-rent or student accommodation, and companies housing workers under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme. There is no exception for a temporary resident who simply wants an established house to live in.

That leaves new dwellings that have never been sold or occupied, off-the-plan apartments and townhouses, and vacant residential land with a condition that construction finishes within four years. Read [buying property as a temporary resident](/guides/buying-property-as-a-temporary-resident/) for the practical version and [FIRB approval for property](/legal/firb-approval-for-property/) for the application itself.

### Gate three: will a lender actually approve you?

This gate has no legislation behind it at all. Every lender writes its own visa policy, and they differ wildly. Many will not lend to temporary residents in any circumstance. Those that do commonly cap the loan at 70% to 80% of the property value, insist on Australian-sourced income, want a minimum period left on the visa, and price the loan on their own terms. A small group on our panel will go higher for particular visa classes. Policy changes without notice, which is why we check before you commit rather than after. Our [home loans for visa holders](/services/home-loans-for-visa-holders/) page explains how that screening works.

## Every subclass at a glance

| Visa | Type | PR pathway | Foreign investment approval | Can buy established home | 5% Deposit Scheme | Typical maximum LVR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [500 Student](/guides/visa-500-student-home-loans/) | Temporary | No, not on its own | Yes | No | No | Rarely lent to alone |
| [485 Graduate](/guides/visa-485-graduate-home-loans/) | Temporary | No, not on its own | Yes | No | No | 70–80% with few lenders |
| [482 Skills in Demand](/guides/visa-482-skills-in-demand-home-loans/) | Temporary | Yes, via 186 | Yes | No | No | 80%, sometimes higher |
| [491 / 494 Regional](/guides/visa-491-494-regional-home-loans/) | Provisional | Yes, via 191 | Yes | No | No | 80%, sometimes higher |
| [820 Partner (onshore)](/guides/visa-820-801-partner-home-loans/) | Temporary | Yes, 801 | Not if joint tenants with the spouse | Yes, via that exemption | No | Up to 95% with some lenders |
| [309 Partner (offshore)](/guides/visa-309-100-partner-offshore-home-loans/) | Provisional | Yes, 100 | Not if joint tenants with the spouse | Yes, via that exemption | No | Up to 95% with some lenders |
| [189 / 190 Skilled](/guides/visa-189-190-skilled-home-loans/) | Permanent | Already permanent | No | Yes | Yes | Up to 95% |
| [186 / 187 Employer sponsored](/guides/visa-186-187-employer-sponsored-home-loans/) | Permanent | Already permanent | No | Yes | Yes | Up to 95% |
| [444 New Zealand SCV](/guides/new-zealand-citizens-444-home-loans/) | Temporary, indefinite | Direct citizenship pathway | No, exempt | Yes | Generally no | Up to 95% |
| [Bridging visas](/guides/bridging-visa-home-loans/) | Temporary | Depends on the visa applied for | Usually yes | No | No | Very limited |

Hedge every row of that table against your own grant notice. Streams within a subclass differ, and lender policy is the column most likely to be out of date by the time you read it.

## The money difference, shown properly

Take one property: a brand-new $750,000 townhouse in Melbourne's north, bought by a single buyer. Victorian land transfer duty is $2,870 plus 6% of the excess over $130,000, so $2,870 + $37,200 = **$40,070**.

| Cost line | Temporary visa (482) | Permanent resident |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit required | 20% = $150,000 | 5% under the scheme = $37,500 |
| Land transfer duty | $40,070 | $40,070 |
| Foreign purchaser additional duty (VIC 8%) | $60,000 | Nil |
| Foreign investment application fee | $15,600 | Nil |
| Lenders mortgage insurance | Nil at 80% | Nil under the scheme |
| First Home Owner Grant on a new home | Not eligible alone | $10,000 back |
| **Cash needed, excluding conveyancing** | **$265,670** | **$67,570** |

The loan itself is $600,000 for the temporary resident and $712,500 for the permanent resident. For illustration, at 6.00% p.a. over 30 years, that is about $3,597 a month against $4,272 a month. The temporary resident borrows less and still needs roughly $198,000 more cash on the table. That gap, not the interest rate, is the real decision for anyone with permanent residency in sight.

Fees and duty rates are indexed and legislated separately. Confirm the current foreign investment fee band at [firb.gov.au](https://firb.gov.au) and the current duty rates at [sro.vic.gov.au](https://www.sro.vic.gov.au) before you budget.

## What changes the moment permanent residency is granted

- You stop being a foreign person, so no approval application and no fee.
- Established dwellings open up, which in most Melbourne suburbs is the bulk of the stock.
- The 8% Victorian foreign purchaser additional duty falls away (rates differ by state; New South Wales is 9% at the time of writing).
- The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme becomes available, which means no lenders mortgage insurance. See [the 5% deposit guarantee](/guides/first-home-guarantee-5-percent-deposit/).
- The Victorian [First Home Owner Grant](/guides/first-home-owner-grant-victoria/) and the first home buyer duty exemption become available.
- Your lender choice widens from a handful to almost the whole market, and maximum LVR rises to 95%.

The grant date matters, not the application date. Lenders and the State Revenue Office look at your status at the relevant date, which for duty is generally the contract date and for the grant is settlement.

## Where the visa itself is not the problem

Plenty of declined applications have nothing to do with immigration status. New arrivals commonly have a thin Australian credit file, three months in a new job, savings that arrived from overseas without a paper trail, or income in a foreign currency. Those are separate problems with separate fixes, covered in [home loans for new migrants](/guides/home-loans-for-new-migrants/), [probation and new job home loans](/guides/probation-and-new-job-home-loans/) and [foreign currency income home loans](/guides/foreign-currency-income-home-loans/). Fixing them is often faster than changing your visa.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which visa gives the best chance of a home loan approval?

A permanent visa. Subclasses 189, 190 and 186 make you a permanent resident, which removes the foreign investment requirement, the duty surcharge and the established-dwelling ban in one step, and puts you in front of nearly every lender at up to 95% of the property value. Among temporary visas, partner visas and employer-sponsored 482 visas are treated most generously, largely because both carry a clear permanent residency pathway.

### Do I need foreign investment approval on every temporary visa?

Almost always, yes. Temporary residents are foreign persons and must have approval before acquiring an interest in residential land, regardless of value. The main practical exception is buying as joint tenants with a spouse who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen eligible for a Special Category visa. That exemption does not extend to buying as tenants in common, which trips up a lot of couples.

### Can a temporary resident buy an established house in 2026?

Generally no. The government's ban on foreign persons purchasing established dwellings runs from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029. The published exceptions are all commercial in nature, so a temporary resident wanting a home to live in is limited to new dwellings, off-the-plan properties and vacant land. Buying jointly with a citizen or permanent resident spouse as joint tenants is the route that reopens established stock.

### How much deposit does a temporary visa holder need?

Budget 20% of the price plus costs, and understand that the costs are the part people underestimate. On a $750,000 Victorian purchase the surcharge and foreign investment fee alone add roughly $75,600 on top of ordinary duty. Some lenders will consider a higher loan-to-value ratio for strong applicants on particular visa classes with mortgage insurance, but policy is narrow and changes, so treat 20% as the planning number.

### Does the 5% Deposit Scheme accept visa holders?

No. The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, formerly the Home Guarantee Scheme, requires every applicant to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. A temporary visa holder cannot use it, and neither can a couple where one partner is on a temporary visa. Confirm the current criteria at [housingaustralia.gov.au](https://www.housingaustralia.gov.au), because the scheme's rules have been amended several times.

## Talk to GNT Finance

Send us your visa grant notice and two payslips and we will tell you which lenders will look at your subclass, at what loan-to-value ratio, and what the purchase really costs once the surcharge and approval fee are counted. Gorakh Timilsina assessed files as a senior credit officer before founding GNT Finance, and consultations are available in English, Nepali or Hindi, with an interpreter in your language on request. [Book a free consultation](/contact/) or call 0426 403 703.

*This page is general information only and not legal, tax, migration or financial advice. Visa and foreign investment rules change — confirm current requirements with the Department of Home Affairs, the Foreign Investment Review Board or a registered migration agent.*