Foreign Income and Expat Lending in South East Melbourne, What Lenders Actually Check

If you're earning income overseas or living abroad while trying to buy property in South East Melbourne, the lending process looks different from a standard application, but it's not closed to you. Lenders assess foreign income, visa status and residency every day, and the outcome depends heavily on which lender your broker approaches first.

The rules that apply to you depend on two things: whether you're an Australian citizen or permanent resident living abroad, or a foreign national on a visa. Those two situations sit in completely different lending categories, and mixing them up is where most expat applications go wrong before they've started.

Our team helps buyers in both positions across South East Melbourne compare their options across 60+ lenders. The interstate and overseas buyer home loan side of it is where lender selection makes the real difference.

Can expats and overseas buyers get a home loan in South East Melbourne?

Yes, but the eligibility rules split sharply depending on your residency status. Australian citizens and permanent residents living abroad can borrow to buy in South East Melbourne with most mainstream lenders, subject to how they assess foreign-currency income. Temporary residents and foreign nationals face tighter restrictions, both on which properties they can buy and on which lenders will write the loan.

How do lenders assess foreign income for a South East Melbourne property?

Lenders don't treat foreign income the same as Australian income. Where your pay arrives in a currency other than Australian dollars, most lenders apply a shading discount to account for exchange rate risk. That discount typically sits around 20%, so if you're earning the equivalent of $150,000 a year in USD or GBP, a lender may assess your serviceability on closer to $120,000.

Beyond the shading, lenders want to see that the income is stable and documentable. That usually means payslips or an employment contract translated into English, recent bank statements showing the deposits, and sometimes a letter from your employer confirming the role is ongoing. Self-employed income earned overseas follows the same two-year averaging rules as it would in Australia, but the documentation requirements are heavier.

Currency and exchange rate risk

The currency your income arrives in affects more than the shading percentage. Some lenders restrict which currencies they'll accept at all. Major currencies such as USD, GBP, EUR, SGD and HKD are broadly accepted; income in less-traded currencies can narrow your lender options significantly, which is where panel access changes the result.

Employment type matters here too

Permanent salaried roles overseas are assessed most favourably. Contract roles, casual work and self-employment all attract longer history requirements and tighter documentation checks, just as they would in Australia, with the added complexity of sourcing that evidence across international borders.

What are the FIRB and property restrictions for foreign buyers in South East Melbourne?

Foreign persons, including temporary residents, are banned from purchasing established dwellings in Australia from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029. That ban was extended in the 2026-27 Budget from the original 31 March 2027 end date. New dwellings and vacant residential land remain available with Foreign Investment Review Board approval.

How the rules apply by residency status:

• › Australian citizens living abroad: not foreign persons under the rules, so the established-dwelling ban does not apply. Full access to the South East Melbourne property market.
• › Permanent residents: also not affected by the ban. Same access as citizens, including the established-dwelling market.
• › Temporary residents: are foreign persons. Established dwellings are off the table until 30 June 2029. New builds and vacant land remain accessible with FIRB approval.
• › Foreign companies and trusts: treated as foreign persons. Same restrictions as temporary residents, with FIRB approval required for every purchase.

Every residential purchase by a foreign person requires FIRB approval regardless of the property's value. A tiered application fee applies, indexed annually on 1 July. Direct this question to the ATO, which handles residential applications, rather than trying to estimate the fee from memory.

Source: ATO / Foreign Investment Review Board and Treasury (established dwelling ban extended in the 2026-27 Budget).

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How much can expats and foreign income buyers borrow in South East Melbourne?

Your borrowing capacity follows standard serviceability mechanics, with one significant adjustment: the foreign income shading. Most lenders assess around 80% of your overseas income, though the exact percentage depends on the currency, your employment type and the lender's own policy. That shading is the single biggest variable between lenders on your panel and it moves your accessible borrowing by a meaningful amount.

South East Melbourne property prices mean the income threshold to buy here is already high. CoreLogic data shows unit medians ranging from $470,000 in Ripponlea to $935,000 in Bentleigh, with house medians starting at $1,280,000 in Moorabbin. Every house median in the approved suburbs sits above the $950,000 First Home Guarantee price cap, so that scheme is rarely the entry point for an expat buyer here. Units at the lower end of the range are where most overseas buyers start.

The APRA serviceability buffer of 3.0% is added to the actual rate when your repayments are assessed, exactly as it would be for any other borrower. Foreign income doesn't change the buffer, but it shrinks the income figure the buffer is applied against.

Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, June 2026) and APRA.

What government schemes can expats and overseas buyers use in South East Melbourne?

Scheme eligibility for this buyer group is narrower than most, because the key schemes require Australian citizenship or permanent residency and, in most cases, the intent to live in the property.

Schemes and how they apply:

• › First Home Guarantee (5% Deposit Scheme): available to Australian citizens and permanent residents who intend to live in the property. Price cap $950,000 across every approved suburb in South East Melbourne. Not available to temporary residents.
• › Victorian First Home Owner Grant:$10,000 for new homes up to $750,000. Requires at least one applicant to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident and to live in the home for 12 months. Not available for investment purchases.
• › Help to Buy (federal shared equity): requires Australian citizenship. Income caps of $103,000 for singles and $165,000 for joint applicants apply for 2026-27. South East Melbourne price cap is $950,000. Not open to temporary residents or foreign nationals.
• › Victorian first-home duty exemption: available to Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens and permanent residents. Full exemption under $600,000 dutiable value; concession up to $750,000. Most South East Melbourne units that fall within the exemption band are in suburbs like Oakleigh and Carnegie.

Temporary residents and foreign nationals purchasing new builds are not eligible for most of these schemes, but the off-the-plan duty concession is broader. Contracts signed on or after 21 October 2024 and before 21 April 2027 may allow the purchaser to deduct construction costs from the dutiable value on strata apartments and townhouses, and investors, companies and trusts are eligible.

Source: Housing Australia and State Revenue Office Victoria.

How do mortgage brokers help expat and foreign income buyers in South East Melbourne?

The lender choice decides the outcome here, not the rate. Three policy differences move the result for overseas buyers, and they're not published side by side anywhere.

• › Income shading percentage: some lenders apply a 20% discount to foreign income; others go to 30% or more for certain currencies, which changes the borrowing ceiling significantly.
• › Accepted currencies: which currencies a lender accepts varies, and a narrow list can rule out lenders who otherwise look competitive on rate.
• › LVR maximums for foreign income applicants: some lenders cap at 70% or 75% LVR for overseas earners even where the standard product goes to 80%, which means a larger deposit is required than the product schedule suggests.

Whether these differences work in your favour depends on which lenders your broker has access to and on your specific currency and employment structure, which is worth a conversation before you apply.

When does foreign income lending not make sense?

If you're planning to return to Australia within the next 12 to 18 months and your income will shift to Australian dollars, it's often cleaner to wait. The income shading and the additional documentation requirements can reduce your borrowing capacity below what a straightforward Australian income application would produce, and your position improves meaningfully once the income is domestic.

For temporary residents buying an investment property, the restriction to new builds and the FIRB approval requirement narrow the market considerably. In South East Melbourne, where new apartment stock is concentrated in a smaller number of precincts, this can mean your purchase options don't match your target suburbs, or that the properties available within the FIRB framework sit at price points that don't match your deposit. That's not a reason not to proceed, but it is worth mapping before you start engaging agents.

What approval challenges do expats and overseas buyers face?

Where applications run into trouble:

• › Document translation and certification: payslips, contracts and bank statements in a foreign language need certified English translations, and some lenders have specific certification requirements that overseas applicants don't know about until they're already deep in the process.
• › Identification verification: lenders require certified copies of identity documents. Completing the verification process from overseas adds time and requires using an approved certifier in the country you're in, which varies by jurisdiction.
• › No Australian credit history: a buyer who has lived abroad for several years may have no Australian credit file at all. That's not the same as bad credit, but some lenders treat a thin or absent file more cautiously and apply a lower LVR or require a larger deposit.
• › CGT on sale: foreign and temporary residents are not entitled to the 50% CGT discount that Australian residents receive when they sell. Where the investment is held for more than 12 months, the full nominal gain is added to assessable income. This is a tax matter, not a lending one, and your accountant is the right person to run the numbers.
• › Foreign Purchaser Additional Duty: a foreign person buying in Victoria pays an 8% Foreign Purchaser Additional Duty on top of standard transfer duty. This is a real upfront cost that reduces the deposit available for the purchase itself and must be factored into the purchase budget from the start.

Source: Australian Taxation Office and State Revenue Office Victoria.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your Next Steps

Buying in South East Melbourne on foreign income involves more variables than a standard application, and those variables matter most in the lender selection stage, before any documents are submitted. Getting the currency treatment, the LVR position and the FIRB obligations mapped in advance avoids the delays and declined applications that come from approaching the wrong lender first.

Ready to find out which lenders will work best for your foreign income or expat situation? Contact the EverLend team or call 03 7036 3356. We'll canvas our 60+ lender panel and find the most suitable options for your circumstances.

About the author Evelyn Clark Director, Mortgage & Finance Broker Evelyn Clark is the Director and a Mortgage & Finance Broker at EverLend, the St Kilda brokerage she founded. She believes educating clients leads to better financial outcomes, which is why EverLend runs the You Have My Interest podcast, webinars and workshops. She helps first home buyers, upsizers and investors across South East Melbourne compare options across a panel of 60+ lenders. Meet Evelyn →

EverLend · South East Melbourne · Ever Lend Pty Ltd (ACN 625 080 515), authorised under Australian Credit Licence 517192 · General information only - this article does not constitute financial advice. Please consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice before making any financial decisions.