Home Loans for Temporary Visa Holders in South East Melbourne, Your Options Explained
If you're on a temporary visa in Australia, buying a home feels like it sits behind a wall of rules you're not sure apply to you. The short answer is that temporary residents can buy residential property here, with Foreign Investment Review Board approval, and a number of lenders on the market will consider your application. What changes is which properties you can buy, which lenders will look at your file, and how your income is assessed.
Whether you're on a 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa, a 500 student visa, a 407 training visa, or holding a partner visa while your permanent residency application works through, the lending landscape differs between lenders enough that the right one isn't obvious. Lenders treat temporary visa holders as a distinct borrower category, and the policies between them vary significantly on income assessment, LVR limits and which visa subclasses they'll accept. Near Cabrini Malvern, Caulfield Hospital or across the St Kilda Road office precinct, the EverLend team works with overseas buyers and temporary residents across South East Melbourne regularly.
Our team helps temporary visa holders and overseas buyers in South East Melbourne compare options across 60+ lenders. Lender policy on visa subclass, income currency and FIRB interaction is where most of the work happens, and it differs more than most applicants expect.
Key takeaways
- Temporary visa holders can buy new residential property with FIRB approval.
- Established home purchases are banned for foreign persons until 30 June 2029.
- Lender policies on visa type and income assessment vary significantly across the panel.
Can temporary visa holders get a home loan in South East Melbourne?
Yes, temporary visa holders can get a home loan in South East Melbourne, though the lender panel is narrower than it is for permanent residents or citizens. Most lenders require Foreign Investment Review Board approval before they'll process the application, and the property purchased must be a new dwelling, not an established one.
How do lenders assess temporary visa holders' income?
Lenders are broadly willing to count income earned in Australia in Australian dollars at full value, once the visa allows legal work. The picture gets more complicated when income is earned overseas, received in a foreign currency, or comes from a mix of both.
Australian-sourced income
Where you're employed in Australia on a work visa with the right to earn, most lenders assess your base salary at 100% and apply the same serviceability mechanics as any other applicant. The assessment rate, currently approximately 9%, is added to the actual rate when calculating whether your income services the debt.
Overseas income or foreign currency
Foreign currency income is typically shaded by most lenders, commonly to around 80% of the converted AUD figure, to account for exchange rate variability. Some lenders discount it further or exclude it altogether. The currency itself matters: income in USD or GBP is generally treated more favourably than income in less liquid currencies. Where your income is entirely offshore, the lender panel narrows sharply.
Visa subclass and remaining time
Most lenders look at the visa expiry date relative to the loan term and want enough remaining visa time to feel comfortable with the application. A visa with 12 months remaining attracts very different treatment from one with five years of approved duration. Some lenders require that the loan term not extend beyond the visa expiry; others assess on the basis of a reasonable expectation of renewal or PR application. Your visa subclass matters too — a 482 employer-sponsored visa and a 500 student visa are treated differently by most lenders.
What I see most often is a client who's been told by one lender that they simply don't lend to visa holders — and who assumes that's the market position. It's usually not. The gap between the most and least flexible lenders on temporary visa applications is wider than almost any other borrower category we work with.
Evelyn Clark · Director, Mortgage & Finance Broker · Chat to Evelyn →
What eligibility criteria apply to temporary visa holders?
Meeting FIRB requirements is the first condition, but lenders layer their own policies on top of that. Here's what a lender will typically verify:
What lenders check:
- › Visa type and subclass: the subclass must allow legal work or residence; some lenders maintain an approved-visa list and will not lend outside it.
- › Visa expiry and remaining duration: many lenders want at least 12 months remaining; some require alignment between the loan term and a reasonable expectation of visa continuation.
- › FIRB approval letter: required before settlement on any residential purchase; without it most lenders won't proceed past conditional approval.
- › New property only: the FIRB ban on established home purchases (in effect from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029) applies to foreign persons, which includes temporary residents. Only new dwellings and vacant residential land are available.
- › Income documentation: employment contract, recent payslips if Australian-based, or two years of overseas tax returns and bank statements if foreign-sourced income is included.
- › Credit history: an Australian credit file is thin or non-existent for recent arrivals; some lenders accept an overseas credit report, others rely on employment stability and savings history.
Source: Housing Australia; Australian Taxation Office.
How much can temporary visa holders borrow in South East Melbourne?
Borrowing capacity follows the same serviceability mechanics as any other applicant — income versus commitments at the assessment rate — but the LVR available to you is usually lower than for a citizen or permanent resident.
Most lenders who will lend to temporary visa holders cap LVR at 80%, meaning you'll need a 20% deposit plus costs. A smaller number of specialist lenders will go to 90% LVR in some circumstances, though the panel at that level is narrow. LMI is generally available at 80% LVR for qualifying applicants, but not always at higher LVRs on a visa holder application.
In South East Melbourne, where house medians in every approved suburb sit above the $950,000 FIRB price-tool threshold, the deposit requirement is substantial. Units are where most temporary-resident purchases actually happen: CoreLogic data shows unit medians of $512,000 in St Kilda, $525,000 in South Yarra, and $700,000 in Cheltenham — all new-build units, given the established-home restriction. At 80% LVR on a $700,000 unit, you'd need $140,000 plus stamp duty and costs.
Source: CoreLogic (via YIP, June 2026).
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What does FIRB approval actually involve?
Foreign Investment Review Board approval is a federal government process administered through the ATO. As a temporary resident, you apply before purchasing, and approval is specific to the property — you can't use one approval for multiple purchases. The application fee is tiered by property value and is reindexed every 1 July, so confirm the current fee from the ATO rather than relying on any figure published elsewhere.
Approval for a new dwelling or vacant residential land is generally granted for temporary residents, subject to conditions. Common conditions include an obligation to sell the property when you leave Australia permanently, and restrictions on renting it out long term while you live there. A vacancy fee also applies where the property sits unoccupied for more than 183 days in a year.
The approved FIRB status must be disclosed to your lender, who will want to sight the approval letter before processing the loan. Timing matters: FIRB approval takes time to receive, and your solicitor will need it before exchange in most cases. Work the FIRB application timeline in parallel with your lender pre-approval, not after it.
When does buying on a temporary visa not make sense?
The case for purchasing on a temporary visa is strongest when your remaining visa duration is long, you have a clear path to permanent residency, and the deposit you'd commit is genuinely surplus to the savings you'd need if things changed. When those conditions don't hold, the picture is different.
If your visa is being renewed rather than held as a bridging arrangement toward PR, and renewal is not certain, locking a 20% deposit into a new-build apartment exposes you to the risk of forced sale under your FIRB conditions if you ultimately leave. The costs of that — transfer duty on the way in, agent fees and potential stamp duty concession repayment on the way out — can erode a deposit that took years to accumulate. A rental strategy while the visa situation resolves is a legitimate alternative, and for some applicants it is clearly the right one.
Source: Australian Taxation Office; Home Affairs.
Where I'd lean: if a client is inside 18 months of a PR application lodgement date and has a stable employment picture, I'd typically push toward purchasing now rather than waiting — the FIRB conditions fall away once they're a permanent resident, and they're buying new stock anyway. If the PR timeline is genuinely uncertain, we'd have an honest conversation about whether the deposit is better kept liquid.
Evelyn Clark · Director, Mortgage & Finance Broker · Chat to Evelyn →
How to buy in South East Melbourne on a temporary visa, step by step
The process layers FIRB requirements over the standard loan process, which means a few parallel tracks running at once. Getting them in the right order saves time and avoids a conditional approval sitting idle while FIRB paperwork catches up.
Step 1: Talk to us
We start by understanding your visa subclass, remaining duration, income structure and deposit position, then identify which lenders on the panel will genuinely consider your application and on what terms.
Step 2: Assess your borrowing position and start the FIRB application
We work through your borrowing capacity across the lenders who match your visa and income profile, and you lodge the FIRB application in parallel — the approval can take several weeks and shouldn't wait.
Step 3: Pre-approval and property search
With a conditional pre-approval in hand and FIRB approval progressing, you search for eligible new dwellings or vacant land. Your solicitor confirms the property meets FIRB conditions before you sign anything.
Step 4: Formal approval through to settlement
Once FIRB approval is confirmed and your chosen property is under contract, we submit for formal loan approval, manage the lender's requirements, and support you through to settlement.
What approval challenges do temporary visa holders face?
The hurdles worth knowing about:
- › Thin Australian credit file: many applicants have no credit history in Australia, which some lenders treat as a gap rather than a clean slate. Lenders who accept overseas credit reports, or who assess on employment and savings history alone, are the ones worth approaching.
- › Mixed income sources: where income is split between an Australian employer and an overseas account, lenders apply different shading rules to each component, and the combined figure they'll assess can be materially lower than your actual earnings.
- › Visa-subclass exclusions: some lenders maintain an approved-visa list and simply won't process applications outside it. A decline on the wrong lender sits on your credit file; applying through a broker who knows the panel avoids that outcome.
- › LVR restrictions and deposit size: an 80% LVR cap is the most common ceiling, which means you need a larger deposit than a citizen-buyer on the same property — particularly relevant in South East Melbourne, where new-build unit prices are typically above $600,000.
- › FIRB timing and lender coordination: lenders want FIRB approval before formal unconditional approval, and FIRB applications can take longer than expected. Applicants who lodge late in the purchase process often face settlement pressure or need to renegotiate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can temporary visa holders buy an established home in South East Melbourne?
No, temporary residents are foreign persons under FIRB rules and the established home purchase ban applies until 30 June 2029. New dwellings and vacant residential land are still available with FIRB approval.
Which visa subclasses do lenders in South East Melbourne typically accept?
Lender policies differ, but employer-sponsored work visas such as the 482 are broadly accepted among the lenders who lend to temporary residents. Student visas and bridging visas have a narrower panel. Which subclass you hold matters before you apply.
How much deposit do temporary visa holders need in South East Melbourne?
Most lenders require a 20% deposit for temporary visa applicants, capping the LVR at 80%. A small number of specialist lenders consider 90% LVR in some circumstances, but the panel is narrow and conditions apply.
Do temporary visa holders pay more stamp duty in Victoria?
Yes. Foreign persons pay an additional 8% Foreign Purchaser Additional Duty on top of standard transfer duty in Victoria. This applies to temporary residents and is on top of the standard rate. The first home buyer duty exemption is not available to temporary residents.
Is a mortgage broker or direct lender better for a temporary visa home loan?
A mortgage broker, every time. Lender policies on visa subclass, income currency and LVR differ significantly, and applying to the wrong lender leaves a credit enquiry on your file with nothing to show for it. A broker identifies which lenders will actually consider your application before you apply.
What happens to the mortgage if a temporary visa holder becomes a permanent resident?
The mortgage continues as normal, and the FIRB conditions that applied to the purchase as a temporary resident no longer restrict the property once permanent residency is granted. You'd typically refinance at that point to access the full lender panel.
Your Next Steps
Buying on a temporary visa in South East Melbourne is genuinely achievable for the right applicant — but the FIRB rules, the lender policy variation and the new-property restriction mean you need to understand your specific position before you approach any lender. Getting the lender, the FIRB timing and the property type aligned from the start saves time and protects your credit file.
The right path forward depends on your visa subclass, your income structure and where your PR application sits. Contact the EverLend team or call 03 7036 3356. We'll work through where you stand across our 60+ lender panel and identify the most suitable options for your circumstances.
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External Resources
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.
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