Can You Get a Home Loan When Your Partner Is on a Bridging Visa?

How Australian lenders assess home loan applications

Learn how Australian lenders assess home loan applications involving a citizen and a partner on a bridging visa, including income, ownership and deposit scheme rules.

An Australian citizen may be able to obtain a home loan where their spouse or partner holds a bridging visa, but the outcome depends heavily on the partner’s current visa subclass, work rights and proposed role in the loan.

“Bridging visa” is not enough information for a lender to make a decision.

The lender will usually need to establish:

• the exact bridging visa held;
• the substantive visa application associated with it;
• whether the partner has unrestricted or limited work rights;
• the visa’s conditions and expiry arrangements;
• whether the partner will be a borrower;
• whether the partner will be on the property title; and
• whether the application involves a government guarantee.

Why does the visa subclass matter?

A bridging visa is a temporary visa that can allow someone to remain lawfully in Australia while an immigration matter or substantive visa application is being finalised.

Visa conditions vary. A lender will normally obtain a current Visa Entitlement Verification Online, or VEVO, record showing the visa in effect, period of stay and applicable conditions.

A person may describe themselves as waiting for a partner visa, permanent residency or another substantive visa, but the lender assesses the visa they currently hold.

An expected future visa approval is generally not treated as if it has already occurred.

Do lenders accept bridging visa holders?

Policies vary substantially.

Lender policy docs show several different approaches:

• ME Bank’s temporary resident policy specifically provides an exception for bridging visa holders from its usual remaining-validity requirement, although the complete application must still meet its other criteria.
• Pepper’s policy expressly lists bridging visas as unacceptable.
• NAB permits certain partner visa subclasses, including subclasses 309 and 820, where the applicant is applying jointly with an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
• ANZ has a pathway for certain partner and temporary visas, including subclass 820, subject to its conditions.
• Commonwealth Bank lists particular temporary visa subclasses it will consider and does not provide a general acceptance policy for all temporary or bridging visas.
• Gateway assesses some temporary visa scenarios case by case.
• RedZed’s policy requires Australian citizenship or permanent residency.

A lender that accepts one partner visa subclass may still decline a bridging visa associated with that application.

Can the visa holder’s income be used?

Usually, the partner needs to be an acceptable borrower before their income can be fully relied upon for servicing.

The lender may assess:

• continuity of employment;
• whether the visa permits the current employment;
• the amount of time remaining on the visa;
• the pathway to the substantive visa;
• whether the partner has an established Australian employment history;
• whether the income is permanent, casual, contract or self-employed;
• whether the proposed loan term exceeds the visa period; and
• whether the citizen applicant can service the loan independently.

Some lenders impose a lower maximum loan-to-value ratio where a temporary resident is included. Others may require the Australian citizen or permanent resident to provide most of the household income.

The most restrictive policy applying to either borrower may determine the maximum loan amount or loan-to-value ratio.

Can the partner’s income be used if they are not on the title?

This is generally difficult.

A person whose income is required to repay the loan will usually need to be a co-borrower. Lenders commonly expect borrowers to receive a substantial benefit from the loan, which will normally include an ownership interest in the property or another clear financial benefit.

Adding someone solely to increase borrowing capacity can create a “borrower of convenience” issue.

A lender may refuse an arrangement where:

• the partner is liable for the entire loan;
• their income is essential to servicing;
• they have no ownership interest;
• they receive no direct benefit from the borrowing; and
• the structure appears designed only to improve affordability.

There can be limited spouse or de facto exceptions under some lender policies, particularly where there is a clear shared household benefit. These need to be assessed individually.

What is a non-borrowing spouse?

A non-borrowing spouse is a partner who is not liable for the home loan.

Their income would not ordinarily be used as borrower income. Some lenders may consider the non-borrowing spouse’s circumstances when dividing household living expenses or determining who pays particular commitments.

For example, the lender may accept that a working non-borrowing spouse pays a reasonable share of joint household costs.

This is different from adding the spouse’s salary to the applicant’s assessable income. The citizen borrower must still demonstrate that they can meet the proposed loan under the lender’s servicing policy.

What if the application uses the 5% Deposit Scheme?

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme has stricter residency eligibility than some ordinary home loan policies.

Under the current Scheme rules, each borrower in a joint application must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the relevant eligibility date. Other temporary visa holders are not eligible joint applicants.

This creates two possible outcomes:

The citizen applies alone

The Australian citizen may apply individually if they satisfy the Scheme and lender requirements alone.

They would generally need to:

• be the only borrower;
• qualify using their own acceptable income;
• satisfy the lender’s individual borrowing capacity assessment; and
• meet the ownership requirements applying to the transaction.

The bridging visa partner’s employment income would not normally be added as borrower income.

Both partners apply jointly

Where the bridging visa holder is included as a joint borrower, the application would generally not qualify for the Scheme until that person becomes an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

The couple may still be considered for an ordinary home loan where the selected lender accepts the visa and overall structure.

Could the partner be on title but not the loan?

This is also restricted by many lenders.

A person on title grants the lender a mortgage over their interest in the property. The lender may require them to be a borrower or an acceptable security guarantor. The lender will also consider whether the person understands the transaction and receives independent legal advice where required.

For Scheme applications, participating lenders generally require the borrower and ownership structure to align with the Scheme eligibility rules.

Documents the lender may request

An application involving a bridging or partner visa may require:

• passports;
• citizenship or permanent residency evidence for the Australian applicant;
• a current VEVO record;
• the bridging visa grant notice;
• evidence of the substantive visa application;
• visa conditions showing work rights;
• employment contracts;
• recent payslips;
• bank statements showing salary credits;
• evidence of the relationship;
• evidence of the proposed ownership structure; and
• confirmation of the source of the deposit.

The lender may also request updated visa evidence immediately before unconditional approval or settlement.

The main point

A citizen and bridging visa holder may have home loan options, but there is no universal bridging visa policy.

Some lenders consider selected temporary or partner visa arrangements, some assess them case by case, and others expressly exclude bridging visas.

Using the bridging visa partner’s income while leaving them off the property title is generally difficult because the lender must establish that every borrower receives a genuine benefit from the loan.

For an Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme application, all joint borrowers must meet the Scheme’s citizenship or permanent residency requirement. A citizen applying alone cannot ordinarily rely on the non-borrowing partner’s income as though they were a co-borrower.