Being on an Australian partner visa won’t automatically stop you from getting a home loan in Australia. Some lenders accept borrowers on temporary partner visas, including subclass 820 and 309 visas. The loan amount, deposit and assessment of your income depend on the lender’s policy and your partner’s residency status.
If you’re buying with an Australian citizen or a permanent-resident partner, you may have more lending options than someone applying for a temporary-resident home loan alone.
At Home Loan Experts, this distinction matters when we assess a partner visa application. We look at your exact visa subclass, who will be on the loan and property title, whose income is required for servicing, and which lenders accept that combination.
How Much Can You Borrow On A Partner Visa?
You may be eligible to borrow up to 95% of the property value when purchasing with an Australian citizen or permanent-resident partner.
A 95% loan isn’t available in every situation. Lender policy becomes more restrictive at higher loan-to-value ratios (LVRs), particularly where one applicant doesn’t yet hold permanent residency.
The lender will assess factors such as:
- Your deposit
- Your credit history
- Your partner visa subclass
- Your income and employment
- How the property will be owned
- Your relationship and living arrangements
- Which applicant earns the income required to service the loan
- Your partner’s Australian citizenship or permanent-residency status
A common mistake is to assume every lender will assess a couple the same way because one applicant is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. They don’t. The temporary resident’s visa and income still affect which lender policies apply.
This is where lender selection becomes particularly important. An application that falls outside one bank’s partner visa policy may fit another lender’s criteria.
Which Lenders Accept Partner Visa Home Loans?
There isn’t one standard partner visa policy across Australian lenders. Some lenders accept applications where one borrower holds a temporary Partner visa and the other is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Others restrict the maximum LVR, require particular ownership arrangements or apply different rules to the temporary resident’s income.
This means the lender with a competitive home loan for two Australian citizens isn’t necessarily the right lender for the same couple when one applicant holds a subclass 820 or 309 visa.
Our brokers compare the visa requirements alongside the lender’s normal credit policy before recommending where to apply. This reduces the risk of approaching a lender whose policy doesn’t fit your residency situation.
What Are The Lending Criteria For A Partner Visa Mortgage?
Lending criteria vary between banks, but several factors commonly affect these applications.
You will generally have more options when you’re buying with an Australian citizen or permanent resident rather than applying independently as a temporary resident.
Lenders will also assess your income, employment stability, credit history, deposit and ability to make the repayments. Your ownership structure matters as well. Some lenders have specific requirements around whether the property is held as joint tenants or tenants in common.
We also check whether the lender will use both applicants’ income. This often has a bigger effect on borrowing capacity than the visa itself.
For example, a couple may have enough combined income to service the proposed loan. If the chosen lender won’t accept all of the temporary visa holder’s income, the amount it is prepared to lend may fall substantially.
The better question isn’t simply, “Does this bank accept partner visas?” You also need to know how it assesses the income, LVR and ownership structure attached to that visa.
Which Partner Visas Are Accepted For A Home Loan?
The main Partner visa subclasses are:
- Partner (Migrant) visa subclass 100
- Partner (Temporary) visa subclass 820
- Partner (Permanent) visa subclass 801
- Partner (Provisional) visa subclass 309
The Department of Home Affairs confirms that subclasses 820 and 309 are temporary or provisional Partner visas, while subclasses 801 and 100 are the corresponding permanent visas. A permanent Partner visa generally gives you a simpler lending position because you’re no longer being assessed as a temporary visa holder.
If you hold an 820 or 309 visa, lender selection matters more. Some lenders accept these visas under their standard or specialist lending policies, while others impose restrictions.
People on another temporary visa who are married to or in a de facto relationship with an Australian citizen or permanent resident may also have lending options. The lender will assess the actual visa you hold rather than treating every spouse of an Australian resident as a Partner visa holder.
Buying A Home in Australia As A Non-Resident
Everything you need to know as a non-resident buying a property in Australia.
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Can I Get A Home Loan On A Subclass 820 Visa?
Yes. Some lenders accept borrowers holding a subclass 820 Partner (Temporary) visa.
The subclass 820 visa is an onshore temporary Partner visa. Holding it doesn’t mean you need to wait until you receive your subclass 801 permanent visa before buying a home. Your borrowing options will depend on the rest of the application, particularly:
- Your credit history
- Your required LVR
- Your employment and income
- Your deposit and available funds
- Whose income the lender needs to use
- Whether you’re buying with your Australian citizen or permanent-resident partner
We’ve found that the visa question and the servicing question need to be assessed together. Finding a lender that accepts an 820 visa doesn’t help if that lender won’t use enough of the visa holder’s income for the couple to qualify.
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A subclass 309 Partner (Provisional) visa may also be accepted by selected lenders. The 309 is the provisional Partner visa for applicants who applied through the offshore pathway. It precedes the permanent subclass 100 Partner visa.
Your location and employment arrangements become particularly relevant if you’re still overseas or earning foreign income.
A lender accepting the visa doesn’t automatically mean it will accept 100% of your foreign income for servicing. Currency, country, employment type and the lender’s foreign-income policy all affect the assessment.
We check these policies together rather than assessing the visa in isolation.
Do I Need To Wait For Permanent Residency Before Getting A Home Loan?
Waiting for permanent residency isn’t always necessary to get a home loan.
Temporary Partner visa holders may qualify with selected lenders, particularly when purchasing with an Australian citizen or permanent-resident spouse.
Waiting for an 801 or 100 visa may increase your lender options, but it also means delaying the property purchase. The Department of Home Affairs reported a median processing time of 17 months for provisional and temporary Partner visas in June 2026, although individual processing times vary.
Your mortgage strategy should therefore be based on what you qualify for now rather than assuming permanent residency must come first.
Will I Need A Deposit?
If you qualify for a 95% home loan, you would generally need at least 5% of the property value towards the purchase.
The amount you need in cash may be higher.
Your deposit and your total funds required aren’t the same figure. You also need to account for costs such as conveyancing, inspections and any applicable stamp duty or foreign-buyer surcharge. Lenders also differ on where your deposit comes from. Depending on the loan and lender, acceptable funds may include genuine savings, a financial gift or other verified sources.
If your deposit is the main barrier, our brokers can also check whether a guarantor loan is available based on your circumstances.
Can The Bank Use My Partner Visa Income?
Selected lenders will accept income earned by a borrower on a temporary Partner visa, but the assessment isn’t identical across banks. This is an area where lender policy makes a substantial difference. A lender may accept your visa but place restrictions on your income. Another may accept both the visa and income under its normal servicing rules. The source of the income matters too.
If you’re living and working in Australia, the lender will assess your Australian employment and income. If you’re earning income overseas, its foreign-income rules also apply. The currency, country, tax treatment and type of employment may affect how much income is included in the servicing calculation.
For couples who rely on both incomes to qualify, we check income acceptance before selecting a lender.
Can My Fiancé Buy A Home With Me?
Your fiancé’s current visa determines the lending options available.
A Prospective Marriage visa, subclass 300, isn’t the same as holding a subclass 820 or 309 Partner visa. Home Affairs lists subclass 300 separately from the temporary and permanent Partner visa subclasses.
Some lenders may still consider an application involving a subclass 300 visa holder, particularly where the other applicant is an Australian citizen or permanent resident. The maximum LVR, income treatment and ownership requirements may differ from a standard Partner visa application.
If you’re planning to buy before the Partner visa is granted, check the lending position before signing a property contract.
Does The Length Of Relationship Affect The Home Loan?
Relationship length may form part of a lender’s assessment, particularly where the application relies heavily on the temporary resident’s income or seeks a high LVR.
A lender’s main concern is still whether the borrowers meet its credit policy and can service the loan. For example, consider a couple where one applicant is an Australian citizen with little or no income and the temporary Partner visa holder earns most of the household income.
The lender is relying heavily on an applicant whose Australian residency isn’t yet permanent. That application may receive more scrutiny than one where the Australian citizen or permanent resident earns enough to service the debt independently.
This doesn’t mean a newer relationship automatically results in a declined application. The lender looks at the application as a whole.
Do I Need FIRB Approval On A Partner Visa?
You don’t need to apply for foreign investment approval when purchasing residential property as joint tenants with your Australian citizen or permanent-resident spouse.
The Australian Government currently lists this as an exemption from the residential real-estate application requirement. The exemption also applies when buying as joint tenants with an eligible New Zealand citizen spouse. The ownership structure is important.
The spouse exemption applies to joint tenants. Don’t assume the same exemption applies if you intend to purchase as tenants in common.
This has become more important since the Australian Government introduced restrictions on foreign investors buying established dwellings. The current policy generally prohibits foreign investors from purchasing established homes between 1 April 2025 and 30 June 2029, subject to exemptions.
If you’re buying with an Australian spouse and relying on the spouse exemption, confirm your proposed ownership structure with your conveyancer or solicitor before exchanging contracts.
Will I Pay A Foreign Buyer Surcharge?
Your Partner visa doesn’t create one Australia-wide answer to this question.
Foreign-purchaser stamp-duty surcharges are imposed by individual states and territories.
The definition of a foreign purchaser and any spouse exemptions depend on where you buy.
Don’t assume that being exempt from foreign investment approval also makes you exempt from a state foreign-buyer surcharge. They are separate rules administered under different legislation.
Before budgeting for the purchase, check the current revenue-office rules for the state or territory where the property is located.
This is particularly important for a high-LVR purchase because an unexpected surcharge increases the cash you need to complete the transaction.
Am I Eligible For First-Home Buyer Grants Or Concessions?
Possibly, but your eligibility depends on the scheme and where you’re buying.
First-home buyer grants and stamp-duty concessions are administered separately by each state and territory. Residency and citizenship requirements differ between schemes.
If one applicant is an Australian citizen or permanent resident and the other holds a Partner visa, don’t assume the couple automatically qualifies or is automatically excluded.
Check the eligibility rules for the specific grant or concession before including it in your available funds.
What Happens If My Permanent Partner Visa Is Still Being Processed?
You don’t necessarily need to put your home-buying plans on hold while waiting for the permanent stage of your Partner visa.
Home Affairs confirms that holders of temporary subclass 820 or 309 visas generally become eligible for assessment of the corresponding permanent Partner visa after two years have passed since the original Partner visa application.
The mortgage lender still assesses you based on the visa and circumstances you have when applying. Don’t assume a pending permanent-residency application will cause a lender to assess you as a permanent resident before that visa has been granted.
It is also worth planning around your current visa rather than expecting the Department of Home Affairs to accelerate permanent residency because you’re buying property. Home Affairs specifically states that obtaining a bank loan or purchasing property isn’t, by itself, a compelling or compassionate reason for priority Partner visa processing.
What If One Lender Declines My Partner Visa Application?
A decline doesn’t necessarily mean every lender will reach the same decision.
Partner visa applications sit at the intersection of several lender policies: temporary residency, acceptable visa subclasses, LVR limits, income acceptance, ownership structure and servicing.
This creates situations where the borrowers themselves are financially strong but the application doesn’t fit the first lender’s policy. Our brokers check these policy points before submitting an application. If you’ve already been declined, we first identify why the lender declined the loan before considering another lender.
Submitting the same application elsewhere without understanding the original problem risks another decline.
How Home Loan Experts Helps With Partner Visa Home Loans
Partner visa home loans require more policy matching than a standard application involving two Australian citizens or permanent residents.
We assess:
- How much you want to borrow
- Your deposit and source of funds
- Any foreign-income considerations
- Whether both incomes are required
- Your partner’s citizenship or residency
- The proposed property ownership structure
- Your exact visa subclass and current visa status
- Whether the proposed LVR fits the lender’s visa policy
- How each suitable lender treats the temporary resident’s income
This lets us narrow the application to lenders whose policies fit your circumstances before you apply. Call us on 1300 889 743 or complete our free assessment form to speak with a mortgage broker about your Partner visa home loan.