Borrow upto 95% LVR
SGD incomeaccepted
Can an Australian living in Singapore get a home loan in Australia? Yes. As an Australian citizen in Singapore you can borrow up to 95 per cent of the value to buy back home, using your SGD income. Your Singapore bank will offer you an Australian property loan too, but a specialist broker puts a whole panel of Australian lenders in front of you, which usually means a sharper rate and the loan features a foreign bank’s product leaves out. No FIRB approval is required for citizens, and the application runs remotely.
Singapore is one of the strongest markets we lend into. Salaries are high, tax is low, and Australian lenders like the profile. The trap is accepting the Australian-property loan your Singapore bank quotes without seeing what the rest of the market would do with the same income.
MAP places Australian expat home loans for Australians living and working in Singapore, buying property back in Australia. We hold accreditation with 31+ Australian lenders and match your SGD income, currency and residency to the ones whose policy fits, so you can weigh a genuine Australian mortgage against your bank’s expat product and decide on the numbers.
If you bank with HSBC, CIMB, Standard Chartered or DBS in Singapore, you have probably been offered an Australian property loan already. It is a real option, and for some buyers it is the right one. But it is one product, on that bank’s terms: often a tighter LVR cap, a narrower feature set, and a rate set for their book rather than shopped across the market. A full Australian panel gives you 31+ lenders compared on rate and policy, the complete product set (offset, redraw, splits, fixed and variable), and a structure built for negative gearing and an easy refinance once you are home.
We are not here to talk you out of your bank. We are here so you do not choose blind. If their offer wins, that is a good outcome and you will know it. More often, an Australian lender reads your SGD income just as well and hands you more loan for the same income.
In our experience Singapore is the expat market with the strongest Australian lender appetite and the fastest approvals. The profile works for a few reasons:
One accuracy note worth making: Singapore is low-tax, not tax-free. The point still holds. Some lenders assess the tax you actually pay in Singapore rather than applying Australian tax rates, which can increase borrowing capacity.
What you can borrow turns on your income once it is converted, your existing commitments, and how kindly the lender treats a foreign salary. Most convert to Australian dollars and then apply “shading”, a haircut of about 20 per cent to cover currency movement; lenders then apply Australian tax rates, though some assess net income. SGD tends to be treated well, so the right lender trims it only lightly.
FIRB. Australian citizens do not need FIRB approval to buy here, full stop. Your years in Singapore, and whether your partner holds an Australian passport, make no difference; the exemption follows your citizenship. Permanent Residents are generally exempt from FIRB, but a Permanent Resident who is not ordinarily resident in Australia may be treated as a foreign person in some circumstances. We check your specific position before you go firm on a property.
The foreign buyer surcharge. This surcharge is aimed at non-citizens and non-residents. As an Australian citizen you sit outside it, however long you’ve been overseas. A Permanent Resident living overseas can pay it in some states, so we check your position. Either way, it’s a real edge over a temporary visa holder bidding on the same place.
Established homes. The 2025 restriction on established-dwelling purchases was aimed at temporary visa holders and leaves citizens and PRs untouched. From Singapore you can buy established, brand-new, off-the-plan or land, with nothing off the table on dwelling type.
Your deposit. You are not forced to move your whole deposit into Australian dollars early and wear the exchange risk. Many lenders let it sit in SGD or USD and convert near settlement, and we time that run with you.
Living in Singapore does not cap you at 80% LVR, whatever you may have been told. We place Singapore expat loans well above that for the right borrower. Here is a high-level summary of the maximum lending ratios we work with:
You will not need to fly home. We walk you through certifying your ID at the Australian High Commission in Singapore or through approved alternatives, coordinate witnessing to each lender’s requirements, and run the whole application remotely across the two-hour time difference.
Match. We run your residency, situation and SGD income through the VSL Matrix™ to shortlist the lenders most likely to approve you, and we line your bank’s expat offer up beside them so the comparison is real.
Apply. We build your strongest application for the lender that fits best, then handle the cross-border documents, certification and timing.
Purchase. We stay with it to settlement and structure the loan around your return-to-Australia plan, so refinancing later is simple.
Download The MAP Process (PDF, 2 pages)
Daniel was a busy expat living and working in Singapore, earning SGD. He had just started a new job and was on probation, and although he had a 20% deposit he only wanted to use 10% because of the exchange rate at the time. We placed him at 90% LVR despite the probation and the foreign currency. A year on, a conservative bank valuation confirmed his equity had grown by more than $100,000, which he is now planning to put toward a second purchase.
Yes. Australian citizens in Singapore can borrow up to 95 per cent of a property’s value. Permanent Residents can also borrow up to 95 per cent for an owner-occupied home and up to 80 per cent for an investment, using their Singapore income. The application is fully remote and citizens need no FIRB approval.
It comes down to the numbers, which is exactly why it pays to compare both. A Singapore bank offers one Australian-property product on its own terms. A broker weighs a full panel of Australian lenders, which often means a sharper rate plus features like offset and redraw a foreign bank’s product may not carry. We run both side by side so you choose on the figures.
You generally reach the same rates and products as a borrower living in Australia, variable and fixed. The rate you are offered depends on the lender, your LVR and how your SGD income is assessed, which is why comparing across the panel matters.
It depends on your converted income, your existing debts, and how the lender shades SGD, which is 20 per cent for most lenders.
Citizens need neither, regardless of time spent in Singapore. Permanent Residents are generally exempt from FIRB. The ATO notes that a Permanent Resident who is not ordinarily a resident in Australia may be a foreign person in some circumstances, so we check your position before you commit.
Yes. Our panel accepts SGD, USD and AUD, and your deposit can usually stay in SGD or USD and convert close to settlement.
Start with the whole market, not one bank. Bring us your Singapore bank’s quote if you have one, or come with nothing but your income and we’ll show you what the full Australian panel would do.
Written & reviewed by Craig Vaughan, Director & Mortgage BrokerMFAA 47419 · Credit Representative 376082Last reviewed
