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If you are living and working in Australia on a temporary visa, you have probably heard that the rules for buying a home changed in 2025. A lot of temporary residents now assume they are locked out. The honest answer is more useful than that, and it usually turns on one question: do you have an Australian, permanent resident, or New Zealand-citizen partner buying with you?
If you do, an established home is very much back on the table, often at up to around 95% of the property’s value, with no FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) application and no FIRB fee. If you are buying on your own, your options are narrower than they were, but there is still a clear path. This guide walks through what changed, which visas can borrow, how the deposit actually works, and what opens up when you get permanent residency.
What changed for temporary residents in 2025
From 1 April 2025, foreign persons, including most temporary visa holders, generally cannot buy an established dwelling in their own name. This ban is currently in place and has been extended further this decade, so it is the rule to plan around rather than a short-term measure. You can read the detail on the ATO’s foreign investment pages and in our full FIRB guide.
What you can still buy on your own has not disappeared. A temporary resident can purchase a new or near-new dwelling, or vacant land to build on, with FIRB approval and the FIRB fee. Those fees are indexed every year, so we confirm the current figure with you rather than quoting a number that dates quickly. If you do not hold permanent residency at all, our guide on getting a home loan without PR covers the wider picture.
So on a solo basis the picture is narrower: a new build or land, FIRB approval, and usually a larger deposit. The path that reopens established homes is the partner route.
The partner route: established homes, FIRB-exempt
If a temporary visa holder buys as joint tenants (not tenants in common) with a partner who is an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen on a subclass 444 Special Category Visa, that purchase is exempt from FIRB approval and its fee, and the established-dwelling ban does not apply.
In practice, this is what puts an established home, the kind of place you actually want to live in, back within reach, often at up to around 95% of the purchase price. It is also why most temporary residents who buy a home to live in do it with their partner rather than alone.
The structure matters. Joint tenants and tenants in common are not the same thing, and the exemption depends on getting it right, so we make sure the ownership is set up correctly before anything is lodged. If this is your situation, our partner visa home loans page goes deeper, and the FIRB guide covers the rules in full.
Which temporary visa are you on?
Lenders and FIRB treat visas differently, so your visa shapes both your borrowing options and what you can buy. The short version, each with a dedicated guide:
- 482 visa (TSS / skills): steady employment-based appetite with the right lender, and a qualifying partner opens the established-home path.
- 485 graduate visa: lendable, and far more so buying with an Australian-citizen partner via the joint-tenant exemption.
- 491 and 494 regional visas: more limited on your own, but a qualifying partner changes the picture.
- Partner visa (309 / 820) and bridging visa A or B: strong options, and the joint-tenant exemption usually applies when buying with your Australian partner.
If your visa is not listed, it does not mean no. It means the answer depends on the lender and your situation, which is exactly what we check.
How much deposit you actually need
A lot of temporary residents assume they need a 20% deposit before they can even start. With the partner route and the right lender, that is often not the case.
| Your situation | Typical maximum loan | Indicative deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Buying with an Australian / PR / NZ-citizen partner, as joint tenants | Up to ~95% LVR | From around 5% |
| Buying solo (new dwelling or land, with FIRB approval) | Around 80% LVR | Around 20% |
When you borrow more than 80%, lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) usually applies. LMI is a one-off cost, commonly around 1% to 2% of the purchase price, and it protects the lender rather than you. For many buyers, waiting three or four years to save a full 20% carries its own cost, because rent keeps going out the door and prices rarely stand still while you save. We will show you the larger-deposit and smaller-deposit numbers side by side rather than push you toward one. The point is simple: a 20% deposit is an assumption, not a rule.
What changes when you get PR
Permanent residency widens your options considerably. Once you hold PR or citizenship, more lenders will consider you, established homes are open without any FIRB question, and first-home buyers may be able to use the expanded Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, which has no income caps or place limits. If PR is on the horizon, it is worth planning now so you can move the moment it is granted. Our permanent resident home loans guide covers what opens up.
Why temporary residents choose MAP
Buying here when you are new to the system, on a visa, and possibly facing a lender that does not understand your situation is genuinely harder than it should be. This is the exact problem we work on every day. A few reasons temporary residents bring it to us:
- The lenders most likely to say yes, found first. Our VSL Matrix™ (Visa × Situation × Lender) matches your visa and circumstances to the lenders most likely to approve before you apply, so you are not damaging your credit file with scattered applications to banks that were never going to say yes.
- Access to 31+ lenders, not one bank’s policy. A branch will not tell you the lender down the road is a better fit for a temporary resident. We know the policies, the rates, and the appetite across the panel.
- Real experience with this exact situation. We have placed home loans for hundreds of temporary and non-resident borrowers, and guide you through each step rather than leave you to work it out.
- A free service, paid by the lender. For most home loans our service costs you nothing, because the lender pays us, not you. Your rates, fees, and charges are the same as going to the lender directly.
The way we work is built into our name. We Match you to the lenders most likely to approve your specific visa and situation, Apply with the strongest version of your case, and then you Purchase the home.
Frequently asked questions
Can a temporary resident buy an established home in Australia?
On your own, no, while the ban on foreign persons buying established dwellings is in place. But buying as joint tenants with a partner who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or New Zealand citizen, your purchase is FIRB-exempt and established homes are available.
How much deposit does a temporary resident need?
Often less than you think. The partner route can open established homes from around a 5% deposit, with lenders mortgage insurance applying above 80% LVR. Solo purchases of new dwellings or land usually need around 20%.
Do temporary residents need FIRB approval?
Buying on your own, generally yes, plus the FIRB fee, and you can buy new dwellings or vacant land only. Buying as joint tenants with an eligible Australian, PR, or NZ-citizen partner is exempt from FIRB approval and its fee.
Which temporary visas can get a home loan?
Common ones include the 482, 485, 491, 494, partner (309/820), and bridging visas A and B. Lender appetite varies by visa, and buying with an eligible partner strengthens almost every case.
A bank knocked me back. Does that mean I can’t buy?
Not necessarily. A rejection often means the wrong lender was asked the wrong question for a visa-holder file. Matching the right lender to your situation first is the whole point of how we work.
This article is general information, not personal credit, tax, or migration advice. Lender policies, FIRB rules, and visa requirements change; confirm your situation with MAP Home Loans and the relevant authority before you act.
