Foreign National · Mortgage
90% LTV mortgage for an Indian national on a Skilled Worker visa — 10% deposit, no ILR
An Indian software engineer on a Skilled Worker visa wanted to buy his first UK home with a 10% deposit. He had been in the UK for 14 months, had no indefinite leave to remain and his deposit was partially funded by a remittance from India under the RBI Liberalised Remittance Scheme. High-street lenders required either ILR or a 25% deposit. We secured a 90% LTV mortgage without either.
Reviewed by Yazdaan Hussain · CeMAP qualified · LLB
1 September 2026
The Situation
Our client was a software engineer employed by a UK technology company on a Skilled Worker visa. He had been in the UK for 14 months at the point of instruction, was earning £87,000 per annum on a standard PAYE basis and had a clean, thin UK credit file — two credit cards, a mobile phone contract and a UK current account, all opened since his arrival. His deposit was £42,000, made up of £22,000 of UK savings accumulated since arriving and £20,000 remitted from his Indian savings account under the Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme. His visa had 22 months remaining at the point of instruction. Four high-street lenders had declined to proceed — citing either the absence of ILR, the less than two-year residency period, or the overseas component of the deposit.
The Challenge
The UK mortgage market's standard treatment of Skilled Worker visa holders without ILR creates a binary: either a 25% deposit and access to a small subset of specialist lenders, or ILR and near-standard access. The 10% deposit tier — which is available to visa holders on a case-by-case basis through specialist lenders, particularly where income is above a threshold and the visa has meaningful time remaining — is not well understood by standard brokers and is not offered by mainstream banks. The LRS-sourced component of the deposit added a second layer of complexity: UK conveyancers require clear source-of-funds documentation for overseas remittances, and an Indian bank transfer into a UK account raises questions that some solicitors are not equipped to resolve efficiently. Fourteen months of UK residence was sufficient for several specialist lenders but not for the automated systems of standard banks.
Our Approach
We identified specialist lenders who assess Skilled Worker visa applicants at 90% LTV where income exceeds a defined threshold and the visa has at least 12 months remaining — both of which the client met. We prepared the source-of-funds documentation for the LRS remittance in full: three months of Indian bank statements covering the period of accumulation, the outward remittance advice from the Indian bank, the inward payment confirmation to the UK account, and a brief explanatory note covering the RBI's LRS framework and the annual limit, which the transfer was well within. We worked alongside the conveyancer to ensure the overseas deposit evidence was presented in a format they could accept without delay.
The Outcome
Mortgage offered at 90% LTV on a competitive fixed rate. The lender assessed the Skilled Worker visa status and 22 months remaining as sufficient for their visa-holder criteria. The LRS remittance was accepted as a valid and documented source of funds. No ILR was required. The purchase completed. The client's target of buying with a 10% deposit — which four lenders had described as impossible without ILR — was achieved.
Outcome
Mortgage offered at 90% LTV on a competitive fixed rate. The lender assessed the Skilled Worker visa status and 22 months remaining as sufficient for their visa-holder criteria. The LRS remittance was accepted as a valid and documented source of funds. No ILR was required. The purchase completed. The client's target of buying with a 10% deposit — which four lenders had described as impossible without ILR — was achieved.
This case study is anonymised. The outcome shown is specific to this client's individual circumstances and is not indicative of results in other cases. Your mortgage is not guaranteed until a formal offer is issued. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Lockhart Murphy is a trading style of Mortgage Force (UK) Ltd who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA Number: 843041. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House No: 09394027.
- India
- Indian national
- Skilled Worker visa
- no ILR
- 10% deposit
- 90% LTV
- LRS
- Reserve Bank of India
- source of funds
- foreign national
- first-time buyer
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