Getting a UK mortgage without indefinite leave to remain.

Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) is the immigration status that grants a non-EEA national the right to live and work in the UK permanently, with no time restriction. For EU, EEA and Swiss nationals, the equivalent is settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. From a lender’s perspective, ILR or settled status means the borrower has an indefinite right to remain, earn income in the UK and therefore service a mortgage — removing the most significant risk that any time-limited status introduces.

Without ILR, the lender cannot be certain that the borrower will still have the right to remain and work in the UK in five or ten years. It does not mean a mortgage is unavailable — it means a mainstream lender will usually decline and a specialist lender needs to be used instead, with specific criteria applied to compensate for the absence of permanent status.

Visa types that specialist lenders will consider typically include the Skilled Worker visa, the Health and Care visa, the Global Talent visa, the Innovator Founder visa and certain other work-route visas with significant time remaining. They generally will not consider student visas, tourist visas, short-term work permits or visas with less than 12 months remaining. Pre-settled status under the EUSS is also considered by specialist lenders, with its own specific requirements.

Three things typically change when you apply for a mortgage without ILR: the lender panel available to you is smaller, the deposit required is likely to be higher and the documentation requirements are more extensive.

Lender panel: the mainstream high-street lenders are generally unavailable. Specialist lenders — who represent a smaller part of the overall mortgage market — have built criteria specifically for visa holders and will consider cases that high-street lenders decline outright. Getting matched to the right specialist lender is the primary value of using a broker for this type of case.

Deposit: most specialist lenders want a higher deposit than they would for a settled applicant. A 10% deposit severely limits options; 15% opens a reasonable number of specialist lenders; 20–25% gives the broadest access to the specialist panel and the most competitive rates within it. The deposit requirement is not a fixed rule — it interacts with visa type, time remaining and income strength — but as a starting point, budget for 15% or more.

Documentation: expect to provide current visa documentation (or BRP), proof of continuous UK address history, employment evidence including contract and payslips, bank statements showing salary credits, and in some cases a letter from your employer confirming your role, salary and employment type. If your income involves any overseas elements, additional evidence will be needed for that too.

If you are close to becoming eligible for ILR — within six to twelve months — it may be worth considering whether to wait and apply in a substantially stronger position. The improved access to mainstream lenders and lower deposit requirements typically translate to meaningfully better rates and terms.