Home loans for citizens of New Zealand

While New Zealand citizens can more easily buy property in Australia there is still a lot to consider. In this article we break down all the key considerations

Citizens and permanent residents of New Zealand can apply for a home loan to buy property in Australia. New Zealand investors can buy both old and new properties, as well as vacant land. The Subclass 461 visa grants New Zealand citizens the right to live and work in Australia for no more than five years. To get the visa, one of your family members must have permanent resident status in Australia. They can be your partner, a spouse, or one of your parents. This will also work if they’ve traveled with you to Australia at least once in the past. To get approval, most lenders will need to see the documents that prove you have been granted a Subclass 461 visa.

What if I have property in New Zealand?

If you own a property in New Zealand and are looking to buy one in Australia, you can take out equity in your existing home. You can then use the money you receive as a deposit for the property in Australia. How much you can borrow will vary. For instance, if you own an investment property in New Zealand, you may be able to borrow up to 60% of its total value. If you own a home, you could be eligible for up to 80% of its value, but only if you’re living in New Zealand. Some lenders will also let you borrow more at a higher interest rate. Keep in mind that you will have two active home loans at once in this case: one in New Zealand and another in Australia. You could use the former to refinance your mortgage, while the latter will go towards the property you’re buying.

FIRB approval

For foreign investors, Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval is mandatory. However, the rule doesn’t apply to New Zealand citizens who’ve been to Australia at least once. If you’re a citizen of New Zealand, you’ll receive a Subclass 444 visa upon your arrival to Australia. The visa grants you permanent resident status here, so you can buy properties much like Australian citizens. The rules are different if you’re not a citizen of either Australia or New Zealand. If you’re a permanent resident of New Zealand but not a citizen, you will need to have FIRB approval. Everything you need to know about buying a property in Australia as an NZ citizen

Home loan eligibility

If you’re eligible to buy or invest in a property in Australia, you can also apply for a home loan. How much you can borrow will depend on your current status.

  • Up to 95% of the total value

All citizens of New Zealand who live in Australia can get a home loan that covers up to 95% of the cost of the property. Non-citizens who are in the country on a Subclass 461 visa can also take out as much. To be eligible, you will have to meet the conditions explained in the section below.

  • Up to 90% of the total value

This is available to people who live in New Zealand as citizens or permanent residents.

  • From 60% to 80% of the total value

If you’re living in another country, lenders will treat you as a foreign citizen. This means you can take out a loan that covers between 60% and 80% of the property value. Whether you’ll be able to take out a loan will depend on the property, your choice of lender and your financial status.

Stamp duty

As of last year, foreigners buying property in some Australian states must pay extra stamp duty. This doesn’t apply to New Zealand citizens who are in Australia on a Subclass 444 visa. To avoid extra stamp duty, New South Wales will ask you to prove that you’ve been in Australia for no less than 200 days. If you’ve spent less than 200 days in the country, you will have to pay the stamp duty surcharge. Some states won’t charge you the extra stamp duty if you’re a New Zealand citizen. These states include Tasmania, Northern Territory, South Australia, and Western Australia. Talk to an expert to learn more about different requirements for stamp duty or see how much you’ll pay using our stamp duty calculator.

Applying for the first home owners grant

The first home owners grant (FHOG) is available to all permanent residents, as well as Australian citizens. If you’re a New Zealand citizen living in Australia on a Subclass 444 visa and meet the other requirements, you should be eligible for this grant. In New South Wales, extra rules will apply. As is the case with stamp duty, you must have been in Australia for at least 200 days to receive the First Home Owners Grant. Moreover, you can buy property in New South Wales, but you can’t act as an investor. You could also maximise your chances of being eligible for FHOG by making sure you meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • You’re buying your first home
  • You’ve signed the contract after July 1, 2017
  • The total value of the property prices is less than $800,000
  • You are in Australia on the day of contract exchange To learn more about your options, it’s best to talk to an expert.

Interest rates and Non-Resident Withholding Tax (NRWT)

As a non-Australian citizen, some lenders will let you take out a home loan but at a higher interest rate. This most often applies to people who are living in New Zealand or some other country. Most lenders will offer you the same conditions as they do to Australian citizens, though. This means you will be able to get a home loan and pay the same best home loan rates as any Australian citizen. If you’re buying a home in Australia while living in New Zealand, you may have to pay an extra tax. This is called the Non-Resident Withholding Tax (NRWT). If you’re subject to the tax, the amount of money you pay for your property will be higher than usual. Some lenders will make allowances to New Zealand citizens to help them to buy a home more easily. In cases like these, it’s best to talk to an expert. This is a very complex matter and they’ll be able to help you to find a lender that will offer you the most favourable conditions. Need a home loan?

What documents will I need?

To apply for a home loan in Australia, you’ll need to provide any document your lender would want to see. This includes payslips, identification and bank statements. In some cases, lenders will ask you to provide even more documents. They need as much information as they can get to approve your home loan.

What to do next

If you have any further questions, our home loan brokers can help you with that. Before you apply for a home loan, we recommend you:

  • Find out how much you can borrow using our calculator
  • Look up the current best home loan rates on our website
  • Book in a quick call with our customer care team.It’s important to note that the information we give here is general in nature – no matter how helpful or relatable you find our articles. Even if it seems like we’re writing about you_, it’s not personal or financial advice. That’s why you should always ask a professional before making any life-changing decisions._ Book a call in with UNO
5 stars for our service reviews from clients

Book Call Now

UNO home loans

Try Plans, by UNO
Mortgage calculators completely reimagined
Get Started
Considering a purchase or refinance?

Try Plans by UNO

Mortgage calculators completely reimagined
Get Started
☎️ 🚫 No cold call promise

Related Articles

TESTIMONIALS

What our customers are saying

Matt Carter
May 21, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Paul from Uno has been amazing. Made it so easy! Highly recommend and made the finance process much more enjoyable experience for us.
Read more
Timothy Semsarian
May 17, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
UNO went above and beyond to help my wife and I with our home loan and settlement. Couldn’t recommend them enough - Jake Wood was an absolute legend! Kept us informed during the whole process and was very thorough with his work, even with a very tight timeframe. Thank you again for all your help, and looking forward to continue using your services!
Read more
Patti Jo Mogensen
May 16, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
100% Rockstar. We found Paul and Uno Home Loans from recommendations from people who had used his services. We know understand why he comes so highly recommended. We definitely put Paul and his team under pressure due to an oversight our end which meant that he had to don his superman cape and work miracles for us. We didn't appreciate the very very short window we created for ourselves (think less than two weeks for settlement). Paul was able to wave his magic wand, come up with multiple solutions to our situation and make it all happen seamlessly. It goes without saying then, without reservation that we recommend Paul and his team as our trusted mortgage advisor! Thanks again Paul. *****The limoncello is on route we promise :)
Read more
Lani Wards
May 13, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Paul Davey worked very hard to get us the mortgage we required for our investment property. He is knowledgeable and approachable. Thanks Paul!
Read more
Michael Badham
May 13, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Our entire process with Uno went very well. We had a unique set of requirements for our loan and our super friendly broker Mike Parsons managed to secure us the perfect outcome. Mike also worked above and beyond our expectations to make sure the whole process of completing the documentation of switching banks went smoothly.
Read more
Vanessa Koster
May 13, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
The service recieved from Paul was fantastic. He made the whole process stress free & easy. We started the process from NZ & Paul had everything ready for approval as soon as we landed in Aus. I would highly recommend Paul if you require a mortgage. You won't be dissapointed.
Read more
Peta Hemmings
May 13, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Paul has been amazing throughout our entire home loan process, we have recommended him to many of our family and friends. He has been extremely helpful and professional right from the beginning.
Read more
Ryan Whittle
May 12, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Highly recommended, Paul and his team made the process very streamlined delivering the best possible results.
Read more
Tiana Perez
May 10, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Paul and Dalby were incredible to deal with, from the first interaction with Paul a few months prior, to getting approval to purchase, through to the last minute helping us with the final settlement details. Their communication was second to none and they truly went the extra mile. Paul managed to get us more borrowing power than dealing with the bank directly. I couldn't recommend Paul and his team enough. Paul and Dalby, thank you so much for putting hours and hours of work into our application. We really appreciate it!
Read more
Nicholas Violaris
April 14, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Can not recommend UNO Home Loans enough, Scott Wilkinson and his team have helped us get a home loan in no time and they have been a breeze to deal with, great job guys, looking forward to working together more in the future
Read more
Lahnie Cooper
March 26, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
Jake Wood was a pleasure to work with and made this process extremely easy for me! I highly recommend Jake and the team at Uno.
Read more
Daniel Demosthenous
March 18, 2025
5 stars for our service reviews from clients
The team at UNO were absolutely fantastic at helping me set up and organise my new property purchase, Andrew answered all my questions promptly and went over and beyond to reassure me at any stage with his abundance of knowledge of the matter, also a big thank you to Dalby and Jena for helping with the process as well.
Read more