Spanish mortgage for non-residents: loan-to-value, documents and timeline

You live in the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia or anywhere else outside Spain, and you are buying a home in Spain. Spanish banks will lend to you, on terms slightly stricter than those they offer residents. The difference lies mainly in the share of the price they agree to finance and in the evidence they ask for on your income.

Resident or non-resident: what the bank looks at

For a Spanish bank, you are a non-resident if your tax residence is outside Spain, which in practice means you file your tax return in another country. Your nationality plays no part. A British citizen settled in Valencia and taxed in Spain borrows as a resident, while a Spaniard who lives and works in London borrows as a non-resident.

This status changes two things: the loan-to-value, meaning the share of the price the bank will finance, and the way the bank checks your income. A salary paid by a foreign employer, rent collected in the UK or a pension paid in Canada is harder to verify from Madrid or Valencia. The bank makes up for this by asking for more documents and a larger contribution from your own funds.

How much the bank will finance

These are the loan-to-value ratios our partner banks work with:

The bank applies this ratio to the lower of two amounts: the purchase price and the value set by the bank's valuation (tasación). Say you buy a property for €300,000 and it is valued at €280,000. A 70% loan-to-value then applies to €280,000 and gives a loan of €196,000. The €14,000 difference from a loan based on the price comes out of your own pocket.

Your own funds therefore cover the rest of the price plus the buying costs: transfer tax (ITP) on a resale property or VAT on a new build, the notary, the land registry, the valuation and the fees. Banks do not finance these costs. The breakdown, with the official rates by region, is in our article on the costs of buying property in Spain.

A worked example

Take a €250,000 apartment in the province of Alicante, bought by a couple who live in the UK, with a 70% loan-to-value and a valuation equal to the price:

• loan: €175,000;
• own funds towards the price: €75,000;
• buying costs to pay on top: the Comunitat Valenciana transfer tax, the deed costs, the valuation (tasación) and the fees.

For this couple, these amounts are fixed in euros, but their cost in pounds moves with the exchange rate until the money is transferred.

The free simulator runs this calculation in 3 minutes for your region and profile, and sends you a detailed PDF with the monthly payment and the total cost of the purchase.

What the bank checks in your file

A Spanish bank checks three things before it lends.

Whether your income covers the monthly payment

The bank compares the monthly payment on the new loan, plus the repayments on your existing credit, with your net income. Rent you pay at home, maintenance or child support payments and a car loan all count. Our article on how much you can borrow in Spain explains the calculation.

Whether your income is stable and verifiable

An employee on a permanent contract with several years in the job presents the simplest file. Self-employed people, company owners and retirees can borrow too, with more paperwork: company accounts, tax returns or assessments over several years, pension statements.

Income in pounds, US, Canadian or Australian dollars or any other currency adds a currency risk: if the euro rises, your monthly payment weighs more. When the euro gains 10% against your currency, each monthly payment costs you 10% more in your own money. Spanish law treats a loan in a currency other than the one you earn in as a foreign-currency loan. It gives you the right to convert that loan into the currency in which you receive most of your income or hold most of the assets you will repay it with or, if you live in another EU country, into that country's currency. Unless the contract says otherwise, the conversion uses the European Central Bank rate published on the day you ask for it.

Whether the property is worth the price

That is the job of the valuation (tasación), carried out by a firm approved by and registered with the Banco de España. You pay for it. We order it and coordinate it with the bank.

The documents to prepare

The exact list depends on the bank. For an employed non-resident, expect at least:

• your passport or national identity card;
• your NIE, the foreigner identification number, which you need to sign both the purchase and the loan;
• your last three payslips and your employment contract;
• your last two tax returns or tax assessments;
• six months of bank statements;
• the repayment schedules for your existing loans;
• the reservation contract or the deposit contract (contrato de arras) and the nota simple for the property (the land registry extract), if you have already found one.

Alveo Finance does not help you obtain the NIE and does not do translations. We tell you early which translations the bank requires, so you can arrange them while we build the mortgage file.

The Spanish bank account

Monthly payments are taken from a Spanish account, usually opened with the bank that lends to you. Some banks let you open it remotely; others ask you to come to a branch. Build this into your timetable, especially if you only plan to travel to Spain for the signing.

Rates and insurance

Banks offer fixed rates, variable rates (usually linked to the 12-month Euribor) and mixed rates, with a fixed period followed by a variable one. They often cut the rate if you pay your income into the account or take out their insurance. The law forbids them from making a product a condition of the loan, but they may tie a rate reduction to it, so compare the offer with and without these products. Our article on Spanish mortgage rates and the Euribor will help you choose.

Steps and timeline

1. Simulation. 3 minutes on our simulator, with a detailed PDF.
2. Feasibility study. Your adviser checks that the project holds up (income, own funds, likely loan-to-value) and stays with you until the mandate is signed.
3. Building the file. Your coordinator gathers and checks the documents, and remains your day-to-day contact for the whole file.
4. Negotiation. Your broker presents the file to our partner banks (more than 10 banks, more than 100 bank contacts), negotiates with the banks and oversees compliance.
5. Valuation and offer. The bank has the property valued, then issues its offer.
6. Offer documents. The bank gives you the FEIN (the European Standardised Information Sheet, known in English as the ESIS) and the FiAE (the Standardised Warnings Sheet) at least 10 calendar days before the signing: this is the 10-day period required by Spanish Law 5/2019 before signing.
7. Meeting with the notary. No later than the day before the signing, the notary you have chosen sees you free of charge, checks that you understand the loan and records this in a formal statement (acta). The signing of the purchase and the loan follows.

If you already live in Spain

A foreign national who is tax resident in Spain, employed by a Spanish company or registered as self-employed in Spain, borrows on resident terms: up to 80-90% of the price. Banks then look at how long you have held your job and how regular your Spanish income is. If you have only just arrived, your income for the previous year is often foreign, and the bank may treat you as a non-resident.

Buying through a company

A Spanish or foreign company can also borrow to buy a property, usually up to 50% of the price over 15 years. Banks then study the company's accounts and often ask its shareholders for a personal guarantee. We cover this structure in our article on buying in your own name or through a company.

The questions we are asked most

Can I get a mortgage without an NIE?

No. The land registry will not record the purchase or the mortgage without the tax number of every signatory, and for a foreign national that number is the NIE. Apply as soon as you decide to buy.

Will a Spanish bank lend a non-resident 100% of the price?

No. A non-resident's loan-to-value goes up to 75% of the price, calculated on the lower of the price and the valuation. The buying costs remain yours to pay.

Do I need to travel to Spain?

At least once. The law requires an in-person meeting with the notary before the loan is signed, no later than the day before. You can fit that meeting and the signing into the same trip. The rest of the file can be handled remotely.

Can a retiree get a mortgage?

Yes, on the strength of the pension. The bank then limits the loan term according to age, which raises the monthly payment. A larger contribution from your own funds often makes up for it.

Does all my income from home count?

Your regular net income counts. Variable bonuses, rental income and self-employed income are taken into account under each bank's own rules, often as an average over several years.

What our service costs

We charge a €500 processing fee once your file has been pre-validated, then 1.15% of the amount borrowed, with a minimum of €3,490, due when you accept the loan offer. We also receive a fee from the lending bank; its amount is shown in the FEIN. This covers the study, building the file, the negotiation with the banks and the follow-up until the notary. The details are in our article on what a mortgage broker does in Spain.

Official sources

• Law 5/2019 of 15 March on real estate credit agreements (BOE): article 4.27 (definition of a foreign-currency loan), article 14.1 (FEIN, FiAE, 10 days before signing), articles 15.3 and 15.8 (free meeting with the notary no later than the day before), article 17 (tied selling prohibited), article 20.1 (conversion of a foreign-currency loan).
• NIE: Royal Decree 1155/2024, article 205 and the Ministry of the Interior; no purchase or mortgage is recorded at the land registry without the parties' tax number: Mortgage Law, article 254.2.
• Valuation: Royal Decree 775/1997 (firms approved by the Banco de España) and Royal Decree-law 24/2021, Book I, article 20 (valuation provided by the client).