Specialist mortgage lender Pepper Money is enhancing its criteria for UK visa holders by accepting their incomes on applications up to 75% LTV. This will provide UK visa holders direct access to Pepper Money’s broad residential product offering when at least one applicant has a permanent right to reside.
Well-known in the market for providing fairer lending decisions for customers with unique circumstances, income for UK visa holders will now be an option on all residential products for both purchase and remortgage. This reaffirms Pepper Money’s commitment to providing inclusive lending to the whole of the market.
UK visa holders must be able to provide a minimum two-year UK employment history, when income is used in support of the application, reside in the UK, and have a UK address history for the last three years to demonstrate stability in the UK. Such mortgages will be available to these UK-based individuals on the following visa types:
- Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa (While this visa is now closed to new applicants, Pepper accepts customers who currently hold a valid visa under this category).
- Tier 2 Skilled Worker Visa; now known as the ‘Skilled Worker’ Visa.
- Senior or Specialist Worker Visa.
- Health and Care Worker Visa.
- Family Visa.
Pepper Money is proud of its market-leading, human approach to underwriting, which puts the customer at the centre of the mortgage application. Its affordability assessments are based on a range of factors, and those for Foreign National mortgages will be no different. Applicants will be subject to a full affordability assessment and need to present evidence of their visa.
Paul Adams, Sales Director at Pepper Money, said: “As the UK continues to attract international talent across sectors like tech, healthcare and academia, it's vital that our financial system evolves to support those contributing to the economy. By extending our product criteria to accept UK visa holders, we’re helping skilled individuals put down roots and participate further in UK life.
“At Pepper Money, we take an inclusive approach to lending, and these changes to our criteria attest to this. Enhancing our proposition to include income from UK visa holders in our affordability assessments ensures that hard-working individuals on eligible visas, who contribute to the UK economy and have established roots, aren’t excluded from homeownership.
“This isn’t just about expanding access, it’s about creating a fairer, more inclusive mortgage market. We’re working closely with brokers to provide more options for their just-off-high-street customers, deliver market-leading service, competitive rates, and certainty of price for a significant portion of the market who are in a good position to accept this finance, but would otherwise have been overlooked.”
