Published 2026-07-20 · Visa Mortgage Guide · Written and reviewed by Phillip Wakeling-Smith (CeMAP)

Low-deposit mortgages for visa holders: the 5%-and-under routes without ILR

Quick answer: On a visa, the size of deposit you need isn't set by the market — it's set by which lenders accept your immigration status, and at what LTV. Without indefinite leave to remain some lenders cap you at 70–75%; a handful now go to a full 95% (Halifax and Perenna among the majors, Hinckley & Rugby among the specialists, with Hodge reported at 95% too). That means a 5% deposit is genuinely possible without ILR — but the newest token-deposit products mostly aren't: Accord's £5k Deposit Mortgage sits above Accord's 90% non-ILR ceiling, making it effectively an ILR-holders' product. Here's the full picture, worst-to-best.

Your deposit floor is your visa status

For most buyers, "how much deposit do I need?" is a savings question. On a visa it's a criteria question first: the same £300,000 house needs a £90,000 deposit at a 70%-cap lender and £15,000 at a 95% lender — for the identical applicant. Our LTV league table tracks the verified position lender by lender; the short version for small deposits:

• 95% without ILR: Halifax (via 5+ years' residency, or 1+ year with £50k sole / £75k joint income), Perenna (no foreign-national restriction — 18 months' residency, 12 months left on the visa, £50k main-applicant income), Hinckley & Rugby (Skilled Worker, Health & Care, Global Talent, BNO, Ancestry — and no minimum income for NHS, private hospital or teaching staff), and Hodge reportedly (confirm the current position).
• 90%: Santander, Accord (£50k+ applicant), Nottingham BS (needs UK or eligible overseas credit data), Dudley BS's Skilled Worker range, Darlington BS, Gen H.
• 75% or worse: NatWest's flat cap (though a partner with settled status lifts it entirely on joint applications), Kensington's exception-only route, Aldermore's settled-status requirement.

The token-deposit products, visa-eyed

Accord £5k Deposit Mortgage — effectively ILR-only. The product lends between 95.01% and 99% LTV (a flat £5,000 deposit on homes priced £100,000–£500,000, first-time buyers, no new build). But Accord's own criteria cap lending above 90% LTV to applicants with ILR — visa holders without settled status are capped at 90% (75% below £50k income). Two true facts that don't combine: Accord takes visa holders, and Accord does a £5k deposit — just not for the same applicant.

Cambridge BS First Step (98% LTV) — unpublished visa position, worth a manual-underwriter conversation. Whole-of-market since 8 July 2026: 2% deposit, first-time-buyer 2-year fix (launched at 5.89%, £499 fee), maximum loan £500,000, up to 5.5× income, gifted deposits and new-build houses accepted. Cambridge underwrites manually and hasn't published a foreign-national LTV restriction either way — which, at this end of the market, means: ask before you pay the fee, and expect residency history and UK credit depth to matter as much as the visa itself.

Skipton Track Record (100%) — the no-deposit renters' product — has no verified visa-holder position in our table. Don't assume it either way; confirm directly with Skipton before building a plan around it.

True zero-deposit: the new-build routes

Both of the genuinely deposit-free routes for visa holders run through new-build incentives, and we've covered each in detail:

• Perenna 95% + the builder's 5% gifted deposit — the developer's incentive forms your entire deposit; Perenna has no foreign-national restriction.
• Gen H New Build Boost — 5% down, an 80% mortgage, and an interest-free equity boost bridging the gap; foreign nationals are the scheme's biggest user group.

The thin-file trap at high LTV

The higher the LTV, the more the decision leans on your credit file — and visa holders' UK files are often only a year or two deep. Two practical notes: a clean but thin file that would pass at 80% can decline at 95%, so build file depth deliberately (UK credit card, electoral-roll alternative registrations, phone contracts in your name). And Nottingham BS reads overseas credit history via a cross-border bureau covering 15 countries — its 90% tier needs UK or eligible overseas data, which can rescue an applicant whose UK file is too young.

Mixed-status couples: the cheat code

If your partner has ILR or citizenship, several caps stop applying — NatWest's 75% flat cap, for one, lifts entirely on joint applications with a settled partner. Model both orderings with the mixed-status optimizer before assuming the visa holder's status sets the ceiling.

Do this in order

1. Find your real LTV ceiling by status in the league table and each lender's criteria page.
2. Check what changes as your visa time accrues with what unlocks more lenders — sometimes waiting three months moves you from a 75% lender to a 90% one.
3. Sanity-check affordability across the whole market with the free affordability check.

Lender positions from our verified criteria pages (last verified July 2026 — sources and dates shown on each lender page). Products at this end of the market change monthly; always confirm the current position with the lender or a whole-of-market broker. This article is information, not financial advice.