Bridging visa home loans: can you buy while you wait?

Before you start making offers, I would check whether a lender can consider your application and how much cash the purchase needs. Waiting for a visa decision may improve your options, but the type of visa granted matters. An 820 partner visa is still temporary.

This guide explains what to check now, the costs of buying and what could change after your next visa is granted.

A bridging visa generally lets you stay lawfully in Australia while a visa application or another immigration matter is resolved. It may have been granted but not yet be in effect if your previous visa still applies. Your grant notices and a current VEVO check show the position.

Home Affairs calls the main visa you applied for a substantive visa. For the loan assessment, I need to know what it is and where the application stands. We cannot treat an expected grant as though it has already happened.

A bridging visa can end when another visa is granted or another specified event occurs. It is not permission to stay indefinitely. Speak with Home Affairs or your migration adviser about travel, a refusal, a review or a change in conditions.

The lender needs to accept your current visa and the income you plan to use for repayments. The assessment can also depend on your previous visa, the new visa application, your partner and the property. A bridging visa alone does not tell us which lender will accept the loan.

I would check the policy before submitting applications. A larger deposit can help the numbers, but it does not override a lender’s visa rules. We also need to allow for any mortgage-insurer requirements.

Our visa home loan hub explains the wider options. If you are moving from a 482 visa or 485 visa, bring both the old and new visa documents. If you have applied for a student visa, the student visa guide explains that visa’s lending issues, but your current bridging status still needs its own check.

There is no deposit percentage I would rely on before checking your visa with a lender. The maximum loan depends on the accepted application, property and any mortgage-insurer rules. Buying alone and buying with a partner can produce different answers.

Once we know the loan amount, we can work out the deposit and add duty, legal fees and other costs. Keep some savings available for costs that the loan will not cover.

These figures explain the maths; they are not a lender offer or a confirmed borrowing range for bridging visas. Our deposit calculator can help with the budget. The low-deposit loan guide explains other options, each with its own eligibility rules.

Most foreign buyers, including temporary residents, are restricted from buying established homes from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029. There are limited exceptions. New homes, off-the-plan properties and vacant land may be possible with foreign-investment approval and conditions.

Where approval is needed, arrange it before buying or have your solicitor prepare an appropriate conditional contract. Some developers have an exemption certificate that can cover a purchase. Land approvals can include a deadline to build. Our FIRB guide explains the process and why auction timing needs care.

You may qualify for the federal spouse exemption when buying as joint tenants with an Australian citizen, Australian permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen spouse or de facto partner. If it applies, you can buy an established home without a separate FIRB application or fee.

Your solicitor needs to confirm the relationship and ownership requirements. Being on a joint loan is not enough. The exemption also does not automatically remove state foreign buyer duty.

Tell us your current visa, the visa you have applied for and your partner's status if buying together. We can check the loan options before you commit to a property.

I would check both visas and who you want to own the home. The lender decides which borrowers and incomes it accepts; your solicitor explains the ownership rights and duty.

Some lenders can consider a citizen or permanent resident spouse as the only owner while both spouses apply for the loan. A bridging visa still needs its own policy check. An option available after an 820 or 309 grant may not be available while you are waiting for that visa.

There is also a narrow Connective Skip partner-visa pathway for a secondary borrower on Bridging Visa A (010) or B (020). You must have lodged an onshore 820/801 partner visa application and be legally married to an Australian citizen or permanent resident. The temporary visa holder's income cannot be the application's main income. We check the full circumstances with Skip before you rely on this option.

Our mixed-visa couples guide compares one owner and two borrowers with joint ownership. The partner visa guide covers the position after an 820 or 309 grant. A joint loan alone does not create the federal spouse exemption.

Queensland generally charges foreign buyers an extra 8% on their share of a residential property. This is additional foreign acquirer duty, or AFAD. Ordinary stamp duty is separate, with concessions or exemptions where you qualify.

The table assumes no AFAD exemption or relief. If the foreign buyer owns only part of the property, the calculation uses their share. Your solicitor should confirm the value used for duty and the ownership interests.

For 2026-27, the ordinary FIRB application fee for a new home valued from $75,000 to $1 million is $15,600. Other property values and application types have different fees. An exemption can change whether you need an application at all.

For Queensland transactions entered into from 1 August 2026, each buyer must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or specified foreign retiree to claim a home concession. A bridging visa alone generally does not qualify, so that buyer's share generally pays standard duty plus 8% AFAD. An eligible co-owner may still qualify on their own share. Our Queensland first home owners grant guide explains the grant and the duty rule.

Use the foreign buyer duty guide and Queensland stamp duty calculator to start your budget. Have your solicitor confirm the current amounts for your purchase. Other states have different rules.

A grant of an 820 or 309 partner visa is not permanent residency. It can change the loan options, but you should not assume the foreign buyer costs disappear. Permanent partner visas are subclasses 801 and 100.

Permanent residency gives you a federal residential foreign-investment exemption and can widen the loan options. State duty still depends on the relevant dates and rules. It does not automatically refund duty already paid.

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme has separate eligibility rules. A bridging visa alone does not qualify. Eligible citizens, permanent residents and NZ citizens holding a subclass 444 SCV may qualify if they meet the scheme and lender requirements. Our first home buyer guide covers the wider purchase process.

Marco holds a bridging visa A while an employer-nominated permanent visa application is being processed. He is considering a $600,000 new townhouse in Brisbane.

If he buys alone and needs his own FIRB approval, the ordinary application fee is $15,600. Queensland AFAD at 8% of $600,000 adds $48,000. Together, that is $63,600 before his deposit, ordinary stamp duty and other costs, assuming no exemption or relief.

I would ask his solicitor to compare that with buying after permanent residency. Then we would weigh any possible saving against rent, price changes and the uncertainty of the visa decision. A loan would still need a lender’s approval under either option.

Tell your broker and solicitor as soon as your visa changes. The lender may need to reassess the application before settlement.

For Queensland duty, the relevant date is generally tied to the transaction or contract. A visa granted after signing does not automatically remove a surcharge already triggered. Ask your solicitor to confirm the dates before assuming a saving.

If you expect a decision soon, compare signing now with signing after the actual grant. Your migration adviser can explain the application stage; neither a broker nor a lender can promise when the visa will arrive.

Send us your visa documents, application details, income and deposit figures, plus your partner’s details if you are buying together. We will check the loan options and the evidence a lender needs. Your solicitor handles the purchase permission, ownership and duty advice.

The visa buying guide can help you prepare questions. Confirm the position for your actual circumstances before relying on it. Pre-approval is also conditional: final approval still depends on the property and any outstanding requirements.

Our lender reviews explain product features and fees. Visa acceptance needs a separate check before choosing a lender or submitting an application.

Send us your current visa, the visa you've applied for, your income and savings. You can also call 1300 088 065.