Student visa home loans: can you buy while studying?

Check the loan before spending money on a property application. Permission to buy does not guarantee finance.

Our visa home loan guide covers the other visa types.

A lender needs to accept your visa and the time left on it. You also need enough income to cover repayments and living costs alongside study.

Bring your visa grant, a current VEVO visa-status check and your income details so we can assess the options.

A research student with full work rights still needs a lender that accepts their application. Once we have confirmed those options, our lender reviews can help you compare their loan features and costs.

I would check the proposed loan and ownership together. The title records who owns the property. The loan records who must repay the debt. A lender may have rules about both.

Buying as joint tenants with an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen spouse or de facto partner can qualify for a federal exemption. It can allow an established home purchase without a separate FIRB application. Your solicitor should confirm the exemption and state duty.

Our mixed-visa couples guide explains ownership choices. Lending options in our partner visa guide need a separate check for student visa holders.

The 5% Deposit Scheme guide explains its other conditions, including property price limits. An ordinary home loan has different rules and may involve lenders mortgage insurance.

A deposit gift, a family guarantee and your parents buying the home have different consequences.

Read our guarantor home loan guide if family may help now or after study.

Before anyone signs, have a solicitor and tax adviser explain the ownership, tax and duty consequences. A later transfer from your parents to you can create another bill.

From 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029, foreign buyers are generally restricted from buying established homes. Limited exceptions apply, including qualifying spouse purchases.

New homes, off-the-plan properties and vacant land may be available with approval and conditions. Some developers hold an exemption certificate that can cover a purchase. Your solicitor should check whether you need your own application.

Arrange any required approval before buying, or have your solicitor prepare an appropriate contract condition. Timing matters for auctions and off-the-plan purchases. Vacant land approvals can include building deadlines.

Read our FIRB approval guide for the process. Use the visa buying checker as a starting point, then confirm your position.

The loan a lender will offer determines your deposit. A 20% deposit does not automatically make a student visa acceptable.

Add the purchase costs to the deposit before deciding what you can afford. That can include ordinary stamp duty, foreign buyer duty, a FIRB fee, legal fees and any mortgage insurance.

Different applications and exemptions can change the fee. Established homes have a separate, higher fee schedule; paying the fee does not override the purchase restriction. Fees are indexed each July. Do not assume you will get the FIRB fee back if the purchase falls through. Fee remissions are considered case by case.

In Queensland, additional foreign acquirer duty (AFAD) is generally 8% of the foreign buyer’s share of the property value used for duty, on top of ordinary stamp duty. For a $650,000 property, that is $52,000 on the whole property or $26,000 on a half share, assuming no exemption or relief.

For transactions entered into from 1 August 2026, Queensland home concessions also have a citizenship or residency requirement. A student visa alone generally does not qualify. An eligible co-owner can still qualify on their own share.

Use our foreign buyer duty guide and Queensland stamp duty calculator to start your budget. Your solicitor should confirm the amounts for your contract and ownership. Other states have different rules.

It may help if your visa, income or savings improve. Finishing a course does not automatically give you a subclass 485 visa, a full-time job or permanent residency. Check your immigration options with a registered migration agent or immigration lawyer.

After a 485 Temporary Graduate visa grant, we can reassess using your new visa and employment. A bridging visa needs its own check.

Permanent residency can change the purchase costs and lending options substantially. The date of the grant matters. Do not assume a visa granted after you sign will remove duty already triggered by the contract.

This is a comparison of FIRB and AFAD only. Ordinary stamp duty, any concessions, your deposit and other costs need separate calculations. It assumes the student needs their own FIRB application and the permanent visa is held at the relevant purchase date.

Compare the possible saving with rent, property price changes and an uncertain visa decision date.

For other help, read our first home buyer guide and Queensland First Home Owner Grant guide. Grants, duty concessions and the deposit scheme each have their own eligibility rules.

Minh is studying a three-year degree in Brisbane and wants to buy after graduation. Setting aside $500 each fortnight would build $13,000 over 26 fortnights and $39,000 over three years, before interest and assuming no withdrawals.

Before making offers, Minh would still need an assessment based on the visa held, income, deposit and purchase costs at that time.

Our deposit calculator can help set a savings target. Send us your current visa, income and savings figures, plus any partner or family details, and we can check where to start.

Call 1300 088 065 or book a free assessment with your visa and income details ready.