Can I Buy? Visa-⁠to-⁠Buying Eligibility Checker

What the checker looks at

Your visa helps determine what you can buy, but approval to purchase, state duty and home loan eligibility are separate decisions. Use the checker to identify the questions to take to your solicitor and broker.

It covers the established-home restrictions, FIRB approval, foreign purchaser duty and government deposit schemes, but it doesn’t assess every legal exemption or lender policy. Check current evidence before you rely on a result, especially if your visa or residence status has recently changed.

Who can buy what right now

Australian citizens and eligible permanent residents or New Zealand citizens may be exempt from FIRB approval for residential purchases. Temporary residents and foreign non-residents generally need approval and are restricted from buying established homes, subject to limited exceptions.

These are starting points, not approval to sign a contract, so read our visa home loan guide for the separate lending assessment.

The rules behind your result

The ban on established homes runs to 30 June 2029

The 2026–27 Budget extends the established-home foreign purchase ban to 30 June 2029. It began on 1 April 2025 and includes temporary residents, with limited exceptions, though new homes and vacant land remain subject to the normal approval rules.

An exemption can apply if you buy as joint tenants with an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand-citizen spouse. Simply buying with an eligible friend or putting both names on a loan doesn’t establish that exemption, though. Read the mixed-visa couples guide and confirm the structure with your solicitor.

FIRB approval and what it costs

Where approval is required, get it before you acquire the property, or have your solicitor prepare an appropriate conditional contract. Don’t assume an auction purchase can be made subject to later approval.

The 2026–27 ordinary application fee for a new home priced from $75,000 to $1 million is $15,600, and other values and application types have different fees. The normal statutory decision period starts after you’ve paid the correct fee and can be extended, so don’t promise a settlement date based only on 30 days — see the FIRB approval guide.

Foreign purchaser duty is charged per owner

Queensland’s AFAD is generally 8% of the foreign buyer’s share. On a $750,000 property held 50/50, the charge on a foreign buyer’s $375,000 interest is $30,000 before ordinary duty, assuming no relief applies.

Queensland includes a New Zealand citizen holding a Special Category Visa in its permanent-resident definition for duty, while NSW applies different residence and potential principal-place-of-residence relief rules. Don’t apply one state’s 200-day test everywhere.

FIRB exemptions don’t automatically remove state surcharges — our foreign-buyer duty guide explains the separate costs, but get a current duty assessment before you rely on its calculator output.

Government schemes need every borrower to qualify

The Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme has its own citizenship or permanent-residency, ownership, occupancy and property-price requirements, and each joint applicant needs to qualify. Don’t assume that a visa treated as permanent residency for a state grant also meets the federal scheme definition — a participating lender should confirm your actual status.

A temporary-resident borrower generally won’t meet the scheme’s residency requirement, so other low-deposit options or an eligible LMI waiver may be worth assessing separately.

What changes when you get PR

Permanent residency can open up more purchase and lending options, but it doesn’t automatically remove every state tax. Your visa grant date, contract date, residence history and occupation requirements can all matter.

For Queensland transactions from 1 August 2026, a temporary 482 visa alone doesn’t qualify for a home concession, though a qualifying permanent resident may be eligible. On the $750,000 example in our foreign-buyer duty guide, ordinary duty is $26,775 without the home concession versus $19,600 with it, before considering first-home relief or foreign charges.

Ask for two dated assessments if you expect PR soon: what applies if you sign now, and what might apply after your visa is granted. Allow for uncertainty in visa timing, property prices and your borrowing assessment, too.

Your next step

Have your visa grant notice, passport, travel history, proposed owners and property details ready. Your solicitor can confirm the purchase and duty position, and we can check whether your income, deposit and property fit a lender’s rules.

The deposit calculator helps you budget for cash costs, and our first home buyer guide explains the process if you’re buying your first home — though a bank-account or savings history alone doesn’t establish loan eligibility.

Sources and references

Information checked on 12 September 2026 — the checker is a guide, and it doesn’t replace a legal assessment or a lender’s decision.

• Government residential investment guidance
• 2026–27 Budget: established-home ban extension
• Government foreign investment fee schedule, 2026–27
• Queensland foreign-person definition
• Queensland home concession eligibility
• Revenue NSW: surcharge purchaser duty for individuals
• Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme