CaixaBank is the bank most foreign buyers in Spain end up talking to, and — unusually for a Spanish lender — it publishes its non-resident criteria. The maximum loan, the term, the age limit, the rate structure and the documents are all stated, most of them in a 33-page English-language guide rather than on the product page.
That makes it the easiest of the Spanish banks to check yourself against before you apply. This page pulls the criteria together, and adds what our own completed purchases show about working with them.
The quick answers
- Does CaixaBank lend to non-residents? Yes, and it has a dedicated international-customer programme.
- What loan-to-value? 70%, and CaixaBank calculates it on the purchase price rather than the valuation — which is not how the other Spanish banks do it.
- The filter nobody mentions: the currency you are paid in, not your nationality.
- Is it fast? In Upscore’s completed Spanish purchases the median with CaixaBank is 154 days — and it is materially faster with American applicants than with British ones.
- Are products bundled? Yes, and the discount for taking them is real. It is also where the advertised rate comes from.
- Is the branch a factor? More than people expect. Several accounts describe the outcome depending on the individual branch.
What does CaixaBank publish about non-resident mortgages?
More than any other Spanish bank, which is the reason to start here. Its HolaBank mortgage page carries a representative example, and behind it sits an English-language guide that states the criteria most Spanish lenders leave to the branch.
Checked in August 2026: 70% of the purchase price, a 20-year term for income in euros and the main currency group (15 for the second), an age limit where the oldest applicant’s age plus the term cannot exceed 80, a 0% arrangement fee, and up to three applicants who may hold different nationalities. The representative example on its own page is a fixed rate at TIN 2.35% with the bundled products, 3.35% without.
The full comparison against Sabadell and Bankinter is in the table below. What CaixaBank does not publish is the debt-to-income ceiling — the one criterion still applied at the file level.
What loan-to-value does CaixaBank offer a non-resident?
70%, and the base is where CaixaBank differs from its competitors. Its simulator says “the amount cannot exceed 70% of the price of the home” and its guide states “percentages based on the purchase price.” None of its published sources says “the lower of price and valuation”.
That works in your favour, and the table below shows how much: on CaixaBank’s published basis a valuation under the agreed price does not cut the loan, while on Bankinter’s it does.
Then add roughly 10 to 13% in purchase taxes and fees, none of which can be added to the loan. Regional transfer-tax rates are published by the Spanish tax agency, the notary tariff by the notaries’ association, and our cost calculator works the total out by region.
The currency rule that decides your application
This is the criterion that catches American and British buyers, and it has nothing to do with nationality.
CaixaBank does not exclude a single nationality — the nationality field on its application form has 255 entries, and its guide allows up to three applicants holding different passports. What it does exclude is a currency:
“No mortgages are currently offered to customers who generate their income/assets in other currencies.”
The good news for Upscore’s two main audiences: US dollars and pounds sterling are both on the accepted list, in the 20-year term group, and CaixaBank offers a fixed rate in your own currency as an alternative to a euro-convertible variable.
If you are paid in a currency outside the list, this is not a negotiation — it is a decline, and it is better to know before you start the paperwork than after.
Does CaixaBank require bundled products?
Not legally — and the discount for taking them is real, which is a different statement.
Under Ley 5/2019, the Spanish law that implemented the EU mortgage credit directive, a lender cannot make the mortgage conditional on buying other products, but it can price a lower rate when you do. Life insurance, home insurance and in some cases an alarm contract are the usual combination.
One buyer posted the three quotes he received in the same month, for the same profile:
“As promised: Here are the quotes habemo got us: -Sabadell: Variable mortgage: First year fixed 3,6% and after that Euribor+ 1,6% Home + life insurances 20 years -Bankinter: Hybrid mortgage 3 years fixed 3,6% and after that Euribor + 1,6% Home + Life insurance 25 years -Caixa: Fixed mortgage, 4% Home + life insurances + alarm 20 years […] Caixabank seems the best one by far. Especially for fixed mortgages.”
— r/GoingToSpain, How do I get a good mortgage rate as a non-resident? (August 2023)
Two things in that comparison, and the second matters more than the first. CaixaBank was the one offering a genuine fixed rate for the full term, where the other two offered a fixed period followed by Euribor plus a margin. And CaixaBank’s package required the most add-ons — home and life insurance plus an alarm.
Those 2023 rates are not a current quote and should not be read as one. What travels is the structure: the headline rate assumes the bundle, and the products have their own cost. Compare the total, not the percentage.
The three Spanish banks side by side
| CaixaBank | Banco Sabadell | Bankinter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publishes its non-resident criteria | Yes — 8 of 9 points, mostly in an English-language guide | No — only that the limit “is usually lower” | Partly |
| Maximum loan-to-value | 70% | Not published | 60% |
| Calculated on | the purchase price | — | the lower of price and valuation |
| Maximum term | 20 years (15 for some currencies) | Not published | 25 years |
| Age limit | Oldest applicant’s age + term ≤ 80 | Not published | Not published |
| Fixed rate if you are paid in USD or GBP | Yes, in your own currency | Advertised offer is euro-income only | No — euro income only |
| Names the credit bureau to use | No | No | Yes — Experian and Equifax for England |
| Median time to completion, Upscore files | 154 days | 144 days | Does not appear in our completions |
| Faster with | American applicants | British applicants | — |
Bank criteria checked August 2026 against each bank’s own pages, guides and rate sheets. Completion times are Upscore’s own files; the nationality pattern comes from samples below fifty cases, so read it as direction rather than measurement.
Two rows deserve a second look. The base matters as much as the percentage — on a €250,000 purchase valued at €235,000, CaixaBank’s published 70% of price is €175,000 while Bankinter’s 60% of the lower figure is €141,000. That is a €34,000 difference in the cash you bring, not a ten-point difference. And the currency you are paid in decides more than your nationality does.
How long does CaixaBank take?
In Upscore’s completed Spanish purchases the median with CaixaBank is 154 days. For comparison, Sabadell’s median is 144 days, and UCI’s is substantially longer.
CaixaBank is materially faster with American applicants than with British ones, and Sabadell is the reverse — small samples, so direction rather than measurement, but if you hold a US passport it is a reason to put CaixaBank first.
Across all our completed purchases the median is 4.7 months (n=64), and the delay is rarely the credit decision: it is documents, sworn translations and the NIE.
Does the branch make a difference?
More than it should, and this comes up repeatedly in first-hand accounts:
“I would recommend to go to their offices in person and shop around different banks in the area, if possible. Banks are way more responsive if you visit them and get a contact person in person. Once I did a round of visits, Caixa bank seemed to be the most responsive, yet I feel it really depends on the person you get.”
— r/ExpatFIRE, Non resident mortgage in Spain?
“It really depends on the person you get” is the honest summary, and it follows from the structural fact that Spain has no credit score: the Bank of Spain’s CIRBE records loans held in Spain and ASNEF records defaults, and both come back empty for a first-time foreign buyer. With no score to arbitrate, each bank — and to a degree each branch — assembles its own view from your documents.
What will CaixaBank ask you for?
The standard Spanish non-resident file — passport and NIE, payslips or accounts, six months of statements from every account, every existing debt payment wherever it sits, tax returns, sworn translations, a Spanish bank account, and a credit report from your country of residence. The full list is in mortgages in Spain for non-residents.
On that last item CaixaBank is unusually explicit. Its guide defines the item as “CIRBE or CREDIT REPORT” and states that the foreign equivalent “must be provided in order to purchase the property.”
Two published facts sit behind it: article 12.1 of Ley 5/2019 obliges every Spanish lender to assess an applicant’s credit history, and the Bank of Spain’s CIRBE records only credit held in Spain, so it returns nothing for a first-time foreign buyer. Reading the second as the reason for the first is ours, not a bank’s. Both are true: there is no Spanish score, and the report is mandatory.
The hard filter is the ratio. Across Upscore’s Spanish applications, among applicants whose housing costs already took more than 35% of their income, none completed a purchase (n=333).
Frequently asked questions
Does CaixaBank offer mortgages to non-residents?
Yes, through HolaBank, with English-language service — and it publishes more of its criteria than any other Spanish bank.
What is CaixaBank’s maximum LTV for a non-resident?
70%, calculated on the purchase price rather than the valuation. That base is more generous than Bankinter’s published 60% of the lower of price and valuation.
Can I get a CaixaBank mortgage if I am paid in dollars or pounds?
Yes. Both currencies are on its accepted list, in the 20-year term group, with a fixed rate available in your own currency. Income in a currency outside the list is excluded outright.
Do I need to buy insurance from CaixaBank?
Not as a condition of the loan — Ley 5/2019 prohibits tying. Taking home and life insurance with the bank typically reduces the rate, and the products have their own cost. Compare the total.
Is CaixaBank better than Sabadell for a non-resident?
It depends on your passport more than on the bank. Our completed purchases suggest CaixaBank moves faster with American applicants and Sabadell with British ones, on small samples.
Can I apply to CaixaBank from abroad?
Yes, though several first-hand accounts report much better responsiveness after an in-person branch visit. For completion you either attend the notary or grant power of attorney to a Spanish lawyer.
How long does CaixaBank take to approve a mortgage?
In our completed purchases the median from first enquiry to completion is 154 days. The credit decision is rarely the bottleneck; documents and translations are.
The bottom line
CaixaBank is the sensible first call for a foreign buyer in Spain, for three reasons that are all checkable: 70% on the purchase price rather than the valuation, published criteria you can test yourself against, and — on our own data — the fastest route for an American applicant.
Check the currency rule first, because it is binary. Then get the NIE and the translations moving early, and still put your file in front of more than one bank — the seven questions to ask a Spanish broker apply just as well to a branch manager. The same paperwork genuinely produces different answers.
Once you have a specific property in mind, Upscore’s Finance Passport shows which Spanish banks will approve your profile before you commit to one. It is free and takes under fifteen minutes. See also mortgages in Spain for non-residents and Spanish mortgage rates for non-residents.
