Based on data from 2,045 British mortgage applicants across Spain, Portugal and the UAE.
The quick answers
- Can a UK bank give you a mortgage on a property abroad? Almost none will. HSBC Expat refers you to an HSBC specialist in the country you are buying in, and only where HSBC already offers personal banking. Barclays, NatWest International, Skipton International and Santander International lend on UK or Channel Islands property to people living overseas, which is the opposite direction.
- So how do UK buyers actually finance it? Through a bank in the country where the property is. That is the route that completes. Full answer
- Is there any British route? One: remortgaging the home you already own here, and buying abroad in cash or with a smaller local loan.
- How much deposit will you need? Substantially more than a UK purchase, and the purchase taxes and fees on top cannot be added to the loan. Full answer
- How long does it take? The median across our completed purchases is 4.7 months, with a spread from under one month to over a year. Full answer
- Broker or straight to the bank? Two banks in the same country can reach different conclusions on the same file, which is the argument for not applying blind. Full answer
For a detailed guide specifically on buying property in Spain with a mortgage as a UK citizen, see our UK Buying Guide for Spain
This guide is built on the profiles of 2,045 British applicants who came to Upscore to buy in Spain, Portugal and the UAE, and on what actually happened to their applications. It covers which UK banks lend on property abroad, why the rest do not, and the two routes that complete.
What is an overseas mortgage?
An overseas mortgage is a loan used to buy a property outside the country you live in. For a UK resident that almost always means borrowing from a bank in the destination country: the loan is in that country’s currency, secured on the property there, and repaid out of income you earn in sterling.
The label is where the confusion starts. UK banks use “international mortgage” for the opposite product, lending on British property to people who live abroad. Same words, different direction.
If that is you, a Briton living abroad and buying in the UK, you need the other product. Our guide to expat mortgages for UK citizens (/uk-expat-mortgage-guide/) sets the two side by side and names the lenders on each side.
Can you actually get an overseas mortgage from a UK bank?
Almost no UK high-street bank will lend against a property abroad, and the few that come up in search do something narrower than the name suggests. HSBC Expat does not lend on overseas property itself: it refers you to an HSBC mortgage specialist in the country you are buying in, and only where HSBC already runs personal banking there. Barclays, NatWest International, Skipton International and Santander International all lend on UK or Channel Islands property, to clients who live somewhere else.
That is not the answer the banks’ own pages give you, because their pages describe the product they do offer rather than the odds of you qualifying for it. It is worth knowing before you spend three weeks on an application: the route that actually completes for UK buyers is a mortgage from a bank in the country where the property is.
UK banks rarely lend against property abroad, so the mortgage usually comes from a lender in the country you are buying in. See which partner banks in Spain and Portugal lend to UK buyers, and at what loan-to-value.
Your UK bank will not help you buy in Spain or Portugal. See which Spanish and Portuguese banks lend to British non-residents on your income and deposit, with no credit check. Start your Finance Passport
Which UK banks lend on property abroad, and where?
The rule behind the table is simpler than the product names: a bank lends where it holds a licence and a branch network, and nowhere else. None of these five has one in Spain or Portugal, which is why none of them appears on a Spanish escritura.
|
Bank |
What it actually offers |
Covers Spain or Portugal? |
Key requirement |
|
HSBC Expat |
Refers you to an HSBC specialist in the country you are buying in, where HSBC has personal banking. Product information before you apply for the UK, US and Australia |
No |
HSBC Expat account |
|
Barclays International Banking |
Mortgages on UK property for clients living abroad |
No |
GBP 100,000 held in cash or investments, GBP 75,000 income |
|
NatWest International |
Mortgages for residents of Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Gibraltar |
No |
Must reside in the Crown Dependencies |
|
Skipton International |
UK buy-to-let for expats, plus local mortgages in Guernsey and Jersey |
No |
Must live outside the UK |
|
Santander International |
UK residential investment property for non-residents, over 5 to 25 years |
No |
GBP 500,000 minimum loan, 1% arrangement fee |
|
Lloyds, Halifax, Nationwide |
No product for buying property outside the UK |
No |
— |
Sources: the banks’ own product pages, all checked September 2026.
The pattern is clear: UK banks use “international” to mean they serve international clients buying British property, not British clients buying international property.
For a complete breakdown of the buying process, costs and bank options for UK citizens, see our guide to buying property in Spain with a mortgage for UK citizens
For a detailed comparison of which Spanish banks are best for UK buyers, see our Best Banks for Non-Resident Mortgages in Spain
Upscore’s Finance Passport analyses your income, deposit and property plans against the lending criteria of its 6 partner banks across Spain, Portugal and the UAE. You receive a personalised comparison showing which banks are most likely to approve your application and at what LTV.
What about Santander and other Spanish banks in the UK?
Santander UK is owned by Banco Santander SA, but it is a separate bank with its own licence and it does not lend on Spanish property. Neither does its Jersey arm, which writes UK investment loans only. Santander UK completed its purchase of TSB from Sabadell on 30 April 2026, which makes it bigger in Britain and no closer to financing a house in Alicante. The Spanish parent does lend in Spain, through its non-resident desk, and that application starts in Spain rather than at a UK branch.
Why did UK banks stop lending on Spanish property?
They did not pull back from Spain so much as sell their Spanish banks. Lloyds sold its Spanish retail and private banking business to Banco Sabadell in 2013. CaixaBank agreed to buy Barclays’ Spanish retail, wealth management and corporate operations in August 2014 and completed the purchase the following January, taking on around 550,000 customers and 271 branches. The clients, the branches and the mortgage books changed owner; what stayed in London had no Spanish licence to lend with.
Six in ten of the British buyers who come to us are buying in Spain, about one in five in Portugal and a similar share in the UAE. No UK bank lends in any of the three.
What we see in practice: the two banks that took over those books, Sabadell and CaixaBank, are also the two that sign most of our British clients, Sabadell first and then CaixaBank, with UCI behind them. Our number of completed British purchases is small, so treat that as the order rather than a share. Bank by bank, our comparison of Spanish banks for non-resident buyers (/best-banks-spain-uk-buyers-2026/) has the criteria and the LTV each one works with.
How much deposit do UK buyers actually need?
The single biggest gap between what UK buyers expect and what banks require is the deposit.
Spanish banks lend a non-resident 60 to 70% of the value, so plan for 30 to 40% of the price in cash, plus 10 to 13% in purchase taxes and fees that cannot be added to the loan. British applicants ask for a median 75% loan-to-value, which is where the gap comes from.
The ceiling depends on the country, which matters if you are still deciding where to buy:
|
Country |
Typical maximum loan-to-value for a non-resident |
Deposit to plan for, before costs |
|
Spain |
60-70% |
30-40% |
|
Portugal |
70-80% |
20-30% |
Source: Simon Conn, overseas mortgage guide, checked October 2026.
On the median property our British clients buy in Spain, EUR 180,000, that means EUR 54,000 to EUR 72,000 of deposit and a further EUR 18,000 to EUR 23,000 in costs: somewhere between EUR 72,000 and EUR 95,000 in cash, against the EUR 36,000 a 20% UK deposit would suggest. The costs vary by region, and our guide to buying in Spain with a mortgage as a UK citizen (/buying-property-in-spain-with-mortgage-for-uk-citizens-guide/) breaks them down line by line.
What we see in practice: the typical British buyer arrives with about 22% of the price, and that is not what gets an application through. Applicants who bring 30 to 40% reach a Spanish bank in roughly one case in ten, against one in thirty of those arriving with less than 10%. The figure you write on the form matters just as much: British applicants who asked for 70% loan-to-value or less reached a bank about three times as often as those who asked for more. The 60-70% ceiling is not a formality.
Want to know how much cash a purchase in Spain needs on your profile, with the taxes and fees included?
Upscore’s Finance Passport calculates your maximum borrowing range based on your income, existing debts and deposit. Once you have found the property you want, you will know exactly how much cash it needs.
Upscore’s Finance Passport lets you pre-qualify with multiple Spanish and Portuguese banks from your home in the UK. No branch visits, no language barriers. You receive a personalised report showing your borrowing range and which banks are the best fit for your profile.
Self-employed? The Finance Passport gives you a personalised document checklist for your income before you apply.
Employed or self-employed, Upscore’s Finance Passport identifies which banks accept your income structure and what documentation you need to prepare before applying.
Can you remortgage your UK home to buy abroad?
Yes, and it is the one genuinely British route. You release equity from the home you own here, then buy abroad in cash or alongside a smaller local loan. The decision is made in the UK, in sterling, on a property the lender already understands.
It carries a cost the brochures skip. The new UK payment counts as a monthly commitment when a Spanish bank works out what you can afford, so borrowing at home to fund the deposit abroad is exactly what can tip the Spanish application over the affordability line. If you are going to do both, get the Spanish numbers checked first.
|
Remortgage in the UK |
Mortgage from a Spanish bank |
|
|
Currency |
Sterling, matched to your income |
Euros, against sterling income |
|
Priced against |
Your UK lender’s own rates |
12-month Euríbor plus a bank margin |
|
Security |
The home you live in |
The property you are buying |
|
Effect on a Spanish application |
Raises your commitments, lowers what Spain will lend |
Neutral |
|
Typical maximum |
Up to 80-85% of your UK home’s value |
60-70% of the overseas property |
What we see in practice: this is not a niche route. About half of the British buyers who come to us already own their UK home, and roughly four in ten still have a mortgage on it. In our cleanest cohort, owners with a mortgage reached a Spanish bank more often than renters did, 11.2% against 7.6%: equity and a repayment record both read well abroad.
Which route actually completes?
Three exist and two of them complete for most people: a bank in the destination country, a remortgage at home, or cash. Going direct to a local bank works if you speak the language and are content with a single offer. A specialist broker or a digital platform puts the same file in front of several non-resident desks at once, which matters because two banks in the same country reach different conclusions on the same application.
Check the regulation before you hand over documents, wherever the firm sits. Upscore is on the Financial Conduct Authority register under firm reference 1011029 and on the Bank of Spain’s broker register as E309; both are searchable. A broker based outside the UK answers to its own regulator rather than to the FCA, which is worth checking rather than assuming.
On cost: a traditional broker usually charges 0.5 to 1% of the loan. The Finance Passport is free, and Upscore earns a commission from its partner banks when your mortgage completes. There are no hidden fees and no charge if you decide not to proceed after receiving your report.
The full comparison of the three routes, with what each one costs, is in our comparison of using a mortgage broker or a bank in Spain
How do you buy property abroad from the UK?
In five steps, and the order matters because the purchase deposit is at risk if the mortgage fails:
- Work out your cash: deposit plus 10 to 13% in taxes and fees.
- Find the property and get your mortgage numbers checked against it.
- Sign the reservation contract (arras in Spain) with a “subject to mortgage” clause.
- The bank values the property and issues its formal offer.
- Sign the purchase and the mortgage together at the notary, in person or through a power of attorney.
What are the biggest risks?
Most overseas mortgage enquiries never become a completed purchase, and that is the honest starting point. Applications stall at the document request stage, or go quiet once the real deposit is on the table. Four things account for most of it.
- Underestimating the deposit. Budget 40 to 50% of the price including fees, not the 20 to 25% a UK purchase needs. On a EUR 180,000 property that is around EUR 85,000 in cash rather than EUR 45,000.
- Making an offer before pre-qualification. In Spain, a purchase deposit (typically EUR 3,000 to EUR 10,000) is often non-refundable unless the contract includes a “subject to mortgage” clause. If the bank rejects your application, you may lose this deposit. Always pre-qualify before making an offer.
- Ignoring currency exposure. If you earn in sterling and repay in euros, a 5% fall in the pound raises your effective payment by 5% with nothing changing in the loan. It moves the deposit too, between the day you agree the price and the day you transfer.
- Not accounting for ongoing costs. Beyond the mortgage payment, Spanish property owners pay annual IBI (property tax), community fees (for apartments and developments), insurance, and Spanish non-resident income tax on the property. These can add EUR 1,500 to EUR 5,000 per year depending on the property and location.
Upscore’s Finance Passport gives you a realistic borrowing range before you make an offer. You will know your maximum LTV, which banks are likely to approve you, and exactly how much cash you need. No surprises at the notary.
2,045 British buyers have used Upscore to explore their overseas mortgage options in Spain, Portugal and the UAE. The Finance Passport gives you three things before you commit: your realistic borrowing range, which banks match your profile, and exactly how much cash you need to close. Free, online, and takes less than 10 minutes.
On the British side, owning a property abroad is not itself something you declare to HMRC. The rental income is, through Self Assessment, and so is the gain when you sell; our guide to UK capital gains tax on overseas property (/how-to-calculate-uk-capital-gains-tax-on-overseas-property/) sets out how the credit for Spanish tax works.
Two more things shape the calendar rather than the outcome. Documents: a Spanish bank wants your passport, NIE, payslips or SA302s, bank statements and your UK credit report, and an incomplete file is the commonest reason an application sits still. Time: our completed purchases take a median of about 4.7 months from first contact to signing, with a spread from under a month to over a year. The UK buyer’s guide to a Spanish mortgage (/buying-property-in-spain-with-mortgage-for-uk-citizens-guide/) has both step by step.
Letting the place out is the smaller case among our British clients, roughly one in five in Spain, and the one that converts least: no investment purchase in our book has completed yet. What changes on a buy-to-let mortgage for overseas property (/buy-to-let-mortgage-overseas/) is set out separately.
Found the property you want? Across our Spanish deals, applicants who already had a specific property in mind completed about ten times as often as those still looking at options, and British buyers follow the same pattern. This is the moment to have your borrowing range, your likely banks and your cash requirement checked, before you sign the arras.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a UK mortgage to buy abroad?
Not secured on the property abroad: a UK lender cannot easily take security over a house in Spain or Portugal. What you can do is remortgage the UK home you own and use the equity to buy abroad. Bear in mind the new UK payment reduces what a Spanish bank will lend you.
Can I get a mortgage from a bank in another country?
Yes, and for UK buyers it is the normal route. You apply directly to a bank where you are purchasing: in Spain, Sabadell, CaixaBank and UCI lend to British non-residents; in Portugal, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Novobanco take about three quarters of the applications we present to Portuguese banks, followed by Bankinter. The alternatives are a UK remortgage or cash.
Can I get a foreign mortgage from HSBC?
Only where HSBC already runs personal banking in the country you are buying in. HSBC Expat does not lend on overseas property itself: it refers you to an HSBC specialist locally, and gives product information up front for the UK, the US and Australia. Spain and Portugal are not covered.
What salary do I need for an overseas mortgage?
The 28/36 rule you may have read about is a US guideline. Spanish banks look at something else: your total monthly commitments, including your UK mortgage or rent, capped at around 35% of net income. On the median loan our British clients ask for, EUR 145,000 over 25 years at the Bank of Spain’s August 2026 average rate of 3.134%, the payment is close to EUR 700 a month, so roughly EUR 2,000 of net household income with nothing else to pay. The British buyers who come to us for Spain report a median net household income of about EUR 5,200 a month.
Can you get an overseas mortgage in your 50s or 60s?
Yes, though the term shrinks: Spanish banks set a maximum age for the final payment, so at 55 expect shorter than 30 years and a higher monthly cost. Age is less of a filter than it looks — among our British applicants for Spain, the over-55s reached a bank as often as everyone else, 5.8% against 5.9%.
Sources and methodology
Buyer data: Upscore CRM, 2,045 British applicants for Spain, Portugal and the UAE with a completed financial profile, given as percentages of that base; where completions are too few to measure we give the direction instead. UK bank products checked September 2026 on each bank’s own pages. Market loan-to-value ranges: Simon Conn, checked October 2026. Rate: Bank of Spain. Tax: HMRC. Regulation: FCA Register and Bank of Spain broker register.
