After the transition date, all residential and buy-to-let applicants must be UK resident.
Where applicants aren’t UK resident, Santander will only consider applications for new lending (including existing mortgage customers moving home) on residential mortgages where borrowers are:
- intending to occupy the property on completion,
- are temporarily overseas (e.g. BFPO, offshore workers) and will be returning to live in the property,
- are not fully occupying the property, but the property will be either: partially occupied e.g. sole applicant working overseas during the week but residing in the property at weekends, split occupied e.g. one joint party residing in the property with the other living outside the UK, or family occupied e.g. by a spouse/parent/sibling but with no formal letting agreement.
For buy-to-let applications where applicants aren’t UK resident, Santander will only consider applications for new lending on pipeline cases or where the borrower is temporarily overseas.
For residential mortgage applications over 75% LTV income is used for affordability purposes, EEA/Swiss citizens (excluding Rep. of Ireland) will need to evidence their permanent right to reside in the UK. This can be proof of their settled or pre-settled status as part of the EU Settlement Scheme or other acceptable evidence.
This will also apply to buy-to-let applications where their income is required to meet the minimum £25,000 for eligibility purposes.
All full mortgage applications over 75% LTV for EEA/Swiss citizens that are submitted on Introducer Internet by 9pm on Saturday 5th December won’t be affected. This means no evidence of their permanent right to reside in the UK will be required.
However, Santander will ask for evidence of their permanent right to reside in the UK from 6th December if there:
- are material changes e.g. change to loan amount/term,
- are adverse changes in the applicant’s financial circumstances,
- is an increase in risk e.g. increase in LTV taking a case above 75% or further above 75%.
In addition, from 6th December, substitute properties and re-submitted cases, including appeals on an earlier decline decision, will not be treated as pipeline cases.
For pipeline applications that have received a mortgage offer before 6th December, the country of residence will not need to be the UK or one of the permitted scenarios above.
