For non-permanent residents
Buying and financing property in Hong Kong as a foreigner
Three things surprise most people arriving from overseas: there is no restriction on foreign ownership at all, the 15% Buyer’s Stamp Duty they have read about was abolished in February 2024, and 70% is not the ceiling — mortgage insurance is open to non-permanent residents too. What does still vary, and varies a lot, is how individual banks assess a non-resident applicant.
LTV without insurance
70%
The same ceiling for residents and non-residents alike
LTV with insurance
Up to 90%
Residency is not a condition; owner-occupation and price bands are
Debt servicing cap
50%
Of monthly income, all commitments included
Buyer’s Stamp Duty
Abolished
For instruments executed on or after 28 Feb 2024
▸ Can a foreigner buy property in Hong Kong?
Yes. Hong Kong places no restriction on foreign ownership of residential property. You do not need residency, a work visa, or a local company to hold title in your own name.
▸ Do I still pay Buyer’s Stamp Duty as a non-permanent resident?
No. Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD), New Residential Stamp Duty (NRSD) and Special Stamp Duty (SSD) were all abolished for instruments executed on or after 28 February 2024. A non-permanent resident now pays the same ad valorem stamp duty as a permanent resident buying the same property. A great deal of material online still describes the old 15% BSD — it no longer applies.
▸ How much can I borrow?
Without mortgage insurance, 70% loan-to-value — the same ceiling that applies to everyone. With mortgage insurance the loan can go considerably higher, up to 90% where the eligibility conditions are met. Debt servicing is capped at 50% of monthly income throughout. None of these limits turn on residency.
▸ Can a non-permanent resident use mortgage insurance?
Yes. Residency is not one of the scheme’s conditions. What is: the property must be for your own occupation, none of the mortgagors may already hold Hong Kong residential property, the highest tiers expect salaried income, and the loan is capped by price band. Meet those and the ratio open to you is the same as for a permanent resident — which is a long way from the 70% most overseas buyers assume is their ceiling.
▸ So where does residency actually matter?
In the bank’s own credit policy rather than in the regulations. Banks differ on how they treat income earned outside Hong Kong, employment on a fixed-term visa, and applicants with no local credit history. Some will lend on the same terms as to a local buyer; others apply a lower LTV or ask for additional documentation. This variation is the single biggest reason to compare banks rather than walk into one.
▸ Will my visa length limit the mortgage term?
Not as a rule, but some banks take the remaining validity of your visa into account when assessing stability of income. Where that becomes an issue, it is usually addressable — by documenting employment continuity, or by approaching a bank whose policy handles it differently.
▸ Can I get a mortgage before I move to Hong Kong?
It is possible but more restricted. Applicants already resident, with a local employment contract and a local bank account, have materially more options. If you are relocating, it is worth mapping the timeline before you commit to a purchase.
From our own casebook
Further than most people assume the door opens
One case we handled: a non-permanent resident, employed outside Hong Kong, paid in a foreign currency — and approved at 90% loan-to-value with mortgage insurance. Every single element of that profile is one applicants are routinely told will not work.
We are not going to present that as the usual outcome, or set out a method. It turned on that client’s particular facts, and another applicant with the same headline profile could well land somewhere different. The point is narrower, and worth saying plainly: a great deal of what overseas buyers are told is impossible is simply untested. Finding out where the limit actually sits on your own case costs you nothing.
Case details are generalised and no client information is identifiable. Mortgage insurance eligibility, loan-to-value and premiums are determined by HKMC and the lender on each application; nothing here is a commitment that any given case will be approved.
Where a broker earns their place
Because the regulatory limits are identical everywhere, the published rate is close to identical everywhere too. What differs between banks is credit appetite — and for a non-resident applicant that is precisely the variable that decides the outcome.
Approaching banks one at a time means learning each policy by being declined. We put the same profile to several at once and come back with the ones that will actually lend, on what terms. There is no fee to you — the bank pays the referral fee, and we disclose that arrangement in full.
Stamp duty position stated as at the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2024, under which SSD, BSD and NRSD ceased to apply to instruments executed on or after 28 February 2024. Loan-to-value and debt-servicing limits are the prevailing HKMA supervisory requirements. Individual bank credit policy varies and is not published; nothing on this page constitutes a commitment by any lender, and every application remains subject to the bank’s approval.
A real adviser · reply the same day
Not sure which banks will lend to you?
Tell us your residency status, where your income is earned and roughly what you are looking at. We will tell you which lenders are realistic before you make an offer.