The new policy will support workers from nurses to teachers to entrepreneurs as they look to set down roots in England and Wales
LONDON, UK, 25 April 2024 – Fintech lender Gen H has announced significant changes to its foreign national policy. These changes have already come into effect.
Buying a home in England and Wales is difficult enough as it is; for those born elsewhere but with the right to live and work in the United Kingdom, these hurdles can be much greater – especially for workers earning around the nation’s median salary of £34,963.*
Most notably, Gen H can now lend up to 90% LTV to applicants without permanent right to reside. The lender has also removed its minimum income requirement specific to foreign nationals (though standard minimum income requirements still apply).
All visas which allow working in the UK are acceptable, including Ancestry visas, Health and Care Worker visas, and Graduate visas, and the visa only needs to be valid at the time of application.
These changes mean that a family on average salaries without indefinite leave to remain – for example, with one parent working as a teacher and the other a self-employed entrepreneur, earning a household income of £45,000 – may now be able to buy a home with Gen H where they couldn’t before.
Karen Appleton, Head of Lending at Gen H, said,
“Gen H is on a mission to help everyone become a homeowner – and this includes people with the right to live and work in the UK but who may not have indefinite leave to remain or citizenship. Immigration is central to the identity and success of this country, and we benefit collectively when we make it easier for people who weren’t born in the UK to create rich, fulfilling lives here. This policy is an extremely positive change and we’re all very glad to see this go live.”
*Median salary provided by the Office for National Statistics.