Home loans for 188 (provisional) and 888 (permanent) visa holders: at the 188 stage lending follows temporary-visa and foreign-buyer rules with restricted LVR and FIRB in some cases — we translate and package your offshore assets and income for the specialist lenders that take these.

Yes, but the path has to be right — this is the classic 188 situation: thick assets, thin Australian income evidence. Three keys. First, visa stage drives treatment: 188 is temporary, lenders assess under temporary-visa plus foreign-buyer rules, LVR is usually only 60–70% (a 30–40% deposit), with FIRB approval needed in some cases. Second, income goes alt-doc: your overseas company dividends and offshore rental support the application on offshore asset evidence plus offshore income, but lenders count it at a conservative discount, not in full. Third, documents need certified translation: offshore income and asset evidence require certified translation by a lender-accepted translator, and this step needs lead time. The good news is that some specialist lenders do accept 188 holders applying on offshore assets and income — Halo Loan specialises in these cross-border identity and income cases, packaging the offshore asset evidence, offshore income and certified translations as one set and comparing the 2–3 lenders currently writing 188.

Yes, and the move to 888 permanent is a good moment to re-optimise the loan. At the 188 provisional stage your loan was squeezed by temporary-visa plus foreign-buyer rules: low LVR cap (60–70%), higher rate, with some limits driven by status rather than your qualifications. Once you hold the 888 permanent visa, treatment approaches that of a permanent resident (PR) — the LVR cap loosens, the foreign-buyer restrictions no longer apply, rates move closer to local clients, and offshore-income recognition may ease somewhat. So if you borrowed on tight terms at the 188 stage, after 888 we recommend re-running it: assessing whether to refinance to release the LVR squeezed earlier (released equity can fund your next move) and pull the higher rate back toward local levels. How much improves depends on your income documentation after the transition, but the direction is clear — the 888 stage is always more relaxed than 188. Send us your 888 grant date and current loan contract, and we'll work out whether refinancing pays.

A 188 provisional holder is bound by foreign-investment rules, FIRB approval is genuinely needed to buy in some cases, and the property types you can buy are restricted. The broad picture: a temporary-visa holder can usually only buy new or off-the-plan dwellings, not an established second-hand home for owner-occupation — this is the core foreign-investment restriction, designed to steer offshore money toward new housing supply rather than competing for existing stock. Buying new or off-the-plan generally requires applying for FIRB approval first and paying an application fee (tiered by property price, not cheap), with approval needed before you sign. There are exceptions and details — for instance, in some cases a temporary-visa holder may buy one established home to live in but must deal with it per the rules when selling. The rules change often at state and federal level and depend on your specific visa subclass. So before buying, always confirm two things: whether your purchase needs FIRB, and whether it falls within the category your visa may buy. We assess this clearly, so you don't fall for a second-hand home and pay a deposit only to find your visa status can't buy it — and possibly can't recover the deposit.

This is a common gap for offshore-income applicants, because Australian lenders assess offshore income far more conservatively than local income. Several discounts stack up. First, offshore income is counted at a discount: your overseas company dividends and offshore rental aren't accepted at 100% — they're shaded before counting into servicing, because lenders are less confident about the stability and verifiability of offshore income. Second, currency and source-country scrutiny: some currencies are volatile and some source countries' documents are unfamiliar to lenders, leading to further shading or non-acceptance. Third, the temporary-visa (188) stage is more conservative overall: with temporary status, lenders are cautious about your long-term servicing. Fourth, the servicing stress test: lenders add a buffer rate on top of the actual rate to test whether you can carry it, further lowering the borrowable amount. So a high offshore book income doesn't mean a high serviceable income as calculated in Australia. Our approach: first judge which offshore income lenders accept and at what discount, then choose the lender with the lightest offshore-income shading and most favourable view of your source country, presenting your real servicing capacity as fully as possible.

This step is called certified translation, an unavoidable part of an offshore-income application that can't be skipped or done casually yourself. For non-English income evidence, asset evidence, bank statements and company financials, Australian lenders require certified translations produced by a qualified, lender-accepted translator, bearing the translator's declaration and credentials. A self-translation, or one by an unqualified person, isn't accepted and gets the file bounced. A few practical points: first, allow lead time — with many documents, translation takes days to a week or two, and doing it at settlement stalls the whole application. Second, use the right translator — accepted credentials can differ by lender, and we confirm which apply. Third, originals and translations must correspond clearly, with currency, dates and amounts translated accurately, since errors prompt lender queries. Halo Loan has handled many 188 / 888 cross-border income cases and knows lenders' specific requirements for offshore documentation and certified translation, packaging the translation and certification right the first time to cut back-and-forth. Send us your list of offshore documents and we'll first set out which need translation and what type of translator to use.