Financing Options for Australian Expats in Saudi Arabia

Financing Options for Australian Expats Living in Saudi Arabia

Financing for Australian expats in Saudi Arabia can be a complex process, particularly when navigating the Australian lending landscape from thousands of kilometres away. In many cases, expats earning earning tax-free income abroad face additional hurdles, as accessing competitive home loans and maximising borrowing power requires a lender who truly understands the unique financial profile of non-resident Australians.

At Atlas Wealth, we specialise in helping expats secure tailored financing solutions for property purchases back home. In this blog, we’ll walk through a real-life case study of an Australian expat family living in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, we’ll look at their goal of purchasing a second investment property in Melbourne—and, more importantly, how choosing the right lender ultimately made all the difference.

Expat Life Meets Aussie Property Goals

To illustrate, let’s consider a recent case involving an Australian expat family living and working in Saudi Arabia. Similar to many of our clients, their primary objective was to continue building their Australian property portfolio while simultaneously earning a tax-free income abroad. This goal of expanding their property investments underscores the importance of understanding Australian expat mortgages and how they can work for individuals living overseas.

Client Profile:

Australian citizens residing in Saudi Arabia, earning 60,000 SAR/month (~$295,000 AUD annually).
Already owns an investment property in Sydney, valued at $1,000,000 AUD.
Generating $800/week in rental income, contributing to their Australian expat mortgage eligibility.
Carrying a mortgage of $700,000 at 6.5% interest, demonstrating their existing financial commitment under Australian expat mortgage terms.
Looking to purchase a second investment property in Melbourne, leveraging their strong income for further investment opportunities.

Their motivation for purchasing another investment property? They are focused on long-term capital growth, geographic diversification, and leveraging their high overseas income to expand their investment base before returning to Australia. This is a key consideration when exploring Australian expat mortgages and how these loans can support further portfolio expansion.

Equity & Borrowing Power: Understanding the Starting Point

One of the first steps in any Australian expat mortgage lending strategy is, importantly, understanding both your available equity and how much you can realistically borrow. In this scenario, the client had built up $300,000 in equity in their existing property. However, due to standard lender caps for equity release—typically limited to 80% of the property’s value—only $100,000 was accessible without triggering Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).

Consequently, this $100,000 in equity was earmarked to serve as a deposit and to cover the associated purchasing costs for their Melbourne investment. From there, the next logical step was to assess how much additional borrowing could be secured as Australian expats based in Saudi Arabia—and at this stage, lender choice became absolutely critical.

Not All Lenders Are Equal When It Comes to Expats

Many Australian lenders tend to be conservative when assessing overseas income. For instance, some won’t lend to expats at all, while others apply strict shading to foreign income or even reject certain currencies outright. Therefore, comparing lenders is essential to fully understand your mortgage options as an Australian expat.

Here’s how four lenders stacked up for this family:

Lender	Interest Rate	Max LVR (Expat)	Borrowing Capacity	Risk Fee	Offset & Redraw	Cashout	Construction
CBA	6.22%	80%	$0	0%	Y	Yes	Y
Heritage Bank	6.15%	70%	$500,000	0%	Y	No	N
Bankwest	6.24%	80%	$850,000	0%	Y	Yes	Y
MA Money	7.49%	80%	$1,600,000	0.75%	Y	Yes	N

Table: Mortgages lender comparison for Australian expats in Saudi Arabia.

What This Means in Practice:

Although CBA is a trusted name, they did not offer any borrowing capacity to this client. This limitation is not unusual, especially among major banks that often decline Australian expats without PAYG income sourced in Australia.
In contrast, Heritage Bank provided a modest borrowing limit; however, it lacked flexibility in loan features such as cashout or construction options.
By comparison, Bankwest emerged as a strong option for this Australian family living in Saudi Arabia. It offered an $850,000 borrowing capacity, a full suite of loan features, and expat-friendly lending policies.
Finally, MA Money offered the highest borrowing capacity among the lenders. However, this came at a significant cost, including higher interest rates and a 0.75% risk fee.

Strategic Recommendation: Australian Expats Mortgages Case Study

For this Australian family living in Saudi Arabia, Bankwest ultimately provided the best balance of affordability, borrowing power, and flexibility. On the other hand, while MA Money offered a higher loan amount, the added cost would only be justifiable if they were pursuing a significantly more expensive or development-focused property.

Recommended Next Steps:

Refinance the existing Sydney property to release $100,000 equity.
Use Bankwest to secure pre-approval for a new loan of up to $850,000.
Target Melbourne properties in the $700,000–$850,000 range, focusing on growth corridors or high-yield rental suburbs.

Why Australian Expat Lending Is Different (and Why It Matters)

When assessing Australian expat mortgages, several important factors come into play. Most notably, when you’re living abroad, aspects such as your income source, tax residency status, and even the currency in which you’re paid can significantly influence your eligibility with Australian lenders. Consequently, the Australian expat mortgage process can become quite complex and time-consuming. This is especially true because many Australian banks tend to implement stricter lending policies for applicants. For example, they may:

Significantly discount foreign income—often by up to 40%, which can drastically reduce your borrowing power when applying for Australian expat mortgages.
Reject certain currencies altogether, regardless of the applicant’s financial stability, limiting options for expat mortgage applicants earning in foreign currencies.
Require extensive documentation, such as foreign tax returns or employer letters, to validate your income for Australian expat mortgages, adding more time and complexity to the process.
Limit borrowing capacity by capping loan-to-value ratios (LVR) at 70–80%, which is common in expat mortgages to mitigate lender risk.
Exclude variable income, including bonuses, commissions, or housing allowances, which can significantly affect the amount you can borrow under Australian expat mortgage criteria.

Without professional guidance, expats can often get declined or under-borrow—missing out on opportunities or overpaying on interest.

Want to Invest While Overseas? Start with the Right Advice

Buying property in Australia while living overseas is certainly achievable; however, long-term success depends heavily on having the right finance strategy in place. That’s why, at Atlas Wealth Mortgages, we specialise in working closely with Australian expats around the world. Specifically, we help you:

Accurately assess your true borrowing capacity, so you can plan with confidence,
Compare expat-friendly lenders, ensuring you’re matched with institutions that understand your unique financial position,
Structure loans in a tax-effective manner, which is essential for long-term wealth building, and
Provide end-to-end support—from pre-approval all the way through to settlement— so you’re never navigating the process alone.

Video: Financing Options for Australian Expats living in Saudi Arabia

Jeremy Harper, Managing Director at Atlas Mortgages, provides a snapshot overview of this case study: Financing Options for Australian Expats Living in Saudi Arabia. In addition, he highlights a recent and impactful credit policy change from Bankwest that stands to significantly improve borrowing outcomes for expats.

Most notably, Bankwest is introducing a key policy update this Friday—one that could be a game-changer for Australian expats earning tax-free income abroad. The bank will formally begin accepting tax-free income as part of its serviceability assessment, a major development for expats living in countries like Saudi Arabia, where income is typically exempt from local taxation. This update brings Bankwest in line with lenders already offering similar flexibility in regions such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Looking ahead, it’s hoped that this change will set a broader precedent across the Gulf region, encouraging similar adjustments in Qatar and Bahrain, where many Australian expats continue to face borrowing restrictions under traditional lending criteria. For many, this shift could unlock greater borrowing capacity and improved access to competitive home loans—helping them build wealth through Australian expat mortgages more effectively.

Click here to book a consultation with Jeremy and explore how these changes could benefit your property strategy.

Ready to Buy from Abroad?

No matter where you’re located—whether it’s Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Singapore, London, or beyond—we’re here to help you confidently take the next step in growing your Australian property portfolio.

Contact us for a free expat lending assessment and learn more about Atlas Mortgages.
We’ll help you unlock the right loan, at the right rate, with the right strategy.

Further Information on Australian Expat Mortgages

Navigating Loan Maintenance as an Australian Expat
How to Secure a Mortgage as an Australian Expat
Watch our weekly Expat Chat Podcast on YouTube.
Listen to our weekly Expat Mortgages Podcast on Spotify.