Nationwide Building Society has cut the minimum visa validity period required for residential mortgage applications.  

The mutual says where an applicant does not have indefinite leave to remain in the UK, they now need a minimum of 12 months remaining on their visa at the time the application is made.   

This is down from the previous minimum requirement of two years, six months.  

Applicants without indefinite leave to remain will continue to be able to borrow up to a maximum of 75% loan-to-value and will still need to provide a full three-year address history.  

Nationwide Building Society director of home Henry Jordan says: “This latest change to our minimum visa validity requirement will increase the mortgage options available to those applicants without indefinite leave to remain and bring Nationwide in line with the wider mortgage market.”