Principality Building Society has relaxed its home loan lending policy for applicants outside the European Economic Area.  

The mutual changes cover:  

• Up to 95% LTV lending for EEA and non-EEA applicants  
• Cuts the length of time a non-EEA national has resided in the UK from three years to two years — subject to passing a credit score  
• Cuts the amount of time remaining on an applicant’s visa from two years to 12 months  

The lender has adapted its criteria to cover professionals with visa considerations, which includes applicants in high-demand specialist jobs, or highly-skilled roles, such as medical professionals who work for the NHS.  

This has previously seen the lender increase income multiples for newly-qualified professionals and NHS workers, and now sees the firm adapt its visa criteria to meet the needs of more non-EEA applicants.  

Principality Building Society national intermediary manager Helen Lewis says: “Principality has engaged with brokers to help identify how we can develop our criteria to support their clients.   

“We have taken a common-sense approach to lending understanding that not every case is straightforward.   

“Feedback from brokers suggests there is an increased difficulty finding a suitable solution for their non-EEA clients.  

“The introduction of these changes to our lending criteria will hopefully make mortgages more accessible for clients looking to purchase a home in the UK.”  

European Economic Area countries cover all 27 nations in the European Union as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.