In a housing market that has grown steadily more selective, it is often those who arguably help keep the country running who are quietly being left behind. Among them are skilled professionals working in the UK on temporary visas, who face a frustrating and often overlooked barrier to homeownership: the absence of indefinite leave to remain.
These are not risky cases. According to the Home Office’s Immigration Statistics Quarterly Report, in the year ending March 2025, the Home Office issued 192,000 work visas to main applicants in skilled and related roles, with many supporting the vital health and social care¹ sectors. That’s a significant number of people in vital roles, contributing economically and socially, yet often excluded from mainstream mortgage access because of criteria that hasn’t kept pace with reality.
It’s not that they lack the means. Many skilled workers have steady employment, regular income, clean credit and savings built up over several years. What they lack is a piece of documentation that, for some lenders, outweighs everything else. Brokers frequently come across clients who tick every box apart from that one and watch them be turned away.
At Buckinghamshire Building Society, we’re seeing more of these cases cross our desks. And we believe there’s a better way to look at them. If someone has been employed here, paid taxes, and is building a life in the UK, they deserve a fair assessment. This isn’t about taking unnecessary risks. It’s about treating people as individuals and making room for common sense in lending.
We’ve responded by raising the maximum loan-to-value available to Skilled Worker visa holders from 80% to 90%. It’s a measured change that reflects what we’re seeing in the real world. Applicants must have lived and worked in the UK for at least two years. Deposits must be built from savings, not gifts. Each case is reviewed manually, giving us the flexibility to take a full and fair view of the borrower’s circumstances.
This kind of approach matters. It allows lenders to move beyond the rigidity that too often defines lending decisions. It’s a small policy shift, but one that speaks to something bigger: who gets a real chance to buy a home in the UK today?
According to the UK government’s updated immigration guidance, from April 2024 the general salary threshold for Skilled Worker visa applicants has been set at £38,700 per year². These figures provide an indication of the steady and often above-average income levels that many visa holders bring to the table, yet their mortgage access still lags behind.
There’s no shortage of talk in our industry about flexibility and inclusivity. But for that to mean anything, it has to show up in our criteria and in our conversations. Indefinite leave to remain is one form of security. But so is steady employment, a clean credit file and a deposit built over time by someone who clearly wants to settle and contribute.
Brokers see these disconnects first-hand. They can recognise financially stable clients, even when the documents don’t tell the full story. Working with lenders who are willing to listen and look at the bigger picture makes a real difference, not just to outcomes, but to clients’ confidence and trust.
The housing market doesn’t sit in isolation. It reflects the choices we make about who is welcomed and supported. Skilled workers have come to the UK because we need them. To care for patients, teach in schools and support infrastructure. Giving them a fair shot at homeownership isn’t just sensible, it’s the right thing to do.
At Buckinghamshire Building Society, we’ll keep reviewing our criteria with that in mind. Responsible lending means doing the due diligence. But it also means having the courage to adjust, to recognise where rules are excluding the very people we rely on, and to make room for more thoughtful, human decisions.
Claire Askham is head of mortgage sales at Buckinghamshire Building Society
Sources:
¹ Home Office, Immigration Statistics Quarterly Report, March 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
² UK Government, Skilled Worker visa: Your Job, updated April 2025. www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa
