Research from specialist lender Afin Bank suggests demand for mortgages among African nationals on valid UK work visas has weakened over the past year, as concerns over eligibility, credit history and visa requirements continue to weigh on borrowing plans.
The lender, which surveyed 500 Africans living and working in the UK and compared the results with a similar study carried out in 2025, found that 38% had a mortgage in 2026, down from 48% a year earlier.
The proportion planning to apply for a mortgage in the next 18 months also fell, from 36% in 2025 to 24% this year. Those intending to remortgage dropped from 31% to 23%, while the share who had applied for a mortgage in the last 18 months fell sharply from 38% to 20%.
Afin said the findings point to continuing difficulty for overseas borrowers trying to navigate the UK mortgage market, despite some easing in a few areas. Concern over being rejected because of nationality was cited by 22% of respondents, only slightly lower than the 24% recorded in 2025.
Worries over a lack of UK credit history edged up to 22% from 20%, while 16% said they were concerned they would be turned down because of their visa status, down from 28% last year. A further 15% were worried about being rejected because of non-standard income, such as self-employment or multiple income streams, compared with 22% in 2025.
In a new question for 2026, 19% said they were concerned that lenders would not accept gifted deposits or overseas funds towards a deposit.
The research also suggested that mortgage access is tied to wider questions about whether skilled overseas workers see a long-term future in the UK. More than half of respondents, 56%, said they felt excluded from UK financial services.
Among doctors, that figure rose to 65%. Some 39% of all respondents said not being able to buy a home would be a barrier to putting down roots in the UK, rising to 77% among doctors. Nearly a third, 32%, said it would make them want to leave the UK in the short to medium term. That rose to 44% among nurses and 80% among social workers.
A further 27% said they would not want to stay in the UK for the long term if they could not get a mortgage, while 34% said the mortgage situation could discourage skilled people from overseas from coming to the UK.
Afin said many of those affected are employed in sectors such as healthcare and professional services. The lender said there are 1.5 million African nationals living and working in the UK.
Tippie Malgwi, head of diaspora banking for Afin Bank, said: “These are people working in the UK, usually in important sectors such as healthcare or in well-paying professionals roles, but are effectively being excluded from getting a mortgage because they don’t fit the rigid criteria that many mainstream lenders apply.
“For example, some lenders demand that applicants have a longer period of time left on their visas, or they reject applicants because they don’t have several years of UK credit history.
“That is why Afin Bank was created as we know the demand is there from foreign nationals. It is our mission to help them get a mortgage to show them that they are valued and welcome in the UK.”
Afin was launched last year to support borrowers it believes are underserved by mainstream mortgage criteria, including foreign nationals, self-employed applicants, borrowers with multiple jobs, qualified professionals and high-net-worth individuals.
The bank said it individually underwrites each case and will consider applicants from overseas once they have been working in the UK for at least six months, even if they have a limited UK credit footprint. It also said it can consider overseas and gifted funds for deposits, and offers qualified professionals mortgages of up to 6.5 times income.
