How much of their own money a non-resident needs to buy in Portugal

Why there is no full-price mortgage

Recomendação Macroprudencial n.º 1/2026 tells banks not to lend more than 90% for a main home and 80% for anything else, and the percentage is taken on the lower of the price and the valuation. A holiday home or a property to let is capped at 80%, whether the buyer is resident or not.

There used to be an exception: properties sold by the banks themselves could be financed in full. The current recommendation removed it, and those properties now have the same limits. When an advert talks about full financing, check whom it is for and for what home: for a second home the limit is still 80%.

Paying the deposit with a personal loan does not solve it: that loan's repayments add to the mortgage's in the 45% of income the bank should not exceed.

Two sums for the same home

With 80% financed: a deposit of €60,000, a loan of €240,000 over 30 years, IMT of €22,500.00, stamp duty of €2,400.00 on the purchase and €1,440.00 on the loan, registration of €700.00. In all €87,040.00. At the average rate for August 2026, 3%, the monthly payment is €1,011.85, and the bank wants to see at least €2,782.34 of net income a month, counting stamp duty on the interest. The non-resident offers carry a higher rate (4.422% at BPI, 4.647% at novobanco), and the payment rises with it.

With 70% financed (BPI states 70% for non-residents, UCI 70%): a deposit of €90,000, a loan of €210,000, the same IMT and registration and €1,260.00 of stamp duty on the loan. In all €116,860.00. The payment falls to €885.37 and the minimum income to €2,434.54.

In both cases IMT is the non-resident buyer's flat 7.5% (article 17(10) of the IMT Code). The figures come from our mortgage calculator, for a buyer 38 years old: change them to match your case.

What these sums leave out

Arrangement and valuation fees, life and buildings insurance, and the gap between valuation and price if the valuation comes in lower. Each bank publishes its fees in its price list.

Some of it can come back: if you become tax resident in Portugal within two years, the difference between non-resident IMT and the normal amount is cancelled on a request made within the following six months. The same applies if, within six months of the purchase, you let it as a home at a moderate rent for at least 36 months in the first five years.