One of the most common questions we're asked — by clients abroad, by Lithuanian families here and overseas, and by people moving to the UK for the first time — is simply: am I even allowed to buy? The short answer is yes. There's no law stopping a foreign national or a non-UK resident from owning property in the UK. You don't need to be a citizen, a resident, or to hold a visa to buy a home or an investment.
That said, "allowed to" and "straightforward" aren't the same thing. As an overseas or non-resident buyer you'll pay more tax (there's an extra Stamp Duty surcharge in England and Northern Ireland), face tighter identity and money checks, and usually need a bigger deposit if you want a mortgage. This guide walks through all of it in plain English — the process, the costs, the paperwork and the tax — with every figure dated and sourced, because the rules move and getting them wrong is expensive.
Yes — anyone can buy, but the rules differ by nation
There is no citizenship or residency requirement to own UK property. A non-resident, a foreign national, an expat or an overseas company can all buy freehold or leasehold property here. What changes depending on where you're buying — and whether you live in the UK — is the tax and, in practice, your mortgage options.
The UK is four nations with different property-tax systems, and that matters a lot for overseas buyers:
- England & Northern Ireland — you pay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT), and this is the only part of the UK with an extra surcharge for non-residents (the +2% below).
- Scotland — you pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). There is no non-resident surcharge, though there is an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on second/additional homes.
- Wales — you pay Land Transaction Tax (LTT). There is also no non-resident surcharge here.
The extra 2% "overseas buyer" Stamp Duty only exists in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Wales have their own taxes and don't charge it.
The process, step by step
For most overseas buyers the buying process is the same as for anyone else — with a couple of extra links in the chain (identity checks, and sometimes a UK bank account or a currency transfer). A typical route:
- Get your money and paperwork ready. Work out your budget, line up proof of funds, and — if you need to borrow — speak to a mortgage broker before you offer (see below).
- Instruct a UK solicitor or conveyancer. You don't need to be in the country; almost everything can be done remotely by email, post and video ID verification.
- Find the property and make an offer through the estate agent. An offer isn't legally binding in England, Wales or Northern Ireland until contracts are exchanged (Scotland's system binds earlier).
- Searches, survey and mortgage are done; your solicitor checks the legal title and the lease if it's a flat.
- Exchange of contracts — now it's binding and your deposit is committed. Then completion, when the money moves and the keys are yours.
- Tax return and payment. Your solicitor files the SDLT/LBTT/LTT return and pays the tax on your behalf, usually within 14 days (England & NI) of completion.
You do not have to travel to the UK to complete a purchase. What you do need is a solicitor who can verify your identity to the standard the law now requires — which brings us to the checks.
The +2% non-resident Stamp Duty surcharge (England & NI)
This is the big one for overseas buyers, and the figure people most often miss. Since 1 April 2021, if you're not UK-resident for the purchase, you pay Stamp Duty at rates 2 percentage points higher on a home in England or Northern Ireland. Crucially, this 2% sits on top of everything else — the standard rates and the +5% additional-property surcharge where it applies.
So a non-resident buying an additional property (a second home or a buy-to-let) can be paying standard rates +5% +2% = +7% above a UK resident buying their only home. Here's how it stacks up (England & NI, 2026):
| Portion of price | UK resident, main home | Non-resident, main home (+2%) | Non-resident, additional property (+5% +2%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 2% | 7% |
| £125,001 – £250,000 | 2% | 4% | 9% |
| £250,001 – £925,000 | 5% | 7% | 12% |
| £925,001 – £1.5m | 10% | 12% | 17% |
| Over £1.5m | 12% | 14% | 19% |
For this surcharge, you're treated as non-resident if you were not in the UK for at least 183 days in the 12 months before the purchase. The good news: if you then spend 183+ days in the UK in the 12 months after completion, you can usually reclaim the 2% from HMRC. Rates and rules can change at Budgets — we'll always confirm your exact figure before you commit.
A worked example — the same flat, three buyers
Take a £400,000 flat in England, bought in 2026. Watch what the buyer's status does to the tax:
1. UK resident, buying their only home
- £0–£125,000 @ 0% = £0
- £125,001–£250,000 @ 2% = £2,500
- £250,001–£400,000 @ 5% = £7,500
Total: £10,000
2. Non-resident, buying their only home (+2%)
- £0–£125,000 @ 2% = £2,500
- £125,001–£250,000 @ 4% = £5,000
- £250,001–£400,000 @ 7% = £10,500
Total: £18,000 — £8,000 more, purely for being non-resident.
3. Non-resident, this is an additional property (+5% +2%)
- £0–£125,000 @ 7% = £8,750
- £125,001–£250,000 @ 9% = £11,250
- £250,001–£400,000 @ 12% = £18,000
Total: £38,000 on the very same flat.
Same £400,000 flat: £10,000 of Stamp Duty for a UK resident's home — or £38,000 for a non-resident buying it as an investment. Budget for the status, not just the price.
ID, anti-money-laundering and proof of funds
UK estate agents, solicitors and lenders are all legally required to run anti-money-laundering (AML) checks. As an overseas buyer you'll be asked for more than a UK buyer, and it's sensible to prepare it early so it doesn't hold up your purchase.
- Identity: a valid passport and, usually, proof of your home address (a utility bill or bank statement, sometimes translated and certified).
- Source of funds: where the deposit and purchase money came from — recent payslips, savings history, a property sale, a gift letter, business accounts, investment statements. "I have the money" isn't enough; they need to see the trail.
- Overseas companies: if you buy through a non-UK company, it must be listed on the UK's Register of Overseas Entities at Companies House and have an ID before it can be registered as the owner of the land.
None of this is a barrier — it's paperwork. But gathering it in advance, with certified translations where needed, is the single biggest thing you can do to keep an overseas purchase moving.
Getting a mortgage as a non-resident or expat
You can borrow to buy in the UK from abroad, but it's a more specialist market. Many high-street lenders won't lend to non-residents at all, so applications usually go through a specialist lender via a broker. Expect the deposit bar to be higher and the paperwork heavier.
- Deposit: as a rough guide, overseas and non-resident buyers are typically asked for 25% to 40% of the price, versus 5–10% a resident might manage. The exact figure depends on the lender, the property, your income and your ties to the UK — treat this as a market range, not a fixed rule.
- Income checks: lenders stress-test foreign-currency income and may apply an exchange-rate buffer, so borrowing power can be lower than it looks on paper.
- Specialist lenders: some banks specialise in expat and foreign-national mortgages; a broker who knows that market will save you a lot of dead ends.
Plenty of overseas purchases are cash, which sidesteps the lending hurdles but not the AML checks — a cash buyer faces more source-of-funds scrutiny, not less. Either way, a Mortgage in Principle or clear proof of funds before you offer makes you a far stronger buyer.
Tax while you own — and when you sell
Stamp Duty is a one-off at purchase. Owning UK property as an overseas buyer brings ongoing and future taxes too. The main ones:
- Income tax on rent. If you let the property, UK rental profits are taxable in the UK even if you live abroad. The Non-Resident Landlord Scheme means your letting agent or tenant may have to withhold basic-rate tax unless HMRC approves you to receive rent gross.
- Capital Gains Tax (CGT) when you sell. Non-residents pay CGT on gains from UK residential property at 18% or 24% (2025–26), depending on your income band. You must report and pay within 60 days of completion, and you get the £3,000 annual exempt amount (2025–26) in most cases. Note some non-resident CGT rules were updated in 2026 — check the latest for your situation.
- ATED (companies). If a company owns a UK home worth over £500,000, it may owe the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings — an annual charge, unless a relief (e.g. genuine letting) applies.
ATED annual charges for 2025–26:
| Property value | Annual charge (2025–26) |
|---|---|
| £500,001 – £1m | £4,450 |
| £1m – £2m | £9,150 |
| £2m – £5m | £31,050 |
| £5m – £10m | £72,700 |
| £10m – £20m | £145,950 |
| Over £20m | £292,350 |
Tax is the area where overseas buyers most often need proper advice. Rates can change at every Budget — we'll always point you to a tax specialist for anything beyond the standard figures, and confirm your Stamp Duty number before you commit.
What changed in 2024–2026
- +5% additional-property surcharge (up from 3%) — since 31 October 2024. This stacks with the non-resident +2% for overseas investors.
- SDLT thresholds tightened — from 1 April 2025 the 0% band returned to £125,000 (it had temporarily been £250,000). The November 2025 Budget left Stamp Duty unchanged, so the 2025 rates still apply in 2026.
- Scotland's Additional Dwelling Supplement rose to 8% — for contracts from 5 December 2024 (still no non-resident surcharge in Scotland).
- Non-resident CGT rules updated in 2026 — technical changes around "property-rich" entities and company disposals took effect in 2026; most direct home sales are unaffected, but check the latest if you hold through a company.
- Bank of England base rate was 3.75% as of June 2026 — mortgage pricing tracks it and lender competition, so treat any rate as illustrative.
The rules have moved the cost of overseas buying up since 2024. A lot of older articles still show a 3% surcharge or the temporary £250,000 threshold — those are out of date. Always work from a current, dated figure.
We help overseas and Lithuanian buyers buy in the UK from wherever they are — in English or Lithuanian. That means a free, honest valuation or price check before you offer, a clear personalised Stamp Duty figure for your status (we'll flag the +2% non-resident surcharge and whether it's reclaimable), and coordinating the solicitors, brokers and specialist expat lenders so the ID, proof-of-funds and paperwork don't stall your purchase. We don't give tax advice ourselves — for CGT, ATED or company structures we'll point you to a proper specialist — but we'll make sure nothing surprises you before exchange.