Essential criteria

If your client's current Nationwide mortgage term extends beyond their 75th birthday, they can take out a new mortgage over the term remaining on their current loan. This is subject to satisfying all other lending criteria.

They may also apply to port their existing product over the term remaining on their current loan, as long as:

• Any additional borrowing must be on new products
• Any additional borrowing must be repaid on or before their 75th birthday
• They continue to meet our standard status requirements and comply with our lending criteria
• They pay any applicable ERCs if they reduce the loan amount
• They do not increase the term beyond the current remaining term

Your client may apply to port their product over the term remaining on their current loan, as long as they:

• Continue to meet our standard status requirements and comply with our lending criteria
• Pay any applicable Early Repayment Charges (ERCs) if they reduce the loan
• Do not increase the term beyond the current remaining term
• Do not increase the loan to value (LTV)
• Do not take any additional borrowing

• Arran
• Barra
• Benbecula
• Bute
• Coll
• Harris
• Islay
• Jura
• Lewis
• Mull
• North Uist
• The Orkneys
• The Shetlands
• Skye
• South Uist
• Tire

• Any Scottish islands not included in the above list
• Channel Islands 
• Isle of Man 
• Isles of Scilly 
• Republic of Ireland 

Pre-Settled status: where an applicant is applying for Settled status, the check someone's immigration status document will refer to a 'Certificate of Application'. You will also need to provide the letter issued by the Home Office where Pre-Settled status was originally granted.

Settled status: this should be shown on the check someone's immigration status document.

Check someone's immigration status document or valid unexpired Non-UK/ROI passport with any of the following wording:

• Indefinite Leave to Enter/ Remain (ILR)
• No Time Limit
• No restrictions on the holders stay in the UK
• Right to Abode (only acceptable in an unexpired passport)
• EUSS Pre-Settled / Settled status. See above for more information.

If the visa endorsement confirming Indefinite Leave to Remain is in an expired passport, we can accept this for other than Right to Abode. We'll also need to see a copy of the current passport.

We can also accept:

• Certificate of Naturalisation

Check someone's immigration status document with any of the following wording:

• Dependent visa
• Family of a settled person
• Family or Private Life Visa
• Global Talent (Tier 1)
• Hong Kong - British National Overseas (BNO)
• Innovator (Tier 1)
• Leave to enter/remain
• Parent visa
• Overseas Business Representative
• Skilled Worker/ General (Tier 2)
• Spousal
• UK ancestry

We can also accept:

• Armed Forces (exempt from immigration control) under section 8 of the Immigration Act 1971
• Valid unexpired Non-UK/ROI passport with the wording 'Leave to enter or remain'.

If the visa endorsement confirming status is in an expired passport we can accept this, but we'll also need to see a copy of the current passport.

• Applications for a visa. The applicant must already have an acceptable visa confirming their right to remain in the UK.
• Asylum Seeker Leave to Remain
• Biometric Residence Permits (BRP)
• Blue/Pink Home Office 'residence documentation' booklets
• EEA Family Permit
• Home Office Letters
• Humanitarian Protection (HP) leave to remain
• Permanent Residence Card / Biometric Residence Card (BRC)
• Permitted Paid Engagement
• Protection eVisa
• Refugee Leave to Remain
• Residence Card, including those supplied via Points Based Immigration system
• Standard Visitor/Tourist
• Student/ Graduate
• Tier 1 Investor Visa
• Tier 1 Postgraduate Study Visa
• Tier 1 Start up Visa
• Tier 2 Intra-Company transfer / Global Business Mobility Route
• Tier 3
• Tier 4 Student Visa
• Transfer Visa
• Transit
• Ukraine Permission Extension
• Working Holiday maker

We will use current income for affordability purposes.

You must provide proof of a current and/or past pension other than State Pension. For example, a payslip showing a pension deduction, pension statement or pension payment on a bank statement.

You'll need to provide details of your client's current income and expected retirement income. For affordability purposes, we'll use the lower of the two.

We'll need the following information, usually from the latest annual pension illustration, annual statement of pension, or letter from the pension provider confirming pension due on retirement:

• The retirement age on the proof should match or be dated before your client's declared retirement age.
• The proof must show their projected retirement income. Confirmation of current/future fund value only is not acceptable.
• If the proof assumes your client will not take the tax-free cash on retirement, we'll use 75% of the annual pension income figure quoted. You'll need to calculate and key this manually.
• If the proof includes the 25% Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS), you can key the full income.
• If the proof quotes 'Low', 'Medium' and 'High' growth rates, we will assess income assuming the 'Medium' growth rate.
• We can consider pension plans offering flexible drawdown options, such as Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) as part of expected retirement income.

For joint applications where the second applicant is not contributing towards affordability because they are a student, homemaker, or unemployed, proof of their pension isn't needed.

We need to see:

• Bond certificate or investment statement less than a year old at DIP date.
• For share statements, the 'capital value now' figure must be used as the original amount invested may have changed.

A builder can provide a cashback incentive or deposit contribution of no more than 5% of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is lower. See our New Build criteria for more information.

Accepted on Shared Ownership applications.

Not accepted on Equity Share loan applications.

We need to see a letter from the solicitor.

Sale of all or part of an applicant's business should be treated as savings.

We need to see:

• A letter from the accountant or solicitor detailing the sale, the amount that has been or will be paid to the applicant and when.
• If funds from the sale have already been paid, the latest statement showing receipt of the funds.

• We'll accept FHTB alongside Help to Buy Equity Loan schemes or Shared Ownership. FHTB loan does not count towards minimum deposit requirements.
• We won't accept FHTB for Genuine Bargain Price, Right to Buy or Restricted Resale Price.
• You can use a maximum of two FHTB loans per application.
• If FHTB funds aren't enough to cover the purchase price, we'll require an additional deposit.
• You must include the monthly repayment and the mandatory insurance payment in the affordability calculation. Your client can get confirmation of these amounts from the Personal Information Note (PIN) issued by the MoD.

We need to see:

• For purchases, the Personal Information Note (PIN)
• For remortgages, the applicants' payslip will show the total monthly FHTB outgoings.

Read more about FHTB

Download our FHTB application keying guide (PDF, 652KB).

A gifted deposit is acceptable if there are no conditions attached to it.

• There is no maximum acceptable amount for gifted deposits.
• If your client received a gift over 12 months ago, key this as savings. We may request further information.
• If a family member provides the gift and is subject to a second charge or family trust arrangement, we allow a repayment condition. The only condition allowed is for repayment of the charge upon sale of the property. There can be no interest charged and the family member can have no other interest or claim upon the property.

We need to see:

• A completed gifted deposit form (PDF, 148KB) for any gifted amount of £10,000 or more received from donors within the UK.
• If your client receives multiple gifts and the total is more than £10,000, we'll require a gifted deposit form for each donor.
• 3 months' donor bank statements and a gifted deposit form for any gift coming from a donor who lives in and/or uses funds within the EEA.
• 6 months' donor bank statements and a gifted deposit form for any gift coming from a donor who lives in and/or uses funds outside the EEA.

If the donor funds the gift through a loan

If the donor of a gift has raised the funds for this through a loan, including a remortgage or bridging finance on their own property, we can accept this if:

• we have a satisfactory gifted deposit form completed by the donor
• the applicant is not a named borrower on the donor's loan, and
• the applicant is not required to contribute towards or make any repayments.

We need to see:

• a copy of the donor's loan agreement.
• if the loan is from a UK lender, confirmation that the lender is FCA regulated.
• if the loan is sourced outside the UK, evidence of the source to confirm that the lender is a main finance provider and similar to those governed by the FCA in the UK.
• bank statements to show the funds paid out, where applicable.

Important: We may query and request additional proofs for any 3rd party or cash transactions of £5,000 (or non-UK currency equivalent) or more.

You should key as 'savings' where the source of deposit is inheritance.

We need to see:

• A letter from the executor or solicitor for the estate. This must confirm the amount that has been/will be inherited.
• We'll need a bank statement showing the funds going into your client's account, if they have received them.

Help to Buy ISA

The Help to Buy: ISA scheme is now closed, but we can still accept applications that include this as source of deposit. Your client qualifies if they are:

• buying a property with a purchase price up to £250,000 (up to £450,000 in London)
• a first time buyer
• a UK resident
• have a valid National Insurance number

We need to see the Help to Buy ISA closing statement.

Lifetime ISA

Lifetime ISA (LISA) is an acceptable source of deposit, if your client:

• is buying a property with a purchase price up to £450,000
• is a first time buyer
• set up the LISA at least a year ago

We need to see a statement showing funds available.

If your client has both a Help to Buy ISA and a LISA, only one of these can be used.

If it is a joint application, both applicants can use the LISA as a deposit source.

Read more about Lifetime ISA eligibility on the government website.

Stocks and Shares ISA

We need to see the most recent share statement or print out of share portfolios. This must be less than a year old.

Borrowing from another lender

If the applicant owns additional property and takes out a loan against this with another lender, we will accept it as a deposit subject to affordability and criteria.

Loan from a UK Trust Fund

This is acceptable provided:

• no monthly repayment is made.
• the only condition attached to the Trust Fund loan is that it is repayable on sale of the property.

Repayment of a UK company Director's loan

A Director's loan is where a self-employed applicant, whose business is a Limited Company, injects funds into the business. The funds can be paid back to the applicant at any time, and could be used as a deposit.

Key this type of deposit as savings.

We need to see a letter from the Limited Company's accountant, confirming:

• the amount is available to the applicant
• there will be no detrimental effect to the business because of the transaction.

Repayment of a loan to friends or family

We'll only accept this as a deposit if it was repaid over 3 months ago. In this case, key as savings.

Important: No other form of loan taken out by your client, including bridging loans, is acceptable.

Sale of UK property

We need to see the sale price of the property.

Sale of overseas property

Key as savings.

We need to see a solicitor's letter or completion statement detailing the sale. This should include:

• address of the property
• payment date
• sale price
• UK bank statement showing funds received

If funds have been paid into an overseas bank account in the EEA, we will also need 3 months' bank statements prior to the transfer of funds from this account into the applicant's UK account. The latest bank statement must be dated within 90 days of the date you upload the proof to the case.

If funds have been paid into an overseas bank account outside the EEA, we will also need 6 months' bank statements prior to the transfer of funds from this account into the applicant's UK account. The latest bank statement must be dated within 90 days of the date you upload the proof to the case.

We need to see any supporting documents that state the funds are from redundancy. For example, a letter or payslip from the previous employer.

Accounts in the UK

We need to see:

• One full month's bank statement showing the full cycle of transactions.
• This must be dated within 42 days of the date you upload the proof to the case.
• There must be evidence of at least one month's savings built up in the account.

Savings from an applicant's UK business

We need to see a letter from the company's accountant, confirming:

• the amount to be provided by the business
• that there are no conditions of repayment
• that there will be no detrimental effect to the business because of the transaction.

Accounts in the EEA

We need to see:

• One full month's bank statement, showing the full cycle of transactions.
• One month's UK bank statement showing the funds being transferred to the applicant's UK bank account.

Savings outside the UK and EEA

We need to see:

• The most recent three months' bank statements, showing the full cycle of transactions.
• One month's UK bank statement showing the funds being transferred to the applicant's UK bank account.

Important: For all savings accounts, we may query any 3rd party or cash transactions of £5,000 (non-UK currency equivalent) or more. If the transaction is a gift, we'll follow the non-UK gifts criteria.