New to Canada

Can you get a mortgage with no Canadian credit history?

Yes. Most lenders have a newcomer approach, and it was built for people with no local record.

The usual substitutes are a credit report from your home country, a reference letter from your bank there, twelve months of rent paid on time, or the first card you open here. Not every lender accepts the same substitutes, and they are not all equally useful.

What do newcomer programs actually look at?

Four things mostly: how much you have for a down payment, where it came from, your immigration status, and your job.

Generally, the stronger the down payment, the easier it is to cover a gap somewhere else. What you earned back home matters less than whether you can document those four. This is a paperwork problem, not a question of whether you deserve a mortgage.

Does it matter whether you are a PR, on a work permit, or a student?

Yes. Permanent residents have the most lenders open to them, owner-occupied buyers on a valid work permit generally have a route as well, and students depend on the specifics.

There are also federal restrictions on residential purchases by non-Canadians, with exemptions, and in BC certain buyers face additional property transfer tax and the speculation and vacancy tax. These rules keep changing. I check them line by line against your status rather than working off what happened to a friend.

The job just started and you are still on probation. Does it count?

Most lenders want probation finished, but that is not the only way it gets read.

A new job with a signed offer letter is acceptable to many lenders, particularly full-time work with a base salary in a field you already worked in. When the history is genuinely short, the gap usually gets covered with a larger down payment or a co-borrower.

The down payment is coming from overseas. How do you explain it?

You have to show three things: whose money it is, where it came from, and how it got here.

Most lenders want full statements showing the money sitting in your Canadian account for a period, not a screenshot of the transfer. Once it lands, leave it alone — moving it between accounts is the most common way I see people turn a simple file into a complicated one. If it came from your parents, expect to need a gift letter as well.

Are a foreign credit report and a bank reference letter really useful?

Yes, and they are often the most important pages in the file.

A bank reference letter is a formal letter from your bank at home stating how long the account has been open and that it has been in good standing. Most lenders want the original, or something sent directly by the bank, and anything not in English usually needs translation. Both are far easier to obtain before you leave than after you arrive.

Can income earned outside Canada be used?

Some lenders accept it, generally at a discount, and they ask for more proof.

One spouse still working at home while the other moves first is a file I see often. What matters is whether the income is stable, whether it is taxed and documented, and whether the path the money takes into Canada is clear. It depends on the lender, and there is no single answer.

Three things you can do this week

First, open a credit card as soon as you land, and a secured card is fine. Use it lightly every month and pay it off in full. A score is built out of time, so starting three months earlier gives you three more months of history.

Second, once the down payment reaches your Canadian account, leave it there, and keep the paperwork from every step of the transfer. Third, while you still have contacts there, get the bank reference letter and credit report from your home country. Arranging it from here usually costs several extra weeks.

Common questions