West Brom Building Society has launched a new mortgage range designed to support foreign nationals living and working in the UK into homeownership.

It follows a pilot programme carried out in 2025 that helped the Society better understand the challenges of lending in this area, the needs of foreign national customers and how its proposition could evolve to better support them.

The new range is available to first-time buyers and home movers and has been developed to provide greater access to homeownership for customers who may face barriers when applying for a mortgage despite having established lives and careers in the UK.

When the West Brom refers to foreign nationals, it means people who live and work in the UK but were born outside the UK and do not hold British citizenship.

The range launches with a fee-free two-year fixed rate at 5.34% up to 80% LTV, a fee-free two-year fixed rate at 5.45% up to 90% LTV and a fee-free five-year fixed rate at 5.40% up to 80% LTV. The new range also includes a Shared Ownership product, with a fee-free two-year fixed rate at 5.52% up to 95% LTV.

Under the new criteria, the West Brom will accept applications for up to 90% LTV from customers holding Skilled Worker (Tier 2) visas, Health and Care Worker visas and those with pre-settled status, subject to a minimum three-year UK address history.

Applications from customers on spousal visas will also be considered up to 90% LTV where they have a minimum three-year UK address history and are supported by another applicant who’d be eligible to apply in their own right, such as a UK national or someone with Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Dependent visa holders may also be accepted up to 90% LTV where they have a minimum three-year UK address history and are applying alongside a customer on a Skilled Worker visa.

The proposition builds on learnings from a pilot carried out during 2025. While the pilot highlighted several challenges relating to policy and customer eligibility. It provided valuable insight into the circumstances of foreign national applicants, helping the Society refine its approach and develop lending criteria that better reflects customers’ needs, while maintaining a responsible approach to lending.

John Phillips, Senior Product Manager at West Brom Building Society, said: "At the West Brom, we believe that people who’ve chosen to build their lives and careers in the UK should have a fair opportunity to buy a home. Through our pilot programme, we listened carefully to the experiences of foreign national customers and the brokers who support them, helping us better understand the challenges they can face when accessing mortgage finance.

"The result is a dedicated range that reflects the reality of modern homeownership and supports customers who may previously have found their options limited. We know that every customer's circumstances are different, which is why we've developed a proposition that combines competitive lending with common-sense lending criteria.

"As a mutual, our focus is on helping more people achieve their homeownership ambitions. This launch is another step forward in ensuring we're meeting the needs of the communities we serve, while giving brokers greater confidence when placing cases for foreign national applicants."