French mortgage for non-residents: 2026 guide for Alpine buyers

Foreign buyers often assume a French mortgage is beyond reach, or that the terms will be punitive. Neither is true — but the French system has its own logic, its own paperwork, and its own timing. Here is how it actually works.

The question arrives at every property event: can I actually get a French mortgage as a foreigner? The honest answer is yes — but it requires understanding what "yes" means in practice, which is different from what it means in a British or American banking context. The French banking system will lend to a non-resident, but it prices the relationship on its own terms, requires documentation that takes longer to assemble than buyers expect, and moves at a pace that surprises buyers from faster-moving mortgage markets. The buyers who succeed are the ones who start the bank conversation before they find the property, not after.

How French banks assess non-residents

The core principle of French mortgage lending is the taux d'endettement — the debt-to-income ratio. French banks will, as a rule, not lend to a borrower whose total monthly debt service (existing debts plus new mortgage payment) exceeds 35% of net monthly income. This is a legal cap, not an internal guideline, and it applies equally to French residents and non-residents. It is the rule that surprises buyers who bought a large UK mortgage in the years when UK lenders were more flexible: if your existing commitments already account for 25% of your net income, a French lender will only advance as much as puts you at 35% — regardless of your assets or your deposit.

Borrower type	Typical max LTV	Typical margin over OAT	Notes
French resident	80–85%	0.8–1.5%	Standard product
EU non-resident	70–80%	1.0–1.8%	Requires EU-based bank statements
UK/non-EU non-resident	65–75%	1.3–2.2%	Longer processing, more documentation
Non-resident SCI buyer	60–75%	1.5–2.5%	Varies sharply by lender

The current rate environment

French mortgage rates are referenced to the OAT (obligations assimilables du Trésor — the French government 10-year bond). As of June 2026, OAT 10Y rates have settled around 3.2% after the ECB's rate cycle; adding a non-resident margin of 1.5–2% gives effective rates in the 4.7–5.2% range for UK borrowers — above the lows of 2021 but materially below the peaks of late 2023. Fixed-rate mortgages over 20 years are the standard French product for second-home buyers; variable rates exist but are less common in the Alpine second-home market.

The assurance emprunteur

French mortgage law requires borrowers to hold life and disability insurance for the duration of the loan — and the bank will quote its own policy at signing. Since the 2022 Lemoine law, borrowers have the right to substitute an equivalent policy from any provider, immediately and without penalty. This matters: the bank's in-house policy is often 30–50% more expensive than third-party cover from a French insurer. For a £600,000 mortgage over 20 years, the assurance premium difference can exceed €15,000 over the loan's life. Non-residents can use the delegation d'assurance from day one of signing; ask your notaire or broker to build this into the timeline.

"We see clients arrive at signature having accepted the bank's assurance, having never been told they could shop elsewhere. It is the most expensive mistake in the French mortgage process — and the easiest to avoid."
Specialist Alpine mortgage broker, Annecy

Which banks actually lend to non-residents

Not every French bank is set up for non-resident borrowers. The regional networks vary considerably in both appetite and processing capability:

Crédit Agricole des Savoie — the dominant regional lender, with specific non-resident mortgage products and Alpine-specialist advisers in Annecy, Chambéry and Thonon. Processing time for non-residents: 8–12 weeks.
CIC Sud-Est and Crédit Mutuel — active in the non-resident market, marginally narrower LTVs than Crédit Agricole for UK borrowers.
BNP Paribas and Société Générale — will lend to non-residents through their private banking arms; minimum loan typically €500,000 and a relationship requirement.
Specialist brokers such as Cafpi, Vousfinancer, and several Alpine-focused intermediaries who know which regional desks are currently processing efficiently and can submit your file to three or four lenders simultaneously.

The SCI question

Buying through an SCI (société civile immobilière) — a civil property company — is a common structure for Alpine purchases, particularly for families who want to simplify inheritance or hold property jointly. French banks will lend to an SCI, but the terms vary. Some banks treat the SCI mortgage identically to a personal mortgage if the same borrowers are involved; others add a commercial margin. The structure has genuine advantages for succession planning under French inheritance rules — but it also changes the capital gains treatment (the SCI's gains are taxed at the flat 19% plus prélèvements sociaux rate for IS-subject SCIs; a personal purchase benefits from tapering relief). Take the accounting advice before choosing the structure, not after the bank has quoted. The notaire's office and a French-qualified accountant are the right pair to consult; estate agents are not.

Timing the application

The single most common error is treating the mortgage as something to sort out once the offer is accepted. In France, the compromis de vente — the binding preliminary contract — gives the buyer a legal right to withdraw if a mortgage offer is not received within the agreed period (typically 45 days, sometimes extendable to 60). If the bank has not started processing your file before the compromis is signed, that window is half gone before the dossier is submitted. The practical timeline: identify your target market, approach two or three lenders or a specialist broker, and have a loan agreement in principle before making an offer. It changes the negotiation — sellers in the Alpine market prefer buyers who have done this — and it eliminates the worst outcome, which is losing the property because the bank's 90-day process doesn't fit a 45-day clause. The Banque de France's official guidance on mortgage lending standards and the consumer-facing explainer at service-public.fr give the regulatory framework; what they cannot give is the specific appetite of each regional desk on the day you submit — that is what the broker earns their 1% for.

The dossier: what you actually need to submit

French banks are document-intensive relative to UK lenders, and the documentation standard for non-residents is higher than for residents. A complete dossier for a non-resident applicant typically requires:

Last three payslips (or equivalent income evidence: pension statements, dividend certificates, rental income for the last three years) — translated if not in French or English.
Last two years' tax returns from the country of residence.
Bank statements for the last three months, covering all current accounts from which the mortgage service will be drawn.
Copy of passport and proof of address (utility bill or equivalent, within three months).
Details of all existing debt: mortgage statements, personal loan agreements, any other regular obligations.
The property's compromis de vente or, at pre-approval stage, a descriptive note of the target property including the purchase price and property type (résidence secondaire vs résidence principale).

Banks typically take 3–5 business days to confirm whether the dossier is complete before beginning the formal assessment. Missing documents restart that clock. Assemble everything before first submission; do not send in stages.

SCI borrowing: the specific rules

An SCI (société civile immobilière) is a civil property company — not a commercial entity — that can hold and mortgage French real estate. When an SCI borrows, the mortgage is on the SCI as the borrower, with the shareholders providing personal guarantees. The practical implications:

The bank's credit assessment runs on the shareholders' personal income, not the SCI's accounts (which are typically empty at foundation).
Mortgage rates are typically 10–30 basis points above equivalent personal rates, to price the structural complexity.
Some banks require an IS-subject SCI (taxed as a company) rather than an IR-subject SCI (transparent, taxed personally); this changes the capital gains treatment on future sale materially — the IS regime loses the progressive CGT taper that reduces personal-rate tax to zero after 22 years.
The SCI's statuts must specify the purpose (immobilier) and the management arrangement; a bank notaire will review them before advancing.

For most buyers of a single Alpine property, the SCI's benefits — succession planning, ability to gift shares, clean separation of the property from personal balance sheets — are real but not so overwhelming as to justify the additional complexity unless succession is an active concern. For buyers assembling a portfolio of French properties, the SCI becomes a cleaner structure quickly.

Refinancing an existing property

Owners who purchased in cash — a common approach in a rising market where buyers wanted to move fast — sometimes ask about mortgaging an existing unencumbered property. This is feasible: the process is called a prêt hypothécaire rechargeable or, more commonly for second homes, a prêt hypothécaire in caution réelle. The LTV limits are the same as for a purchase mortgage; the bank uses a chartered surveyor's valuation rather than the purchase price; and the proceeds are not restricted in use (unlike some UK equity release products). The tax treatment of the interest — deductible against LMNP or non-furnished rental income if the property is let, not deductible for pure personal use — should be confirmed with an accountant before drawing down.

The insurance linkage: ski and mountain sports

The assurance emprunteur required with a French mortgage insures against death, disability and often incapacity. For Alpine property owners who use the property for skiing and mountain sports, the policy's sports exclusions matter: a death or permanent disability resulting from a skiing accident should be covered; some cheaper policies exclude "extreme sports," and the definition of that term in French insurance case law is broader than buyers expect. When substituting the bank's assurance with a third-party policy, read the sports exclusion clauses specifically and ask for written confirmation that alpine skiing, ski touring and mountain hiking (randonnée) are covered. The reference standard is AERAS (s'Assurer et Emprunter avec un Risque Aggravé de Santé) for applicants with health complications; the sports-clause issue is distinct and requires a separate enquiry.

[Preview edition — this article is illustrative while Issue No. 1 is in preparation.]

The French mortgage in 2026: what foreign buyers are actually offered