What Changes the Day Your PR Is Granted

If you bought (or tried to buy) property as a temporary visa holder, permanent residency rewrites the rules in your favour on four fronts: no more FIRB approval or fees, access to the full lender market rather than a visa-friendly subset, higher borrowing ratios (up to 95% with lenders mortgage insurance, where temporary residents were often capped at 80%), and eligibility for government schemes that were previously closed to you.

That last one is the most valuable and least understood — so let''s start there.

Government Schemes New PRs Can Access

Eligibility rules change, so verify each scheme''s current criteria before relying on it — but as a general picture:

Home Guarantee Scheme (First Home Guarantee). The federal scheme allowing eligible first-home buyers to purchase with as little as a 5% deposit without paying lenders mortgage insurance, because the government guarantees part of the loan. Permanent residents are eligible; temporary visa holders are not. Places are limited and price caps apply per city. First Home Owner Grant (FHOG). State-based grants for buying or building a new home, typically $10,000–$30,000 depending on the state. PR is generally required (rules vary by state, and where one buyer of a couple is a citizen or PR, many states allow the application). Stamp duty concessions. Most states waive or discount stamp duty for first-home buyers under price thresholds — often worth more than the FHOG itself. Note that some states levy a foreign-purchaser surcharge that stops applying once you hold PR. First Home Super Saver Scheme. Lets you withdraw voluntary super contributions (plus earnings) for a first-home deposit — a tax-effective way to save that new PRs building a deposit should know about.

The "First Home" Catch for Migrants

Most schemes require that you have never owned residential property in Australia. Property you owned overseas generally does not disqualify you — a point many new migrants get wrong in both directions. If you bought an Australian property as a temporary resident, you have likely used up "first home" status; if you owned a home back in your country of origin, you likely have not. Confirm the specific scheme''s wording.

Lending as a New PR

Lenders treat permanent residents essentially like citizens, with two practical caveats:

  1. Employment history still matters. A PR granted last month with two months in a new job faces the same probation-period scrutiny as anyone else. Some lenders want you past probation; others accept strong contracts.
  2. Credit history is thin. If you have only been in Australia a few years, your Australian credit file is short. It is rarely fatal, but it makes lender selection matter — another place where a broker who works with new migrants adds value over walking into one bank.

A Realistic Sequence for the First 12 Months of PR

  1. Confirm your scheme eligibility (federal guarantee, state grant, stamp duty concession) and the price caps for your city.
  2. Get your deposit position clear — including any First Home Super Saver balance.
  3. Get pre-approval before house hunting; it defines your real budget and strengthens offers.
  4. If your deposit is under 20%, compare the Home Guarantee Scheme route against paying LMI — the scheme is capped and conditional, and sometimes LMI with a better lender wins.

The Bottom Line

New PRs are among the best-positioned first-home buyers in the country — schemes, full lender access, and often years of disciplined saving already done. The most common mistake is not knowing which entitlements switched on the day the visa was granted. Thirty minutes with a broker who regularly works with new permanent residents is the cheapest way to find out.

This article is general information only — not credit assistance, credit advice or financial advice. Scheme rules, price caps and eligibility change frequently; verify current criteria with the administering agency and a licensed professional before acting.