5 Ways to Make Car Financing Easier for Non-residents in Australia

Car financing is pretty straightforward in Australia for permanent residents and citizens. But if you are in Australia on your work permit and want to drive a car on your Canadian driving license, you will find that getting a car loan isn’t as easy as it was back in your home country.
That’s because now the lender will see that you wouldn’t stay long in the country and may fly back before repaying their loan. Still, you can boost your chances of success in getting a loan for your driving career by considering some tips to boost your creditworthiness.
Note that none of these factors consider the condition of the car you are going to buy. Getting a car history check or revs check will only be considered after you have already gotten your loan and are in the search phase of your buying process.

Visa Duration

If you have planned to live in Australia for more than two years, you may find it easier to gain financing. Temporary work visas are more likely to secure funds for you than tourist visas or student visas.
If you are waiting for visa extension approval, you should apply for a loan after you have gotten the approval and not before. Lenders don’t consider the awaiting extensions in the duration of a visa when approving loans.
Note that the lenders aim to keep the loan repayment schedule shorter than your visa tenure. Expect it to end two to three months before the expiration of your visa.

Your Credit History

If you have only arrived in Australia recently on your temporary work visa, you wouldn’t present a longstanding credit history for the lenders to review. Instead of this history, they will check out your income potential to see if you can pay them back their money within the time designated by your visa.

Type of Visa

As discussed earlier, you will have a higher chance of success with financing applications if you hold a temporary work visa. These chances will multiply if your employer has sponsored your work visa instead of you holding an independent work visa.

Financial Health

If your money management habits are sound and healthy, you will have a chance of getting a loan soon enough. In the absence of your credit score, the lenders only have to rely on your current money conditions including your income and the percentage of savings you make out of this income to assess your loan application. Higher savings mean that your ability to pay back your loan is higher because you can save most of your income.

Loan Guarantee

Your chances of securing a car financing loan will skyrocket if you can procure a loan guarantee from your relative in Australia. Unsurprisingly, this guarantor should be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to help you out.

Take Away

This post talks about five methods you can deploy to increase your chances of procuring a loan to get your first car in Australia. Even if you have gathered all these resources, your application may get rejected by most lenders there because of inherent risk. So, you need to research the market thoroughly and apply only to those lenders who are known to extend loans to foreigners.