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Short answer
Expect to provide your passport and a second ID, proof of your address, recent payslips or accounts, tax returns (SA302s in the UK), three months of bank statements, statements for any existing mortgage or loans, a credit report from your home country and proof of where your deposit comes from. The detail below uses UK documents as the example. If you live elsewhere, lenders ask for the equivalents from your country. Once you have signed it, the lender also needs the compromis. Each lender has its own list, and some want sworn French translations, so start early.
What documents do French lenders ask applicants living outside France for?
The tables below bring together the checklists that brokers working with UK and international buyers publish. You do not need all of this to get prequalified with us. Once your case goes to one of the leading, reputable specialist mortgage brokers and lenders we work with, they confirm exactly what the chosen lender wants.
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Passport | For each applicant. |
| A second form of ID | Ask which types the lender accepts. |
| Proof of your home address | For each applicant. |
| Marriage or divorce certificate | Where it applies. |
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Employment contract or a letter from your employer | One or the other. |
| Payslips | The last three months. |
| P60 | The latest one. |
| Tax returns or SA302s | Two to three years, if you complete a self assessment return. |
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Accounts | Three years. |
| Letter from your accountant | Supporting the accounts. |
| Tax returns or SA302s | Two to three years. |
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Evidence of the pension income you receive | The specialists we work with confirm what form the lender accepts. |
| Tax returns or SA302s | Two to three years, if you complete a self assessment return. |
| Bank statements showing the pension paid in | The last three months. |
For retired applicants age matters too. The lenders we work with generally want the loan repaid by about age 70, and few take new borrowers over 65. Our borrowing guide explains how age affects the term.
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Bank statements | The last three months. |
| Savings and credit card statements | The last three months. |
| Statements for existing mortgages and loans | These repayments count inside the 35% debt ratio. |
| Tenancy agreements | For property you already let, if you want the rent counted. |
| Credit report | From your home country, such as Experian or Equifax in the UK. See below. |
| Proof of your deposit and where it came from | See the source of funds section below. |
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Signed compromis de vente | The preliminary contract. The lender needs it for the full application, and the loan amount, rate and term in it should match what you apply for. |
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Medical questionnaire | For the assurance emprunteur. Not needed if your insured share is €200,000 or less and the loan ends before your 60th birthday. |
| Details of an outside policy | Only if you choose your own insurer, which the lender must accept when the cover is equivalent. |
Checklists from French Private Finance, June 2026, Bluesky France Finance and Worldwide Property. Insurance rules from economie.gouv.fr on the health questionnaire and on changing insurer.
If you have had a serious illness, two rules may help with the questionnaire. Under the droit à l’oubli you do not have to declare cancer or hepatitis C once five years have passed since treatment ended, as long as the loan ends before you turn 71. The AERAS convention helps people with serious health risks get cover, within limits set by the convention.
Sources: economie.gouv.fr; AERAS.
When will I need each document?
You gather the file in stages rather than all at once.
- To get prequalified with us you tell us about the property, your income and your commitments. You do not need to send documents and there is no credit check.
- For a decision in principle, the specialists we work with look at your income and existing borrowing and tell you which documents the lender wants at that stage.
- For the full application after the compromis is signed, the lender wants the complete file, including the compromis and the insurance paperwork.
- Before completion the notaire checks where your money comes from, so the deposit trail described below needs to be ready.
Our how it works page sets out each stage.
Do my documents need translating into French?
Sometimes. Some lenders accept English documents and some want sworn French translations. Allow two to three weeks for these. Before you pay for any translation, ask the specialist handling your case which documents the chosen lender needs translated, so you only translate what is needed.
Why do the lender and the notaire ask where my money comes from?
French anti-money-laundering law requires the notaire to check the source of both the loan and your own money before completion. Brokers’ checklists show lenders ask for proof of the deposit and its origin too. Keep a clear trail from where the money started to the account it will leave from. For example that could be savings statements, or the completion statement if the money came from selling a property. Any payment to a notaire over €3,000 must be sent by bank transfer, so cash is not an option.
Source: Notaires de France on payments (Code monétaire et financier L561-2).
How recent do the documents need to be?
Checklists ask for the latest three months of payslips and of bank, savings and credit card statements. If time passes between your first conversation with the specialist and the full application, expect to send newer copies. French purchases with a mortgage usually take about three months from the compromis to completion, and the loan offer must be accepted and used within set time limits. Having documents ready when the compromis is signed keeps the loan condition timetable realistic. Our buying guide sets out those timings.
How do I get a credit report for a French lender?
France has no UK-style credit score. French lenders check the Banque de France register of repayment problems, the FICP, where entries can stay for up to five years, or seven for debt repayment plans. Because an applicant living outside France usually has no French history, lenders ask for a credit report from your home country instead. In the UK, request yours directly from Experian or Equifax. Check it for errors before you apply and ask the agency to correct anything wrong.
Source: Banque de France on the FICP.