Getting an Israeli mortgage when you live abroad

The 75% and 70% bands are for buyers the directive calls “Israeli citizens” — a wider group than it sounds: anyone registered in Israel's population registry, and any individual who is an Israeli resident. Everyone else is a non-resident, and a non-resident's purchase always falls in the 50% band.

• A foreign resident living abroad: up to 50%, so plan for at least half the price in cash, plus purchase tax and costs.
• An Israeli citizen living abroad is on the population registry, so the 50% cap for non-residents does not apply to them.
• A new immigrant is registered on arrival and is treated like any Israeli. Ask the bank to confirm which band it will apply to you before you sign a contract.

• Repayments: the monthly payment may not be more than 50% of your disposable monthly income. Above 40% the loan costs the bank more to hold, so expect banks to aim below it.
• Disposable income is your regular, documented net income, less fixed commitments that still have more than 18 months to run (other loans, alimony) — and less your rent, if you will not live in the home you are buying.
• Term: 30 years at most.
• Interest: at most two thirds of the loan may carry a variable rate; at least one third must be at a fixed rate. A bank may exempt a foreign-currency loan to a non-resident from this limit.
• The prime rate is the Bank of Israel's rate plus 1.5 percentage points. The Bank of Israel's rate is 3.25% since its decision of 1 September 2026, so prime is 4.75%.

1. 01

   Ask for an approval in principle

   You can apply through the bank's website. The bank must answer within five to seven business days, and may not charge you at this stage.

2. 02

   Compare like with like

   The answer must include the bank's own offer and three standard loan mixes that are identical at every bank, each with the total interest, the total to be repaid and the first and highest monthly payment. Ask two or three banks and put the standard mixes side by side.

3. 03

   Hand in the documents

   With the approval the bank gives you its list of required documents. From a borrower abroad, banks generally want a passport, proof of income from your home country (payslips or tax returns, often translated), bank statements and the source of your down payment.

4. 04

   Valuation and signing

   The bank refers you to its list of appraisers for a valuation of the home. The loan documents are signed in Israel or by power of attorney, and the bank registers its mortgage (₪188 at the Land Registry).

• The bank may require you to insure the home and to take life insurance up to the amount of the loan, with the bank as beneficiary. It is the bank's condition, not a legal duty.
• You may buy both policies from any insurer — not only through the bank — and the bank must tell you so.
• The bank may not ask for property cover above what you still owe. On a flat bought from a developer, property insurance cannot be required before handover.

• An operational fee of up to ₪60.
• A notice fee of 0.1% of the amount repaid if you give less than 10 days' notice.
• An interest-differential fee, charged only when current rates are lower than your loan's rate. It is reduced by 20% once three years have passed since the loan was taken, and by 30% after five. It is not charged on tracks whose rate resets at least once a year, such as prime.
• On a foreign-currency loan, give at least two business days' notice, or the bank may charge the exchange-rate difference.