Newcomer

Without Canadian credit history — you can still become a homeowner.

You've been in Canada less than 5 years, you don't have the credit history a traditional lender requires, but you have stable employment and a down payment? Specific newcomer programs exist — you just need to know the right lenders.

What likely concerns you

• Understanding which lenders offer newcomer programs (RBC, BMO, TD, Scotiabank, Desjardins, MCAP).
• Presenting your home country credit history when possible (Nova Credit + RBC notably).
• Documenting your income with recent employment letters and translated foreign bank statements.
• Optimizing your down payment (5% minimum if permanent resident, sometimes 10-15% if work permit).
• Status in Canada: permanent resident (PR) vs work permit vs student visa — each status has its own lender rules.
• Approval timeline potentially longer (2-3 weeks more than a standard file) — anticipate.

What we avoid for you

• Steering you to a B lender (more expensive rates) by default if you qualify with an A lender Newcomer program.
• Asking you to double your down payment to compensate for lack of history (often unnecessary with the right program).
• Letting you discover at the notary that your work permit expires in 6 months (anticipation required).
• Presenting you a single lender — Newcomer programs vary enormously between banks.

How it works for you

1. 1

   Pre-qualification 2 min

   You indicate your status (PR / work permit / other) + arrival date + approximate income.

2. 2

   Coordinator calls you

   20-30 min — we clarify your immigration status, professional status, and project (target city, property type).

3. 3

   Specialized AMF broker

   A network broker who regularly builds newcomer files contacts you within 24-72h.

4. 4

   Accelerated pre-approval

   The broker builds the file in parallel with 2-3 lenders with Newcomer programs to compare (rate + flexibility).

Frequent questions — newcomer

• What status in Canada allows me to get a mortgage?

  Permanent resident (PR): nearly complete access to all lenders. Work permit (≥1 year history in Canada): Newcomer programs accessible. Student visa: very restricted, generally requires guarantor. Visitor visa: no. The AMF broker clarifies based on your exact case.

• Minimum down payment?

  5% if permanent resident (CMHC Newcomer programs). 10-20% if work permit or if you want to avoid CMHC insurance. The higher, the more competitive rates and more lenders you access.

• Does my home country credit history count?

  Partially. RBC in partnership with Nova Credit accepts credit reports from 14+ countries (USA, France, UK, India, Mexico, etc.) as proxy for your Canadian history. Other banks look mostly at your Canadian history since arrival. The broker verifies what can be leveraged.

• How long after my arrival can I buy?

  Theoretically as soon as you have stable employment + down payment. In practice: 6-12 months after arrival to have 1-2 paychecks, an active bank account, and ideally 1 Canadian credit card to start a local score. The broker will tell you frankly if it's playable now.

• Are my French/English documents from another country accepted?

  Not as-is. Canadian lenders require certified translations (by an OTTIAQ-accredited translator in Quebec) for foreign-language documents. Cost: $50-150 per document. The broker tells you exactly which documents to translate to avoid translating everything.

• Why do some lenders require 35% down payment for newcomers?

  Outside dedicated Newcomer programs, traditional lenders often apply a 'non-resident for tax purposes' policy requiring 35% down payment, regardless of immigration status. That's the confusion. With a Newcomer program (PR or qualifying work permit), you go down to 5-10%. The AMF broker identifies which lender applies which policy for your case.

• How to justify an international deposit for the down payment?

  Canadian lenders require tracing every dollar of the down payment (FINTRAC anti-money-laundering rules). For a transfer from a foreign account: source account proof (3 months of statements), transfer confirmation, sometimes tax certificate from home country. Plan 2-4 extra weeks to validate. The broker lists the exact documents per lender.

• Is my name shared with brokers before I accept a match?

  No. Courteo sends an anonymized summary to the network AMF broker (situation, city, status, file order of magnitude). Your full identity is only shared once you confirm wanting to move forward with that broker. Business model detailed on /confidentialite.