Permanent visas · Subclasses 200, 201, 202, 203 and 204
Car finance on a refugee or humanitarian visa.
These visas are permanent, so the visa itself is usually not what makes a car loan difficult. What makes it difficult, for people who have arrived recently, is having no credit record here yet and not much time in a job. Both are ordinary and both can be worked with. Sometimes the right answer is still to wait, and we will say so.
Start here
What these visas are, in plain terms.
Subclasses 200, 201, 202, 203 and 204 all sit within Australia's offshore refugee and humanitarian programme. They are granted before arrival, and they are permanent visas. A person who holds one is a permanent resident of Australia with the right to live here indefinitely, to work, to study and to access Medicare.
The subclasses differ in the circumstances they were granted under, and the detail of that is set out in your own grant notice rather than on a web page. For the purpose of a car loan, the part that matters is the same across all five: the visa is permanent, and there is no expiry date sitting behind the loan term.
That is worth saying clearly, because a lot of people arrive at this page expecting the visa to be the problem. It generally is not. Where finance gets harder is in the things that come with being new to a country rather than with the visa itself.
| What people expect to be the obstacle | What usually is |
|---|---|
| The visa subclass | Rarely the deciding factor. Permanent residence removes the question a lender asks most often of temporary visa holders, which is whether you will still be in the country in five years. |
| Not being a citizen | Not usually relevant on its own. Lenders assess permanent residents on much the same basis as citizens. |
| Having no Australian credit history | Common, and it does affect things. With no record to read, a lender leans on other evidence instead. It is a blank page, not a bad one. |
| Being new in a job | Often the real constraint. Lenders look for income that has settled into a pattern, and a few weeks in a role does not yet show one. |
| Income that includes government support | Treated differently by different lenders, and how much of your income it makes up matters more than the fact of it. |
It confirms your subclass, the date it was granted and your status as a permanent resident. A broker or a lender will ask for it. It is also the document that settles any confusion about which subclass you actually hold, which is more common than you might think when several family members were granted visas together.
The assessment
What a lender is actually looking at.
Income, and how steady it is
Not just the amount. How long you have been in the role, whether the hours are consistent, and whether the money lands in a bank account. Casual work counts, but a longer run of it reads better than a short one.
What the repayment leaves behind
Rent, food, bills, phone, school costs, anything you send to family overseas. A lender has to be satisfied you can make the repayment without going short elsewhere. So should you.
Your record here so far
Bank statements, a clean run without dishonoured payments, a deposit that has built up over months. When there is no credit file to read, this is the evidence that does the work instead.
Worth thinking about first
A car loan is not always the right answer.
This is a broker's website, so it would be easy to write a page that says yes to everybody. That would not be useful to you.
A car loan is a commitment that runs for years. If you have been in Australia a short time, are still finding steady work, or are not yet sure what your income will look like in six months, taking on that commitment now can make an already unsettled period harder. Waiting until your work is more established is often genuinely the better decision, not a consolation prize. A broker who tells you not yet, and explains what would need to change, has done more for you than one who lodges an application anyway.
If you do need a car now
A cheaper car and a smaller loan is almost always the sounder version of the same decision. A modest, reliable vehicle with a shorter loan behind it costs less to run, less to insure, and leaves you far more room if your circumstances shift. The temptation runs the other way, particularly at a dealership, where the conversation moves quickly to what a weekly repayment sounds like rather than what the whole thing costs.
If you are unsure you can afford it
Free, independent financial counselling is available in Australia. Financial counsellors do not sell anything and are not connected to any lender, and they will sit down with you and go through what you earn and what you spend. If you are weighing up whether repayments are manageable, that is a sensible conversation to have before you speak to anyone about credit, including us. Many services can arrange an interpreter.
Get ready
What to have handy.
You do not need all of this before you ring us. It is what an application eventually needs, and gathering it early saves going back and forth later.
Common questions
Questions people ask us.
Does my visa stop me from getting a car loan?
Generally the visa itself is not the obstacle. Subclasses 200 to 204 are permanent visas, and permanent residence answers the question lenders most often ask of people on temporary visas. What is assessed after that is your income, your commitments and your record here, the same as for anyone else.
I have no credit history in Australia at all. Is that a problem?
It is common and it is workable. A file with nothing in it is not the same as a file with problems in it, and lenders read the two differently. With no history to look at, other things carry more weight: several months of bank statements, steady income, savings that have grown, no missed or dishonoured payments.
I have only been in my job a few weeks. Should I wait?
Often yes. Lenders want to see income that has settled into a pattern, and a short time in a role has not yet produced one. Waiting a few more months is frequently the difference between a difficult application and a straightforward one, and it also gives you a clearer picture of what you can comfortably repay.
Part of my income is Centrelink payments. Does that count?
Some lenders will consider certain government payments as part of your income and some will not, and it usually depends on the type of payment and how much of your total income it represents. We will not tell you what any particular lender does, because those policies differ and change. Tell us what you actually receive and we will work from that.
Can someone help me with the conversation?
Yes. You are welcome to have a family member, a friend or a support worker with you on a call or on the application. If English is not the language you are most comfortable in, say so at the start. Nobody should sign a credit contract they have not fully understood, and taking longer over it is entirely reasonable.
How do I know whether I can afford the repayments?
Work out what is left after rent, bills, food, transport and anything you send to family, and see whether the repayment fits into that with room to spare rather than exactly. If you are unsure, free and independent financial counselling is available in Australia. Counsellors do not sell anything and are not connected to any lender, and it is a sensible step to take before committing.
Would it be better to buy a cheaper car without a loan?
For some people, yes. If you can buy something reliable outright, or with a much smaller loan, you avoid years of repayments and the interest that comes with them. A cheaper car also costs less to insure and register. Nobody at The Finance Team will think less of you for deciding that is the better path.
Does asking you affect my credit score?
No, and it costs nothing. We look at your circumstances against lender criteria before anything is formally lodged, so no credit enquiry is recorded while we work out where you stand. Applying directly to several lenders yourself and being declined each time does leave a record, and that can make the next application harder.
If you would like to talk
Tell us your situation and we will tell you where you stand.
There is no cost to ask and no obligation to go ahead. If a car loan makes sense for you now, we will look across our panel for the lender that fits. If it would be better to wait, we will say that instead, and explain what would change it.
The Finance Team is the trading name of Online Showroom Pty Ltd. We are a credit broker rather than a lender, and we hold Australian Credit Licence 551493. Nothing on this page is an offer of credit or advice to borrow. Any figures discussed with you are estimates only, and every application is subject to full assessment and approval by the lender.
Prefer to start online?
The application form takes a few minutes and gives a broker what they need to look at your position properly. Nothing goes to a lender until you have agreed to it.
Apply nowOr use the call back form at the top of this page and we will come to you.