New to Canada Mortgage in Canada: The Complete 2026 Guide

Why the branch teller said "wait two years"

The most common piece of advice newcomers hear from a big-bank branch is some version of "come back in two years once you have Canadian credit." It's not malicious — it's just the wrong desk. What the teller is quoting is internal bank policy for their default retail mortgage lane, not federal law and not a CMHC rule.

The three default insurers — CMHC, Sagen, and Canada Guaranty — built dedicated newcomer programs specifically to solve this. They accept applicants who are brand new to Canada, with no Canadian credit history, and they let those files close under standard insured-mortgage pricing. The branch teller either doesn't know these programs exist or isn't licensed to write them. A broker can.

The three newcomer insurer programs

Nationally, every insured newcomer file in 2026 lands in one of three programs. All three accept alternative credit in place of a Canadian credit score, and none of them impose a minimum residency period in Canada.

CMHC Newcomers

Available to applicants who either immigrated to Canada within the last 5 years or currently hold a valid work permit. No minimum residency period. Minimum 5% down, maximum purchase price under $1,500,000, and a maximum 25-year amortization under standard insured terms. Alternative credit sources are accepted in place of a Canadian bureau score.

Sagen New to Canada

Financing up to 95% LTV. Properties under $500,000 qualify with 5% down. Properties from $500,000 to $1,500,000 require 5% on the first $500,000 plus 10% on the portion above. Same alternative-credit framework — rental history, utility payments, an international credit report, or a bank reference letter from your home country.

Canada Guaranty's newcomer program

Canada Guaranty offers an equivalent newcomer program with the same down-payment tiers, the same alternative-credit acceptance, and the same treatment of work-permit and permanent-resident applicants. Which of the three insurers a given lender uses is a back-office choice; from your side of the desk the qualifying rules are effectively the same.

You don't need Canadian credit — here's what counts instead

Every newcomer program accepts alternative credit. Any two of the following typically satisfy the requirement:

• 12 months of rental payment history — a letter from your landlord plus bank statements showing the rent leaving your account each month.
• Utility or phone bill payment history in your name for 12 months (hydro, internet, mobile).
• An international credit report from Equifax or TransUnion, where one is available for your home country.
• A reference letter from a financial institution in your home country confirming a good repayment history on accounts held there.

Most files we close use rental history plus a utility bill. It's the least paperwork and the most reliably accepted combination.

Down payment and default insurance rules

Canada's minimum down payment tiers apply to newcomers the same way they apply to everyone else in 2026:

• 5% on the portion up to $500,000.
• 5% on the first $500,000 plus 10% on the portion from $500,000 to $1,499,999.
• 20% minimum at $1.5 million and up.

Anything under 20% down is an insured mortgage, and one of CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty will underwrite the newcomer program. The insurance premium is added to the mortgage balance — you don't pay it out of pocket at closing.

2026 note on the foreign-buyer ban

The federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act — often called the "foreign-buyer ban" — has been extended to January 1, 2027. It applies to residential buildings with three or fewer dwelling units located inside a Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) or Census Agglomeration (CA). Buildings with four or more units, and any property outside a CMA/CA, are outside the ban entirely.

The ban comes with exemptions that cover most newcomer buyers:

• Permanent residents are exempt.
• Refugees and protected persons under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act are exempt.
• Work-permit holders with 183 or more days remaining on their permit are exempt, provided they meet the other conditions in the regulations.
• Buying jointly with an eligible Canadian spouse or common-law partner is exempt.
• Properties outside a CMA or CA are exempt.

Your real-estate lawyer confirms which exemption applies at closing. In practice, almost every newcomer file we run either falls into one of these categories or waits a few months for PR to land.

Documents to have ready before you apply

• Status document — PR card, Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR), or a valid work permit.
• Employment proof — a job letter on company letterhead, your two most recent pay stubs, and your SIN.
• 90 days of bank statements showing the down payment (gifted funds are allowed with a signed gift letter).
• Two alternative credit sources from the list above.
• Government photo ID (passport is fine).

Service in your language

A newcomer mortgage file is stressful enough in your first language, never mind your second or third. Rahul personally handles newcomer files in Punjabi, Hindi, Gujarati, Persian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Arabic, and English. If you'd rather have the whole conversation — application, lender submission, and closing — in a language other than English, see the multilingual mortgage broker page.

Where you're located changes some of the details

The federal framework — the insurer newcomer programs, the alternative-credit rules, the down-payment tiers, and the foreign-buyer ban exemptions — is the same everywhere in Canada. What changes province to province is the local price points, which lenders and credit unions are strongest for newcomer files, and the specific documentation each provincial lawyer expects at closing. For a regional breakdown, read the province-specific version of this guide:

• New to Canada in Nova Scotia — Halifax, Dartmouth, and the Valley.
• New to Canada in New Brunswick — Moncton, Fredericton, Saint John, Dieppe, and Riverview.
• New to Canada in Alberta — Calgary, Edmonton, Airdrie, and Red Deer.
• New to Canada in British Columbia — Vancouver, Victoria, Surrey, Burnaby, Kelowna, and Nanaimo.

What to do next

If a branch has told you to wait two years, don't take it as a verdict — take it as a sign you're at the wrong desk. A quick call lets us tell you which of the three newcomer programs fits your file, what the realistic max purchase price is on your Canadian employment income, and exactly which two alternative credit sources you'll need to line up.

Start with the New to Canada mortgage service page for the full breakdown, or call or text Rahul at 902-223-8003 and we'll walk through your file in your language.