Mortgages for foreigners in Kazakhstan in 2026

Loans go only to foreigners with a residence permit and income in the country: a deposit from 20% and a market rate from 19% a year. State programmes are for citizens.

Not for non-residents. Kazakh banks give mortgages only to foreigners with a residence permit and income in the country: a deposit from 20% and a market rate from 19% a year. Without a residence permit a foreigner cannot register the apartment itself either, and subsidised state programmes are open only to citizens.

In Kazakhstan both the home and the loan are tied to status. A foreigner who is in the country temporarily cannot register an apartment in their name: the law gives the right to own housing only to permanent residents, that is, holders of a residence permit. With the same document and proven income inside the country, a bank will accept a mortgage application.

The second barrier is the cost of money. Market programmes run at 18-25% a year, while the subsidised state ones, at 7-9%, are for citizens. So many foreign buyers pay with their own money or take an instalment plan from the developer.

The apartments themselves are inexpensive: a square metre in new builds in Almaty and Astana averages about $1,700 in 2026, a 60 square metre apartment about $99,000, and about $72,000 in Shymkent. New housing rose 13% in price over the year.

Which banks lend to foreigners in Kazakhstan

Altyn Bank lends to foreigners with a residence permit on market terms. Otbasy Bank works through the housing savings system: the client saves in a deposit account or pays half the property price at once, and receives a low-rate loan for the other half. Foreigners do not get the state bonus on the deposit.

Loans are issued only in the national currency: foreign-currency mortgages for people who do not earn in that currency are banned in Kazakhstan.

The Altyn Bank limit covers an apartment in any large city. With a 20% deposit, a 60 square metre apartment in Almaty takes about $20,000 of your own money, and the rest is the loan.

Income requirements and documents

The bank counts income on which pension contributions have been paid in Kazakhstan for at least 6 consecutive months: salary under an employment contract or a sole proprietor's income. A salary abroad and transfers from relatives do not count.

The loan term is limited by the validity of the residence permit, so the bank looks at how many years remain before the document must be replaced.

The bank compares payments on all loans with income: if they take more than half of your earnings, the mortgage is refused. A $50,000 loan over 10 years at 19% a year means a payment of about $940 a month, so proven income has to start at $1,900 a month.

Documents for the application:

• passport and residence permit
• individual identification number
• income certificate and a statement of pension contributions for 6 months
• preliminary agreement and the apartment's documents
• valuation report for the apartment

If the borrower is married, the spouse's notarised consent to the pledge is required. Documents in foreign languages are filed with a notarised translation into Kazakh or Russian.

How a mortgage purchase works: steps

1. Obtain a residence permit and an individual identification number, and open an account.
2. Work for at least 6 months with pension contributions and apply to the bank.
3. Choose an apartment, check it in the property register and order a valuation.
4. Sign the loan and pledge agreements and have the sale notarised.
5. Register title and the pledge and take out insurance.
6. The bank transfers the money to the seller.

The purchase itself takes a few days, but the route from arrival to a loan takes at least six months: that is how long it takes to build a contribution history.

The individual identification number is issued at a public service centre on your passport. Registration of title usually takes 3 working days, or about 2 hours on the fast track; the buyer becomes the owner only after it.

Costs of buying and owning

Completing a purchase in Kazakhstan is cheap: about $120 to notarise the agreement and about $5 to register title. The main cost of a mortgage is interest: at 19% a year the interest paid over 10 years exceeds the amount borrowed.

You can repay the loan early at any time without a penalty: banks do not charge individual borrowers for early repayment. This is the main way to cut the interest bill.

Rent does not cover a mortgage. A 60 square metre apartment rents for about $710 a month on average across the country, while the payment on a loan for 80% of its average price at 19% over 10 years is about $1,300. So people borrow for a home to live in and buy rental property with their own money.

The owner pays property tax from 0.05% of the value a year. When you sell an apartment bought from 1 January 2026, there is no tax if you owned it for 2 years or longer.

Prices by city and how the purchase works are in our review of buying an apartment in Kazakhstan, and selection for rental on our investment property in Kazakhstan page.

Does buying property give residency in Kazakhstan

No. Buying an apartment in Kazakhstan does not give a residence permit, with or without a mortgage. The status is obtained on other grounds: work, business, family or an investment of at least $300,000 in a company or securities.

The link runs the other way: first the residence permit, then the apartment and the mortgage. For a permanent residence permit you prove solvency - about $13,000 in an account - and the application is reviewed in 45 calendar days. How to get the status is on our Kazakhstan residence permit and permanent residence in Kazakhstan pages.

Restrictions for specific nationalities

The rules are the same for all foreigners: what decides is the residence permit and income in the country, not the passport. Citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia work in Kazakhstan without permits under the Eurasian Economic Union treaty, so building a pension contribution history is easier for them. But they cannot register housing without a residence permit either.

Without a residence permit you can buy only commercial property in your own name: an office, a shop, a warehouse. Ethnic Kazakhs with kandas status gain access to state housing programmes once they obtain citizenship. Agricultural land and plots in the border zone are not sold to foreigners.

The alternative: developer instalment plans

A developer's instalment plan is the main way to buy a new build without a bank. It suits a foreigner who already has a residence permit but not yet six months of pension contributions. Typical terms: a deposit from 30% and the rest in equal payments over 1-3 years, interest-free. The developer does not check income in the country.

What is checked is the developer: a permit to raise funds from buyers or a guarantee from the state housing company, the handover record of earlier buildings and the terms for refunds in case of delay.

Payments go through a bank: paying in cash creates problems when you sell the apartment and take the money out of the country.

This topic in other countries

Mortgages for foreigners in other countries:

• Mortgages for foreigners in Georgia in 2026
• Mortgages for foreigners in Serbia in 2026
• Mortgages for foreigners in Turkey in 2026
• Mortgage for foreigners in Spain in 2026
• Mortgage for foreigners in the UAE in 2026
• Mortgage for foreigners in Thailand in 2026
• Mortgage for foreigners in Armenia in 2026

About this country:

• Buying an apartment in Kazakhstan: prices and rules
• Investment property in Kazakhstan
• Kazakhstan residence permit
• Permanent residence in Kazakhstan
• Taxes in Kazakhstan
• Almaty: districts and prices
• Astana: districts and prices
• Personal bank account in Kazakhstan

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