Mortgage checklist Spain & Portugal: which documents does the bank want?
Which documents do you bring to the bank? Two compact PDF checklists for Spain and Portugal, free.
Which documents do I need as a non-resident — what belongs on the mortgage checklist for Spain?
Banks require from non-residents a fixed set of documents: proof of income for the last two to three months, recent bank statements, proof of equity, the NIE in Spain or the NIF in Portugal, and the preliminary contract (contrato de arras in Spain, CPCV in Portugal). The two free PDF checklists bundle this list.
What you get:
- Mortgage key facts · LTV, equity, costs, terms as at July 2026
- Rate ranges · fixed, variable and mixed — every figure with its source
- Tax rates · ITP by region in Spain, IMT and stamp duty in Portugal
- Document checklist · to tick off before you go to the bank
- Route via Germany · the extra documents needed when a German property serves as security
Open the PDF directly — no form: Spain property purchase checklist — mortgage documents (PDF, 4 pages) · Portugal mortgage checklist — documents for non-residents (PDF, 4 pages). The German editions are on the German checklist page.
Mortgage checklist Spain: is there a free one covering every document the bank asks for?
There is a free mortgage checklist for Spain and Portugal — two PDFs covering every document the bank asks for.
- Does it exist? Yes — two free PDF checklists, one for Spain and one for Portugal, plus the full document list openly on this page.
- What does it cover? Identification, proof of income, proof of equity, property documents, and the extra papers for the self-employed, civil servants, pensioners, non-German EU citizens or a German property as security.
- The checklists are free: Both PDFs are free and without obligation.
The checklists summarise what banks in Spain and Portugal require from non-residents: proof of income, proof of equity, NIE or NIF, preliminary contract.
Choose Spain, Portugal or both. You receive the PDFs by email.
This checklist complements the property purchase process — that page covers the order, this one the documents.
What the bank asks for — Spain and Portugal side by side
This is the content of both checklists. It sits openly on the page, because it is of no use to anyone while it is locked in a PDF: knowing what will be asked means gathering once instead of supplying three times. Follow-up requests, not creditworthiness, are the most common reason a financing drags on for weeks.
- Spain: Key financing facts for Spain, as at July 2026: Loan-to-value for non-residents — Value: up to 70 % of the appraised value. Own funds — Value: around 30 % plus purchase costs. Purchase costs — Value: 10–13 % of the price.
- Term — Value: calculated: repaid by age 75; with two borrowers the younger age counts; in practice not much below 10 years. Fixed-rate period — Value: fixed, variable or mixed. Fixed rate with bonificación (purchase loan) — Value: from 2.75 % to 3.45 %.
- Repayment — Value: annuity loan with a level payment. Tax number — Value: NIE, required before signing. Preliminary contract — Value: Arras Penitenciales, typically a 10 % deposit.
- Identification — Spain (Spain): Identity card and passport, copies; NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) — to be applied for at the Spanish consulate before signing; Current certificate of registered address.
- Proof of income — Spain (Spain): Last 3 payslips plus the December payslip of the previous year; Employment contract and current confirmation that the employment is not under notice; Tax assessments for the last 2 years; All tax documents — tax returns and tax assessments — from every country in which you are liable to tax; Bank statements for the salary or joint account, last 6 months — complete and unredacted.
- Assets and creditworthiness — Spain (Spain): Proof of equity: around 30 % of the price plus 10–13 % purchase costs, held in an account or portfolio; SCHUFA self-disclosure under Art. 15 GDPR — not the simple score, no more than 1 month old; Tenancy agreement for your current home, or title deeds and loan agreements for property you own; Where you own property: the last 2 annual interest certificates and evidence that nothing is in arrears; For financing without own capital (e.g. using a German property as collateral): proof that the funds for the deposit (Arras) are available at short notice until the follow-up financing is disbursed — before the bank review begins, not afterwards.
- If the property is already chosen — Spain (Spain): Arras contract (deposit agreement) — to be reviewed before signing; Nota Simple, the current land registry extract, no more than 3 months old; Community rules where the property is an apartment.
- Portugal: With rates, taxes and a representative example on a page of its own: Portugal mortgage checklist.
- Key financing facts for Portugal, as at July 2026: Loan-to-value for non-residents — Value: up to 80 % of the appraised value. Own funds — Value: at least 20 % plus purchase costs. Purchase costs — Value: around 10 to 11 % of the price.
- Term — Value: calculated: repaid by age 75; with two borrowers the younger age counts; in practice not much below 10 years. Fixed-rate period — Value: fixed, variable or mixed. Repayment — Value: annuity loan with a level payment.
Tax number — Value: NIF, required before signing. Preliminary contract — Value: CPCV, deposit (sinal) customarily 10 %.
Identification — Portugal (Portugal)
Identity card and passport, copies; NIF (Número de Identificação Fiscal) — obtainable online or in person; Current certificate of registered address; Proof of address: utility bill, tenancy agreement or bank statement.
- Proof of income — Portugal (Portugal): Last 3 to 6 payslips plus the December payslip of the previous year; Employment contract and confirmation that the employment is not under notice; Tax assessments for the last 2 years; All tax documents — tax returns and tax assessments — from every country in which you are liable to tax; Bank statements for the salary account, last 6 months — complete and unredacted.
- Assets and creditworthiness — Portugal (Portugal): Proof of equity: at least 20 % of the price plus around 10 to 11 % purchase costs, held in an account or portfolio; SCHUFA self-disclosure under Art. 15 GDPR, no more than 1 month old; Tenancy agreement for your current home, or title deeds for property you own; Where you have existing loans: the last 2 annual interest certificates; For financing without own capital (e.g. using a German property as collateral): proof that the funds for the deposit (Sinal) are available at short notice until the follow-up financing is disbursed — before the bank review begins, not afterwards.
- If the property is already chosen — Portugal (Portugal): Draft CPCV (Contrato Promessa de Compra e Venda) — to be reviewed before signing; Caderneta Predial, the tax office record for the property; Certidão Permanente, the land registry extract from the Conservatória, no more than 3 months old; Ficha Técnica de Habitação, the technical building record.
- Representative example: Advertising a rate obliges us to show what it means in figures. Here it is — calculated with the bonificación, the rate most deals actually close at.
What the discount requires, what it is worth and what applies without it is set out below. Loan amount: €200,000. Loan-to-value: 70 %. Term: 20 years, fully amortising loan. Fixed borrowing rate: 3.30 % (with bonificación). Monthly payment: €1,139.47.
APR (TAE): 3.37 % — excluding the running costs of the bundled products (bank-dependent). Total amount payable: €273,472. Assumptions: Valuation (tasación) €400, no arrangement fee (comisión de apertura 0 %).
The borrowing rate shown applies with the bonificación; it requires two to four bundled products, depending on the bank, whose running costs are not included in the APR. Without the bonificación the rate is 4.30 % → payment €1,243.81, APR 4.41 %.
The discount is therefore worth about €1,252 a year. It requires two to four, depending on the bank, bundled products (typically: bank account, term life cover, buildings insurance, alarm system). The bundled products carry running costs that can partly or fully offset the rate discount.
Whether the bonificación pays off depends on what those products cost in your case — we calculate that against the discount before you sign.
Rates as at 21 September 2026. Source: Perini’s own bank survey (as at September 2026); 12-month Euríbor: Banco de España / EMMI.
Not an offer and not a financing commitment — the rate you are actually granted depends on the bank, the property and your file.
Not on this page: which institutions write which structure. That is part of the mandate. The fixed-rate range above is guidance with a representative example — not an offer; your actual rate depends on creditworthiness, property and bank.
What is added depending on your status
The list above applies to every applicant. These documents come on top as soon as one of the following applies — in Spain and in Portugal alike:
- Self-employed and freelancers: Business registration, entry in the trade register or professional licence; Last 3 sets of accounts (cash-basis statement, or balance sheet with P&L); Current interim financial statement and trial balance; Self-disclosure, private and business.
- Civil servants: Certificate of appointment as a permanent civil servant; Most recent monthly salary statement.
- Pensioners: Most recent pension notice; Bank statement showing the latest pension payment; Evidence of private pension provision, if any.
- EU citizens who are not German: Residence permit or EU identity card; Home-country tax assessment instead of the German one; Home-country credit report instead of SCHUFA.
- Using a German property as security: Current land registry extract for the German property, no more than 6 months old; Valuation or market value estimate — we can have one commissioned; Current release of charges, or the free portion of the land charge.
The figures you enter into these documents are gathered on three pages by the bilingual self-disclosure form. What the purchase costs on top is set out in the purchase cost overview.
Mortgage checklist Spain & Portugal — how do I request the two PDFs?
Two compact PDF checklists for your mortgage in Spain or Portugal: all documents, key facts and terms as at July 2026 — straight from practice. Choose Spain, Portugal or both countries.
Already concrete? Get the self-disclosure form (DE/EN) via a quick form.
Related: the bank's offer only becomes binding with the FEIN — Oferta vinculante: what has to be on the table ten days before the notary.
Frequently asked questions
What does the checklist cost?
Nothing. The PDFs are free and without obligation.
What documents do I need as a non-resident?
Proof of income, bank statements, proof of equity, NIE (Spain) or NIF (Portugal). The checklist lists everything in detail.
Is there a Portugal version?
Yes. A separate variant covers the Portuguese requirements.
Is there a checklist for buying property in Spain as a non-resident?
Yes — this page is that checklist. It lists everything a bank asks for as a non-resident: identification, proof of income, proof of equity, property documents, plus the extra papers required for the self-employed, civil servants, pensioners, non-German EU citizens, or when a German property is offered as security. See the full document list or request the free PDF below.
Related pages
property purchase process
Buying property in Spain step by step: the right order for financing, arras and the escritura — and why the condición suspensiva is the lever.
Portugal mortgage checklist
Portugal mortgage checklist for non-residents: required documents, up to 80 % loan-to-value, IMT and rates with a representative example — free PDF in English and German.
bilingual self-disclosure form
Self-disclosure form for a mortgage in Spain or Portugal: all 11 sections and 65 fields on the page, fillable DE/EN version free by email.
Content by Siegfried Perini — local brand representative since 2019, active in real estate since 1992, entered in the German intermediary register (§ 11a GewO) as a person directly involved in brokerage and advice. Point of contact for German-speaking buyers in Spain and Portugal. Brokerage by Olga Nikushkina, mortgage credit intermediary under § 34i German Trade Regulation (GewO); in Portugal through a locally licensed intermediary.