Buying a home in BC on CUAET

More than four years after the first CUAET arrivals, many Ukrainian families in BC are working, their children are in school here, and paying rent is starting to look like the worse option. Buying on a CUAET permit is possible, and people do it. But the rules for temporary residents are different from the rules for PRs, and in the Lower Mainland the difference can be over $100,000 at completion. This guide sets out the specific rules for your status and the order of decisions that avoids the expensive mistakes.

Where CUAET holders stand in 2026

• The program itself is closed. New CUAET applications closed on July 15, 2023, and the deadline to arrive under the measures was March 31, 2024. Some approved applicants were allowed to arrive by December 31, 2024.
• Work permits can be extended. On March 31, 2026, the federal government gave people who arrived under CUAET and related measures until March 31, 2027 to apply to extend their open work permits for up to three years. How long a new permit runs can be limited by your passport's validity.
• The dedicated PR route is closed. The family reunification pathway for Ukrainians closed to new applications on October 22, 2024, although applications already submitted are still being processed. Other routes remain open, including Express Entry and the BC Provincial Nominee Program.

For buying a home, what matters is that you're a temporary resident with an open work permit. You're not a PR.

Can you buy on a CUAET permit?

Yes, in most cases. The federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act runs until January 1, 2027. It has an exception for people authorized to work in Canada, if both of these are true:

• your work permit has at least 183 days of validity left on the date of purchase
• you haven't bought more than one residential property in Canada

A CUAET open work permit counts.

Be careful with maintained status. If your permit has expired and you applied for an extension before it did, you can keep working while you wait. But your old permit shows no remaining validity, and lenders generally won't approve a mortgage on an expired permit. In practice, wait until the new permit is issued before you write an offer. That's the most common timing problem we see.

If your spouse is a Canadian citizen or PR, buying together also falls under an exception. The additional tax below still applies to your share.

Outside cities, such as rural or recreational property beyond any census metropolitan area or agglomeration, the federal ban doesn't apply at all.

The 20% tax, and getting it back

BC charges an additional 20% property transfer tax on residential property bought by anyone who isn't a Canadian citizen or PR, in five regions:

• Metro Vancouver
• the Fraser Valley
• the Capital Regional District
• the Central Okanagan
• the Regional District of Nanaimo

A CUAET permit doesn't exempt you from it.

Getting it back. If you become a Canadian citizen or PR within one year after the purchase, and have lived in the home as your principal residence since buying, you can apply to BC for a refund of the 20%. For a family whose PR decision is weeks or a few months away, that can make buying now workable. It only works if you can pay the tax in cash up front and wait for the refund. If PR is uncertain, the tax is a real cost.

BC Provincial Nominee exemption. Confirmed nominees of the BC Provincial Nominee Program are exempt from the additional tax at purchase. If you're in the BC PNP process, getting your nomination before you complete is worth a lot.

Getting a mortgage on a CUAET permit

Insured mortgages are available to work permit holders buying a home to live in. Here's what lenders and insurers usually look at:

• Down payment. Typically 10% minimum. Some insurers allow 5% with at least 12 months of Canadian credit history. The tax payable on completion comes on top, in cash.
• Permit length. Lenders look closely at how long your permit has left. A permit with just over 183 days may meet the federal rule, but not a lender's comfort level. Extending first gives you the strongest application.
• Employment. Usually at least 3 months of full-time work in Canada, with pay stubs and a letter of employment. Self-employment needs two years of Canadian tax returns.
• Credit. A Canadian credit card and phone plan, paid on time, for 6 to 12 months. Twelve months of rent receipts helps too.
• Debts. The stress test applies as it does to everyone, and debts you still carry outside Canada count.

A relative who is a citizen or PR can co-sign to strengthen the application. But if they go on title, their share affects the transfer tax exemptions and their own first-time buyer status later. Take advice before adding anyone.

Down payment money from Ukraine or elsewhere

• Start transfers early. Under martial law, Ukraine's currency rules restrict how much can be sent abroad and for what purposes. Check the current National Bank of Ukraine limits with your Ukrainian bank before you plan around a lump sum.
• Keep every document. Canadian lenders and lawyers must verify where your money came from under anti-money-laundering rules. Keep Ukrainian bank statements, transfer confirmations, and any sale agreements for property sold in Ukraine. Lenders may ask for certified English translations.
• Gifts from family are generally accepted with a signed gift letter and proof of the transfer. For the lowest down payments, lenders often want the first 5% from your own savings.
• Leave money in place. Have the funds in a Canadian account for about 90 days before you apply, so the statements show a clean history.

Which first-time buyer programs you can use

A home you own in Ukraine counts as prior ownership for these programs.

• BC transfer tax exemption: lost for good if you've ever owned a principal residence anywhere.
• FHSA, Home Buyers' Plan, GST rebate and tax credit: these use a four-year test. They look at whether you lived in a home you or your spouse owned this year or in the previous four calendar years.

How these rules treat a home you couldn't live in because of the war is a specific question to put to an accountant.

For everything else about the programs, see the first-time home buyer guide.

PR routes, and why they change the math

With the dedicated Ukrainian pathway closed to new applications, most CUAET holders who want to stay are using the general routes:

• Express Entry, often the Canadian Experience Class after a year of skilled work in Canada
• the BC Provincial Nominee Program
• family sponsorship

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress has continued to press for a dedicated permanent route, so watch for announcements.

For housing, the difference between buying before and after PR, on a $549,000 Surrey condo bought by a first-time buyer who has never owned a home anywhere:

That gap of about $143,000 in cash is why, for most CUAET families in the Lower Mainland, the right move is to plan the purchase around PR. Buying outside the five regions changes the picture. So does a BC PNP nomination.

Planning for uncertainty

Temporary status adds risks that citizens don't face. Think them through before you buy.

• If you had to leave Canada, you could keep the home as a rental. As a non-resident landlord, you'd be subject to withholding tax on rent unless you file the right forms. Or you could sell. A non-resident seller has part of the price held back until CRA issues a clearance certificate. See our net proceeds calculator.
• A home left empty in a speculation tax area can be taxed as a foreign-owned vacant property, at 3% for 2026 and 4% from 2027. Inside the City of Vancouver, the Empty Homes Tax adds 3% more.
• Buying a home doesn't give you immigration status and doesn't help a PR application. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
• Prices can fall. In late 2026, many Lower Mainland prices are below their peak. Buying a home you'd be happy to keep for years, rather than stretching, protects you if plans change.

A sensible order of steps

1. Secure your status firstBefore anything else

   Extend your work permit if it has less than about a year left. The deadline to apply under the special measures is March 31, 2027. Keep your passport renewed, because it can limit how long a new permit runs.

2. Build Canadian credit and savings6 to 12 months

   Get a credit card, and put your phone plan in your name. If you're a tax resident, open an FHSA, and move savings into a Canadian account early.

3. Decide the timing against PRBefore viewing homes

   Estimate when PR or a BC PNP nomination could arrive, and compare buying now with buying after, using the checker above.

4. Get pre-approved with a broker who does work-permit filesBefore viewing

   Bring your permit, passport, SIN, employment letter, pay stubs and 90 days of statements.

5. Choose where to buyDuring your search

   The five 20% regions against the rest of BC is the biggest single decision if PR is uncertain.

6. Offer with subjects, then use a lawyer or notaryOffer to completion

   Your lawyer will confirm and document the federal ban exception you're buying under, and file the transfer tax return, including any additional tax.

7. After PR, apply for the refundWithin the refund rules

   If you paid the 20% and got PR within a year while living in the home, apply to BC for the refund.

Mistakes we see

Writing an offer while on maintained status. Lenders want the new permit in hand.

Planning the down payment without the 20% tax. In the five regions, it's usually larger than the down payment itself.

Assuming the refund is automatic. You have to meet the conditions and apply for it.

Leaving money in Ukraine until the month before completion. Transfer limits and bank checks take time.

Adding a relative to title to qualify without understanding the tax effect on both of you.

Believing a home purchase helps an immigration application. It doesn't.

Questions people ask us

Dan Marusin, PRECRenanza Realty Inc.
778-918-5990

Planning a purchase on CUAET?

Dan can help you work out the timing against your permit and PR, connect you with brokers who approve work-permit mortgages and lawyers who handle the transfer tax refund, and find homes inside and outside the 20% regions. Your checker results come along with the message.

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