Mortgage Pre-Approval

What Is It?

A Mortgage Pre-Approval (Pré-Aprovação de Crédito Habitação) is a document issued by a bank following a preliminary assessment of your financial profile — including income, expenses, existing debts, and employment stability.

In practical terms, the bank is stating:

“Based on your financial situation, we are willing to lend up to X €.”

What Is It For / Why Is It Important?

Negotiation Strength
It demonstrates to the seller or real estate agency that you are a serious buyer who already has initial bank approval. This can be decisive when a seller is choosing between competing offers.

Focused Property Search
Prevents wasted time viewing properties outside your realistic financing capacity — for example, visiting €300,000 properties when the bank would only finance €250,000.

Faster Promissory Contract (CPCV — Contrato-Promessa de Compra e Venda)
Since your personal financial documents have already been reviewed, the final mortgage decision (after property valuation) becomes significantly faster.

How Do You Obtain It?

Document Submission
You must provide the bank with documents such as:

• Recent salary slips (recibos de vencimento)

• Annual tax return (IRS)

• Bank statements

• Credit liabilities report issued by the Bank of Portugal — Mapa de Responsabilidades de Crédito do Banco de Portugal

Risk Assessment
The bank’s risk department evaluates your affordability level (taxa de esforço) and financial stability.

Issuance
If approved, the bank issues a document confirming the maximum financing amount available.

What Does It Cost?

€0 — Free
Most Portuguese banks do not charge for the preliminary assessment or issuance of a pre-approval letter.

Validity Period

Mortgage pre-approval is temporary and typically valid for 30 to 90 days.

If your financial situation changes — for example, changing jobs or taking out a new loan — the pre-approval may become invalid.

Important: It Is Not Final Approval

Pre-approval assesses you as the borrower, not the property.

Final mortgage approval only occurs after the bank evaluates the property itself through a bank valuation (Peritagem Bancária).
If legal issues arise or the valuation comes in below the agreed purchase price, the bank may refuse financing even after issuing pre-approval.