For a purchase or a mortgage abroad
Israeli documents for a mortgage or a property purchase abroad
Buying abroad on Israeli income means proving two separate things to two separate readers: where the money came from, and whether you can service the loan. This page sets out which Israeli document answers which, and links the destination guides for Portugal, Cyprus and lending on foreign income.
Two files, not one
The first file goes to the people closing the purchase — the notary or lawyer handling the deed, the bank opening your account, the compliance officer behind them. Their question is the origin of the funds: where the money came from, and whether the trail is complete and consistent.
The second file goes to a lender. Its question is capacity: what you earn, how steadily, and what you already owe. The two files overlap but they are not the same, and a bundle assembled for one often fails to answer the other.
Purchase and mortgage files for Portugal and Cyprus are the work this practice was built around, and the bundle recurs from buyer to buyer with very little variation.
The documents a file is usually built from
Payslips — three to six consecutive months
The standard income evidence. Consecutive months matter more than recent ones: a gap in the sequence invites a question.
Form 106
The employer's annual certificate. It corroborates a stack of payslips with one authoritative year-end summary, and lenders treat it as the anchor for annual income.
Bank statements
Usually three to twelve months of the main current account, read line by line. This is the document that most often comes back, because it is the one most often summarized.
Credit data report
What you already owe, and any transaction where you stand as a guarantor. A lender abroad cannot pull a local credit file on a foreign borrower, so this report stands in for it.
Profit and loss statement, ledger cards, tax assessment
For the self-employed and company owners: the documents that carry declared income where there is no employer to certify it.
Annual balance confirmation
One document, issued by the bank, confirming everything held there at year end — often the most efficient answer to “show us your assets”.
Municipal property-tax notice
Frequently used to evidence an address or an existing property interest in Israel.
Source-of-funds documents
Whatever actually explains the money: a sale contract, an inheritance document, a gift confirmation, a portfolio statement. The trail has to close, not merely start.
Where the file is going
Requirements are set by the destination, not by us. These guides were written from the published rules and the documents themselves; start with the one that matches your purchase.
What the receiving side generally accepts
For bank and lender submissions, the usual requirement is a certified translation: the complete document in English with a signed certificate of translation accuracy from the translator, naming them, dated, and tied to the documents it certifies. That is what we issue on request with every delivery.
Some official channels are different. Court and land-registry filings in certain countries require a translation certified by a locally appointed or sworn translator, or a local notary or lawyer in the chain — a private-sector bank submission and an official registry filing are not the same errand. Confirming what your bank, lender or notary requires rests with you or your adviser; where a notary is needed we can refer you to one, and we will tell you plainly when a destination is one we cannot serve directly.
How the work is done
Balances are checked forward from opening to closing and every subtotal and total is recomputed against its components. On machine-readable documents, identity and account numbers are additionally read a second time by an independent method, and the two readings must agree. A reviewer who took no part in producing the translation reads the finished pages before delivery.
Turnaround is quoted per order, before you commit. Recent single-document orders have been delivered within 24 hours; a full purchase bundle is quoted as a set, and we will tell you what is realistic against your closing date.
Common questions
How many months of bank statements will they want?
Three to six months is typical for income evidence, and up to twelve where source of funds is being examined. Ask the lender or the compliance officer for the period in writing before you pay for translation — it is the cheapest question you will ask all week.
Do Portuguese banks accept documents in English?
Portuguese banks generally accept income documents in English. Official submissions — registry or court filings — are a separate matter with their own certification chain; the Portugal guides cover the distinction.
Can you quote for the whole bundle at once?
Yes, and it is usually cheaper that way. Send the set, and we confirm one price for the whole file before any work begins — the price you accept is the price you pay.
My statements are downloaded PDFs. Is that good enough?
It is better than a photograph or a scan of a printout. A PDF from the bank's own site carries real text, which means it can be read exactly rather than interpreted. Send documents as the issuer produced them wherever you can.
Do you handle the apostille?
No — an apostille goes on the original Israeli document (apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) or on a notarial act (apostilled by a Magistrates' Court) — the two routes are not interchangeable, and you obtain it yourself. We provide the certified translation and can refer you to a notary where one is required.
Building a purchase or mortgage file?
Print-ready PDF · handled in confidence · a few days for most jobs