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I am an EU citizen and have been working many years in UK. I don't have any debts, but do possess a good credit score thanks to using a credit card all that time.

My parents are thinking of buying a house (in their home EU country), they have most of the sum required and only need 20,000 euros more to afford it, as banks won't provide my parents with a mortgage for the full amount.

My account page tells that I am eligible for a much larger personal loan than that - however I have not managed to find out if that money can be sent abroad.

I am not considering taking a mortgage since, as I understood, UK banks do not provide them for overseas property.

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There are no particular restrictions in the UK on sending money abroad, so if you can get the loan in the first place you can send the money abroad.

The main potential issue will be that many (maybe all) unsecured personal loan providers will want some indication of the purpose of the loan, and you will need to be honest with them about this or it would be fraud.

As with all financial transactions with friends and family, you should think very carefully about the risks both of not getting the money back and of the impact on your relationship. Can you definitely repay the loan even if your parents don't repay you? Who will take the exchange rate risk; will your parents repay you the GBP you borrowed or the EUR you lend them?

Depending on the rules in your parents' country, they will likely need to declare the source of these funds to the mortgage provider, and the mortgage provider will always have first priority in getting repaid.

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    Many places have rules about down payments for a house: the money may need to be a gift to the asker's parents in order to be acceptable.
    – Mark
    Jun 30, 2017 at 21:56
  • At least in the US, the gift giver will usually be asked to prove that it is not the proceeds of a loan. They really don't want you to use a loan for the down payment.
    – trognanders
    Jul 1, 2017 at 7:42
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Personal loans are typically more expensive (have higher interest) than mortgages, because they are not backed by an immovable asset. So you should reconsider the decision to not want a mortgage; it would be cheaper.

Aside from that, once you get a personal loan, you are free to do with it whatever you want; this includes sending it to your parents, buying something, gambling it away in Vegas, or take out cash and burn it. So, yes, you can.

Sending money from the UK to other EU countries should be easy and simple, once it is in your account, your bank can help you to make the transfer.

I assume you understand that if your parents walk away with the money, you are left holding the bag. You are taking the full risk, and you will have to pay it back.

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    Burning/destroying cash is illegal in some countries ;)
    – ypercubeᵀᴹ
    Jun 30, 2017 at 21:11
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If you take out a personal loan, rather than a mortgage or car loan or hire-purchase agreement or other loan that's for making a specific purchase, then you can do whatever you want with the money. Send it abroad, burn it, spend it on expensive whisky -- it's up to you. The country you want to send the money to might have rules on transferring money into the country, but there will be no impediment at the UK end.

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  • Note that it's the "specific purchase" part that is relevant here, not the fact that it is a mortgage or car loan etc. You can take those out on existing assets for general purposes.
    – JBentley
    Jul 1, 2017 at 0:14

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