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Is it permissible to take out an interest-bearing loan from European banks for the purpose of purchasing residency?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not permissible to reside in the lands of the disbelievers except for an overriding benefit, such as da'wah (inviting to Islam) or seeking knowledge that is unavailable in Muslim lands. No one is allowed to go there except for these reasons. If residence is permissible under its Sharia-compliant conditions, it is not lawful for him to achieve it by taking usurious interest, because the end does not justify the means. The prohibition of this loan becomes even greater if his stay is not permissible, in which case he would have committed two forbidden acts: residing for an illegitimate purpose and borrowing with usury for that purpose.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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