Your money when you move abroad

How to keep your home bank accounts, cards and login codes working from abroad, why some banks close accounts for people who move, how to open a local account, and how to work out what a money transfer really costs.

Plan your money in three parts. Keep at least one home account working, with an address and phone number your bank accepts. Open a local account once you have the documents your new country asks for. And compare money transfers by their total cost: the fee plus how far the exchange rate sits from the mid-market rate.

This guide explains the general rules for people moving from the US, Canada and the UK. It names no banks or transfer services, and it does not tell you where to keep your money.

Before you leave: keep your home accounts working

Most money problems abroad start with a home account that stops working. Sort these before you go:

1. Tell your bank you are moving, and ask what changes. Ask whether it keeps accounts open for customers living in your new country, and which services stop. Get the answer in writing if you can.
2. Keep the phone number your bank texts. Many banks send login codes by text message. Some will not send codes to a foreign number, and some reject internet-based numbers. Ask your bank which options it supports, such as an authenticator app, before your home number lapses. Americans can keep their US number for a one-time fee: see how to keep your US phone number.
3. Use an address that is really yours. US banks generally must collect a residential or business street address when you open an account. Giving an address where you do not live can breach your account terms. Ask your bank what address it accepts from customers abroad.
4. Check card expiry dates. A replacement card posted to your old address can be hard to receive. Renew early if you can.
5. Keep two ways to reach your money. An account in each country, with more than one card, means one frozen account does not leave you stuck.

Why some banks close accounts when you move

Americans: FATCA and US address rules

Under FATCA, foreign financial institutions generally must report the accounts their US customers hold, or face withholding on certain US payments. That reporting is work and risk for the bank. Some banks abroad decline US customers or offer them fewer products. Expect to be asked whether you are a US person and for your US tax number when you open an account abroad.

At home, some US banks and brokers limit or close accounts once a customer has a foreign address. Policies differ by firm. For investment accounts, read Your US investments and retirement accounts after a move abroad.

Your foreign accounts also bring US filing duties. If they total more than USD 10,000 at any time in a calendar year, you file an FBAR. Our US taxes guide explains it.

Britons: the bank’s terms and the new notice rules

Some UK banks do not serve customers living abroad, or limit what they can do. The answer is in your bank’s terms, so ask before you move.

The FCA found that the most common reasons UK providers gave for closing, suspending or declining accounts were inactivity and financial crime concerns. For contracts agreed from 28 April 2026, UK payment providers must give at least 90 days’ notice before closing an account, up from two months. They must explain the reasons in writing and tell you how to complain, including to the Financial Ombudsman Service. There are exceptions, such as suspected serious crime.

Two UK points to check:

• ISAs. You can keep an ISA after you become non-resident, and keep its UK tax relief. You cannot pay new money in. You must tell your ISA provider as soon as you stop being UK resident.
• Savings interest. UK banks no longer take Income Tax from interest automatically. HMRC lists taxable UK savings interest among the reasons a non-resident may need to file a Self Assessment return.

Canadians: tell your bank you are a non-resident

The CRA asks non-residents to tell Canadian payers, including banks and brokers, that they are non-resident and which country they live in. That sets the right withholding. Non-resident tax on dividends, rent and pensions is usually 25%, unless a treaty lowers it. Interest from an unrelated payer is generally exempt.

• TFSAs. You can keep a TFSA after you become non-resident. Canada does not tax growth or withdrawals. Contributions you make while non-resident are taxed at 1% for each month they stay in the account. Your new country may tax the account under its own rules.

Getting paid and paying US taxes from abroad

• No more paper refund checks, in most cases. The IRS generally stopped issuing paper refund checks to individuals after 30 September 2025. It says people abroad should keep using the existing options, and it is working on ways to pay refunds abroad.
• Paying the IRS without a US account. The IRS lets you wire money from a foreign bank, if that bank has a US banking relationship. The IRS warns it can be costly and suggests other options, such as paying by card.

Opening a local account

The address, tax number and bank loop

Many movers hit the same loop. A bank wants a local address and a local tax number. A landlord wants a local bank account. A town hall wants a lease before it registers your address. Each office wants a document the next one gives you.

How to get through it:

1. Find out the order your new country expects. Our guides list the first steps for each country. For example, Portugal’s settling-in steps include a tax number (NIF), a bank account and proof of address.
2. Get the tax number first where you can. In some countries you can get it before you arrive, or through a consulate.
3. Ask banks which documents they accept for a new arrival, such as a passport, visa and temporary address.
4. Keep your home account running until the local one works, so rent and bills can still be paid.

Some visas need money in a local bank early. Many Portuguese consulates ask to see a year of income in a Portuguese account for the D7 visa. Thailand’s O-X retirement visa needs its deposit in a Thai bank.

In the EU

If you are legally resident in an EU country, you are entitled to a basic payment account. A bank can refuse if you do not meet money-laundering rules, and in some countries if you already hold a similar account there. The European Commission says a bank cannot refuse you just because you do not live in the country where it is based. Some countries let banks charge a reasonable annual fee for the account.

How to compare a money transfer

Every transfer has two costs:

• The fee. The fixed or percentage charge the provider shows.
• The exchange-rate markup. The gap between the rate you get and the mid-market rate, the midpoint between buying and selling prices in the currency markets.

A transfer with no fee can still cost more if the exchange rate is worse. Canada’s FCAC warns that some providers advertise low or no fees and make it up with a less favourable rate. The UK FCA tells firms to treat the markup as a cost and not to call a transfer “zero cost” when a markup applies.

To compare quotes:

1. Fix the amount and the currency pair, for example the dollars you send and the euros that arrive.
2. Ask each provider for the amount the recipient gets, after all fees.
3. Compare that number. The quote that delivers the most, for the same amount sent at the same time, costs least.
4. Ask about other fees. Intermediary banks and the receiving bank can take their own cut. FCAC notes the recipient may pay to collect the money.
5. Ask when the rate is fixed: when you pay, or when the money arrives.

Be careful with the mid-market rate you see in online converters. The FCA warns that such tools can suggest a rate is available when customers usually get a worse one. Use it as a yardstick, not a promise.

What your home rules require

What catches people out

• Letting the home phone number lapse. Without it, you may not get the login code to reach your account.
• A borrowed address. Using a relative’s address to keep an account can breach the bank’s terms.
• Closing the home account too early. Keep it until your local account and cards work.
• Judging a transfer by its fee. The exchange-rate markup is often the bigger cost.
• Forgetting the filing side. Americans report foreign accounts on the FBAR. Canadians and Britons should check how their new country taxes interest from home accounts.

This is general information, not legal, tax, financial or immigration advice. Check the official pages linked below, and ask your bank, a tax professional or a financial adviser regulated in your country about your own situation.