Expat Finance · Complete Guide
The Complete Financial Guide to Living Abroad
Moving abroad changes almost every aspect of your finances — tax, pensions, banking, insurance, investments, and estate planning. This guide covers the ten key areas you need to address, with links to detailed guides and free tools for each.
Moving abroad is one of the most significant financial events in a person's life — often underestimated precisely because the changes are gradual and not always immediately visible. Tax residency changes. Banking relationships break down. UK protection policies lapse. ISAs stop being tax-efficient. Pensions need active management. Wills become invalid.
Most people moving abroad take financial advice on the country they are moving to — property, local banking, local tax — but neglect the UK side of the equation. This is where the most significant financial mistakes are made. The ten sections below address both dimensions: what you need to do in the UK before you leave, and what you need to put in place internationally once you arrive.
This guide is structured as a pillar resource. Each section provides the key issues to understand and links to detailed guides, tools, and calculators for that area.
Ten financial areas to address
What you need to manage when moving abroad
Tax residency
What changes when you move abroad, the Statutory Residence Test, and how the residence-based inheritance tax rules (which replaced domicile from April 2025) affect you.
Banking
Keeping UK accounts when non-resident, international banking options, and managing multi-currency finances.
UK pensions
What happens to your pension when you move abroad, SIPP vs QROPS, drawdown as a non-resident, and NT tax codes.
Protection insurance
Does your UK life, income protection, and critical illness cover continue abroad? What international alternatives exist.
Investments
ISA restrictions for non-residents, offshore investment bonds, international portfolio management, and currency risk.
Estate planning
Updating your will for a new country, international probate, and the interaction between UK and local succession law.
Tax planning
Pre-departure planning, double taxation treaties, offshore structures, and ongoing UK reporting obligations.
Property
Keeping UK property as a non-resident landlord, buying abroad, currency considerations, and capital gains implications.
Healthcare
GHIC coverage in EU countries, reciprocal health agreements, and international private medical insurance options.
Practical checklist
The administrative steps before departure — notifying HMRC, banks, the DVLA, pension providers, and setting up power of attorney.
Before you leave
Pre-departure financial checklist
HMRC and tax
- Complete form P85 (Leaving the UK)
- Review your long-term UK residence position for IHT — take advice if complex
- Notify HMRC of any UK rental income (NRLS)
- Understand whether self-assessment continues
- Consider crystallising capital gains before departure
- Maximise pension contributions while UK resident
Financial and legal
- Review and update your will (UK and overseas if needed)
- Consolidate UK pensions into a SIPP if fragmented
- Check UK protection policies — replace with international cover
- Update address with all financial providers
- Arrange lasting/enduring power of attorney
- Open an international bank account before leaving if possible
Frequently asked questions
Moving abroad — common financial questions
Do I still have to pay UK tax if I live abroad?
It depends on your tax residence status. If you meet the conditions of the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) to be non-UK resident, you are generally not liable to UK income tax on overseas income. However, UK-source income — including rental income from UK property, UK employment income, and certain pension income — may still be taxable in the UK even as a non-resident. Your UK inheritance tax exposure is a separate question — since 6 April 2025 it is based on long-term UK residence (broadly, being UK resident in at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years) rather than the old domicile rules, so leaving the UK does not immediately remove IHT exposure.
What happens to my UK bank account when I move abroad?
Many UK high street banks restrict or close accounts when they discover a customer has moved abroad, due to consumer protection regulations. Some banks — particularly those with international or expat divisions (HSBC International, Barclays International, Lloyds International) — offer accounts specifically for non-resident customers. It is important to notify your bank of your change of address and check their policy before you move, rather than after.
Can I still contribute to my UK pension if I live abroad?
If you have no UK earnings, your pension contributions are capped at £3,600 gross per year (the minimum contribution limit). If you have UK relevant earnings — for example from a UK employment or rental income — you can contribute up to those earnings. Once you are non-UK resident with no UK earnings, meaningful pension contributions become impractical. This makes it important to maximise pension contributions in the UK before you leave.
Does my UK life insurance or income protection cover continue abroad?
UK domestic protection policies typically contain geographic restrictions. Life insurance may remain in force if you move abroad, but income protection, critical illness, and private medical insurance often do not cover you once you leave the UK. Before moving, you should review all your policies and arrange appropriate international replacements. International term life, international income protection, and international private medical insurance (IPMI) are all available from specialist providers.
Is my UK ISA still tax-free when I live abroad?
ISAs lose their UK tax-free status once you are non-UK resident. Technically, you can keep an existing ISA, but you cannot make further contributions. More importantly, many overseas tax authorities — particularly in the EU and US — do not recognise the ISA tax wrapper and will tax the income and gains within it under their own rules. For long-term international investors, an offshore investment bond often provides more portable and internationally recognised tax efficiency.
Do I need to notify HMRC when I move abroad?
Yes. You should complete form P85 ("Leaving the UK — getting your tax right") when you depart. If you have a self-assessment obligation, you must file a UK tax return for the year of departure (and for subsequent years if you have UK-source income). You should also notify your pension provider(s), inform the DVLA, redirect National Insurance contributions if applicable, and register with the NRLS (Non-Resident Landlord Scheme) if you are renting out UK property.
What is the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme?
The NRLS requires UK letting agents (or tenants who pay rent directly) to deduct basic rate income tax from rental payments and remit it to HMRC on behalf of non-resident landlords. You can apply to HMRC to receive rent without deduction at source (on the basis that you will declare it on a self-assessment return), but this must be applied for proactively. Landlords who fail to register and comply with NRLS obligations can face penalties.
Should I sell or keep my UK property when moving abroad?
This is a personal and financial decision with several dimensions. Keeping the property provides an asset base in sterling and a potential income stream, but requires compliance with the NRLS, annual self-assessment returns, and — if you eventually sell — potential exposure to UK CGT as a non-resident on the gain since April 2015. Selling before departure may allow you to use any remaining Principal Private Residence relief and annual CGT exemption. Both approaches can work; the right answer depends on your plans, the property value, and your CGT position.
Book a moving-abroad financial review
A moving-abroad review covers all ten areas in this guide — your UK position, your international structure, and your plan for managing both going forward. It takes around 60 minutes and costs nothing.
Ready to sort your finances before you move?
Our advisers specialise in helping people moving abroad get their UK and international finances in order — tax, pensions, banking, insurance, and estate planning covered in one review.