Moving abroad from the UK: HMRC, State Pension, National Insurance and a checklist

The right to live in your new country, form P85 or SA109, the day count for tax residence, your State Pension abroad, voluntary Class 3 at £18.40 a week, overseas voting and settled status.

In detail

Moving abroad from the UK takes two things: the right to live in your new country, and a handful of steps at home. British citizenship stays with you wherever you live. Before you go, you tell HMRC, your council and the offices that pay your benefits, decide about voluntary National Insurance, and set up your State Pension and overseas voting.

Rules and amounts follow GOV.UK in 2026.

First, the right to live in your new country

Since 1 January 2021 British citizens travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180 days; to live in Spain, Portugal or another EU country, you need a visa or residence permit. Those who lived legally in an EU country before 2021 keep their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement for as long as they stay.

• Remote workers choose digital nomad visas, such as the Spain digital nomad visa.
• Retirees look at passive income visas and at the UAE retirement visa.
• Investors take residence by investment, such as the Portugal Golden Visa.
• Workers move on an employer-sponsored visa to Australia, Canada, the UAE or the United States.

Countries for every budget are compared in the best countries to relocate to.

Tell HMRC and work out your tax residence

You tell HM Revenue and Customs when you leave the UK permanently or go to work full-time abroad for at least one full tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April.

• Form P85, with parts 2 and 3 of your P45, if you do not file Self Assessment.
• Form SA109, the residence section of the Self Assessment return, if you do; it goes by post or through commercial software, and a paper return is due by 31 October.

Under the Statutory Residence Test you are non-resident for a tax year if you spend fewer than 16 days in the UK, or fewer than 46 days if you were not UK resident in the 3 previous tax years. Working full-time abroad, at least 35 hours a week on average, you stay non-resident with fewer than 91 days in the UK, no more than 30 of them working. In the year of the move, split-year treatment divides the year into a resident and a non-resident part.

British citizens keep the Personal Allowance on UK income and claim it each year on form R43. UK tax rates themselves are on UK taxes.

State Pension and voluntary National Insurance

The State Pension is paid abroad if you have enough National Insurance years; you need at least 10 qualifying years for any State Pension. You claim it within 4 months of reaching State Pension age through the International Pension Centre and choose a local or a UK bank account, with a 0.39% conversion charge for payments abroad.

The pension rises every year only if you live in the European Economic Area, Gibraltar, Switzerland or a country with a social security agreement with the UK, except Canada and New Zealand. Elsewhere, such as Australia, it stays at the amount you first received abroad and returns to the current rate if you move back.

• From 6 April 2026, Class 2 contributions cannot be paid for time abroad.
• Class 3 costs £18.40 a week in 2026-27 and is open to people who lived in the UK for 10 years in a row or paid 10 years of qualifying contributions.
• Form CF83 is the application; gaps can be filled for the past 6 years, by 5 April each year.

Council, benefits, student loan and voting

• Council: tell your local council and give a forwarding address so that Council Tax stops.
• Benefits: tell each office that pays you; it confirms what continues abroad.
• Student loan: tell the Student Loans Company so that repayments follow your overseas income.
• Voting: British citizens who lived in the UK register as overseas voters with the postcode of their last UK address and renew every 3 years.

If you live in the UK on a visa or settled status

Indefinite leave to remain lapses after more than 2 years in a row outside the UK; to come back you apply for a returning resident visa and show strong ties to the UK. Settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme lasts through 5 years abroad, or 4 years for Swiss citizens. If British citizenship is close, it is worth getting it before leaving: the path is in UK settlement after 10 years and UK citizenship by naturalisation.

Checklist for moving abroad from the UK

• 3-6 months before: a visa or residence permit for the new country, and a check of your National Insurance record.
• 1-2 months before: form P85 or SA109, the CF83 application if you plan voluntary contributions, the overseas bank account for your pension.
• In the last weeks: council, benefits offices, Student Loans Company, overseas voter registration.
• After the move: a tax return for the split year and, at pension age, the claim to the International Pension Centre.

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