Moving abroad checklist for Brits: what to do when

Get the right to live there first, then tell the UK you're going. Most of the faff comes from doing it the other way round.

The short version

Your right to live there comes first. Unless you're moving to Ireland, you'll usually need a visa or residence permit. In the EU, only Brits who were already living there before 1 January 2021 keep their old rights under the Withdrawal Agreement [6].
Tell HMRC you're leaving with form P85, or the SA109 residence pages if you file Self Assessment [2].
Check your National Insurance record before you go. The rules for paying voluntary contributions from abroad got stricter from 6 April 2026 [3].
Keep a UK bank account and a UK mobile number if you can. Both are much harder to set up once you've gone.
Register as an overseas voter and decide what happens to your UK home, your car and your driving licence [4][5].

Step 1: the right to live there (months before)

Everything else hangs off this. Your job offer, flat and school places mean very little if you can't get a visa. Start with the host country's embassy in London or its immigration ministry website, and read the FCDO "Living in [country]" guide where there is one.

Ireland: British citizens can live and work there under the Common Travel Area, with no visa.
EU countries: if you lived there legally before 1 January 2021, the Withdrawal Agreement protects your right to stay, though you may need a residence document [6]. Everyone else is a non-EU national now and needs a national visa for anything longer than 90 days in 180. Our guide to Brits in the EU after Brexit goes through this.
Further afield: work visas usually need an employer, and retirement visas usually need proof of income. Processing can take months, and police checks and certified documents add weeks on top.

Don't hand in your notice or sell the house until the visa is granted, or at least clearly on its way.

Step 2: tell the UK you're going (two to three months before)

HMRC

If you don't normally file a tax return, tell HMRC with form P85 and include parts 2 and 3 of your P45 if you have one. If you do file Self Assessment, use the residence pages, SA109, on your return. GOV.UK says you can't tell HMRC you're leaving through its online services: the return goes by post, with a 31 October deadline for paper returns [2]. Your UK tax position from here on depends on the Statutory Residence Test and possibly split-year treatment, so read our guide to telling HMRC with the P85.

The council, the Student Loans Company and the benefits offices

GOV.UK's own checklist says to give your local council a forwarding address, tell any office that pays you benefits, contact the International Pension Centre if you get a State Pension, and tell the Student Loans Company so your repayments stay right [1]. Council tax stops when you stop living in the property, but only once the council knows. If you're keeping the house empty or letting it, they'll want to know that too.

Your National Insurance record

This is the one people regret skipping. Check your record and State Pension forecast on GOV.UK before you go. Gaps can be filled with voluntary contributions, but the rules for people abroad changed from 6 April 2026 [3]:

	Up to 2025/26	From 2026/27
Voluntary Class 2 for time abroad	Possible if you worked before and after leaving	No longer available
Voluntary Class 3 for time abroad	3 years' UK residence or 3 years of contributions	10 years' continuous UK residence or 10 years of qualifying contributions
Application	Form CF83	Form CF83

There are transitional rules if you applied by 5 April 2026, and you can normally pay for gaps going back six tax years [3]. Voluntary contributions don't always raise your pension, so check the forecast first. Our guide to voluntary National Insurance from abroad goes through the rules.

Step 3: money, phone and post (the last month)

Tell your UK bank you're moving and ask what it does with non-resident customers. Some banks close accounts, or won't open them, for people with an overseas address. Keeping one UK current account open makes paying a UK mortgage, a credit card or a pension into the UK much easier.
Open a local account as early as the host country allows. In many places you need an address first, and for the address you need a bank account. Expect a bit of a chicken-and-egg week.
Keep your UK mobile number. Banks, HMRC and the DVLA send security codes to it. A cheap SIM-only plan on a UK network, with roaming switched on, is usually enough to keep the number alive. Check the roaming terms, because some networks limit how long you can roam.
Sort your post. Royal Mail's Redirection service, a trusted relative or a mail-scanning service all work. Change paperless settings wherever you can.
Gather the paperwork. Birth and marriage certificates, degree certificates, school records, prescriptions and vaccination records. Some countries want them apostilled, which the FCDO's Legalisation Office does.

Step 4: NHS, voting and driving

The NHS

Free NHS hospital care is based on where you live, not on your passport. Once you've moved abroad for good, you're usually no longer entitled to it in the same way. Tell your GP surgery you're leaving, get enough of any regular medication to tide you over, and ask for a copy of your records. UK State Pensioners moving to the EU may be able to get an S1, which means the UK pays for their healthcare there. Our guide to the NHS when you live abroad goes into it.

Voting

Since January 2024, the old 15-year limit has gone: any British citizen who used to live in the UK can register as an overseas voter. Registration lasts three years and then needs renewing. You vote in UK Parliament elections, by post or by proxy (proxy only in Northern Ireland) [4]. Sort a postal or proxy vote before the next election is called, not after.

Your driving licence

You can't put an overseas address on a British driving licence. DVLA tells you to contact the licensing authority in your new country instead [5]. In practice that means exchanging the licence there. Our guide to driving abroad on a UK licence has the details.

Step 5: your UK home

There are three usual routes, each with its own paperwork.

Option	What to sort	Watch out for
Sell before you go	Estate agent, solicitor, timing with the move	Selling after you've left can bring non-resident Capital Gains Tax reporting
Let it out	Mortgage lender's consent, landlord insurance, a letting agent	The Non-Resident Landlord Scheme; form NRL1 lets you receive rent without tax taken off at source
Leave it empty	Council tax, empty-home insurance	Insurers often limit cover for empty homes

Our guide to keeping your UK home or selling it compares the options properly. A tax adviser who knows both countries can check your case.

The last week

Pack the important folder in your hand luggage: passports, visas, certificates, prescriptions, a printed copy of your P85.
Take photos of meter readings and send final readings to the energy and water companies.
Cancel the TV licence, the gym and anything else that renews itself.
Say proper goodbyes. The paperwork will wait a day; the people at the leaving do won't. Our guide to the emotional move is worth a read before the boxes go.

Once you've landed, registering locally, a tax number and health cover take over the list. Other Brits who've done it are the quickest shortcut, and our community groups for Brits abroad are a good place to ask.

Moving abroad checklist: what Brits should sort, and in what order