Last updated 28 September 2026.
The letter can arrive months after a move. Your bank “has reviewed your relationship” and will close your account on a set date. If your salary, a client payment or your rent runs through that account, the notice period is the time you have to move everything without missing a payment. This guide explains the main reasons banks close accounts held by people who live abroad, what notice the rules require in the UK, the EU and the US, and a seven-day plan to get your money and payments onto new rails with time to spare.
It is general information, not legal advice. Your account terms and the law of the country where the bank is based decide your rights. The rules below are quoted from official sources as they stood when we checked on 27 September 2026.
This piece sits in the Protect section. It connects with Wise is the rail, not your emergency fund (keep a payment app and a real bank deposit doing different jobs) and Moving money across borders without a UK bank (the payment rails you can use instead).
Why banks close accounts when customers move abroad
1. Some accounts are tied to legal residence
Basic bank accounts often come with a residence condition written into law. In the UK, regulation 26(2)(d) of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 allows a bank to end a basic bank account where “the consumer is no longer legally resident in the United Kingdom”. The EU Payment Accounts Directive (2014/92/EU) has the same ground in Article 19(2)(d): “the consumer is no longer legally resident in the Union”. If your account was a basic account and you have left, closure is an expected result, not a mistake.
2. The bank can no longer complete its checks
Banks have to carry out customer due diligence and keep it up to date. When the address, phone number and tax residence on file no longer match reality, or the bank cannot verify new details, it may decide it cannot keep the account. The UK rules treat this seriously. The new termination-notice requirement in regulation 51B of the Payment Services Regulations 2017 does not apply where the provider must apply customer due diligence under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and is unable to do so (regulation 51C). In practice, if you do not answer a bank’s information requests, you may lose the notice period you would otherwise get.
3. “De-risking”: a whole category of customers
Some closures are not about you at all. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) describes de-risking as financial institutions “terminating or restricting business relationships with clients or categories of clients to avoid, rather than manage, risk”. It lists drivers such as profitability, prudential requirements and reputational risk, and says it is a misconception to see de-risking only as an anti-money-laundering issue. The US Treasury’s April 2023 De-risking Strategy uses a similar definition taken from US law. Non-resident customers can be one of those categories. Serving them may mean extra reporting, cross-border rules and support costs that a bank decides are not worth it.
4. Your account terms allow it
In the US, the OCC’s HelpWithMyBank service says it may be lawful for a bank to close an account “under certain circumstances” and “to do so without providing prior notice”. It says your deposit account agreement sets out the bank’s policies for your account. The CFPB also says a bank or credit union can close your account without your permission, and that some states may require notice. Read the termination section of your terms before you argue the point.
What notice you should get
| Where the account is | Notice and reasons | Where to complain |
|---|---|---|
| UK: payment account opened on or after 28 April 2026 | At least 90 days’ notice. The notice must explain the reasons in enough detail for you to understand why, and tell you how to complain (PSRs 2017 reg 51B, inserted by SI 2025/688). Exceptions apply, including where due diligence cannot be completed (reg 51C). | The bank first, then the Financial Ombudsman Service |
| UK: payment account opened before 28 April 2026 | At least two months’ notice, if the contract provides for termination (reg 51A) | The bank first, then the Financial Ombudsman Service |
| UK basic bank account | Can be ended if you are no longer legally resident in the UK. You must be told the grounds in writing, free of charge. Notice is two months for contracts before 28 April 2026, and 90 days on or after (PARs 2015 reg 26). | The bank, then the Financial Ombudsman Service |
| EU basic payment account | Can be ended if you are no longer legally resident in the EU (PAD Art. 19(2)(d)). Each member state’s law implements the details. | The bank, then the national dispute body the bank names |
| US bank account | May be lawful without prior notice in some circumstances. The deposit agreement governs, and some states require notice (OCC, CFPB). | The bank, then its federal regulator (OCC for national banks) or a CFPB complaint |
On timing of complaints, the Financial Ombudsman Service says a business has up to 8 weeks to consider most complaints. The limit is 15 business days for complaints about payment services, such as transfers and direct debits, and for complaints about electronic money (up to 35 business days in exceptional cases). You then have 6 months from the final response to take the complaint to the ombudsman. A complaint may not stop the closure, but it creates a record and may get you a clearer reason or more time.
The 7-day response plan
The aim is to finish the moves that depend on you within one week, then use the rest of the notice period for payers and billers who work on monthly cycles.
| Day | Task | What you should have at the end of the day |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read the notice closely. Note the closure date, the reason given, which accounts and cards are affected, and whether direct debits stop early. | A closure date in your calendar and a count of days remaining |
| 2 | Reply in writing. Ask whether the reason is residence, and whether updated documents would change the decision. If you think it is wrong, make a formal complaint. | A written question or complaint, dated, with a copy saved |
| 3 | List every payment in and out of the account over the last 12–13 months, using your statements. | Two lists: payers (salary, clients, refunds) and payees (rent, direct debits, cards on file, taxes) |
| 4 | Confirm where each flow will go instead: a bank account in your country of residence for the insured buffer and bills that need a bank, and a multi-currency payment account for receipts. | New account details ready to share |
| 5 | Send payers your new details. Confirm by phone or through a known portal, not just by email, so no one mistakes your request for invoice-redirection fraud. | Every payer contacted, with confirmations logged |
| 6 | Move direct debits, standing orders and card-on-file payments. Update tax authorities and any pension provider. | Payee list ticked off, with any stragglers noted |
| 7 | Move the balance, less a small float for late debits. Download statements for tax. Rebuild your emergency buffer in the new bank. | Balance moved, statements saved, buffer plan written down |
Day 3 matters most. People rarely forget their salary. They forget an annual insurance renewal, a domain name or a tax refund that pays into the old account. Twelve to thirteen months of statements usually show the annual items. Thirteen months is also the look-back the EU directive uses when a bank helps with a cross-border switch (Article 11).
Worked scenario: counting the days
Illustrative example. The person, dates and accounts are made up. Sam opened a UK current account in 2019 and moved to Spain in 2026. On 1 October 2026 the bank writes to say it will close the account. The account was opened before 28 April 2026, so the minimum is two months’ notice: the account closes on 1 December 2026, which is 61 days away (31 days from 1 October to 1 November, plus 30 days to 1 December).
- Days 1–7 (1–7 October): Sam follows the plan. After day 7, 54 days remain (61 − 7).
- Payers: three. A monthly retainer client, a quarterly client and a UK tax refund. The monthly client’s next payment run is late October, so there is one full cycle to test the new details before closure. The quarterly client may not pay again before 1 December. Sam confirms the change in writing anyway.
- Payees: five. Phone, cloud storage, an annual insurance policy, a professional body subscription and a card-on-file streaming service. Four move on day 6. The annual insurance only shows on last November’s statement, which is why the 12–13 month look-back matters.
Had the account been opened on or after 28 April 2026, the minimum would be 90 days: 1 October plus 90 days is 30 December 2026. The plan is the same. There is just more room for stragglers.
Where the money goes next
Two different jobs need two different homes. Keep your emergency buffer in a licensed bank deposit in the country and currency of your biggest bills, covered by that country’s deposit-insurance scheme. Emergency cash when ISA and FSCS do not apply explains how. If you are legally resident in an EU country, the Payment Accounts Directive gives you a right to open a basic payment account with banks there (Article 16).
For receiving client payments and holding working balances in more than one currency, a multi-currency payment account is often quicker to set up. Wise is the example we use because its terms are public. It is an e-money and payment service, not a bank deposit, so do not move the whole buffer there. Also note what Wise’s own help says about changing country: your account is suspended while it reviews the change. During that time you cannot add or receive money, existing direct debits are cancelled, and Wise says it reviews documents within 2 days. Do the country change before you depend on the account, not in the week your bank account closes.
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FAQ
Can a bank close my account just because I moved abroad?
Often, yes. UK and EU law expressly allow basic accounts to be closed when you are no longer legally resident, and ordinary account terms usually give the bank a right to end the relationship with notice. In the US, the OCC says closure without prior notice may be lawful in some circumstances.
Does the bank have to tell me why?
In the UK, for payment accounts opened on or after 28 April 2026, the notice must explain the reasons in enough detail for you to understand them, unless an exception applies. For basic accounts closed on residence grounds, the bank must tell you the grounds in writing. Elsewhere it depends on local law and your terms.
Should I give a friend’s or relative’s address so I can keep the account?
No. Giving an address where you do not live makes the bank’s records wrong, and it can lead to an immediate closure if discovered. The UK notice rules do not protect you where due diligence cannot be completed. It also means official post goes somewhere you are not.
Is a Wise account a replacement for my bank account?
For receiving and sending money, often yes. For holding your emergency fund, no. It is e-money, not a deposit covered by a deposit-insurance scheme. See Wise is the rail, not your emergency fund.
Can I complain even if the closure is lawful?
Yes. In the UK you complain to the bank first and can then go to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of the final response. In the US, if you believe the closure was wrongful, the OCC says to file a written complaint with the bank’s regulator; you can also submit a complaint to the CFPB.
What this article is not
It is not legal advice and does not cover every country. It does not cover business accounts, frozen accounts under investigation, or accounts closed for suspected crime, which follow different rules. The person, dates and payments in the scenario are fictional. The notice periods and time limits are quoted from the official sources below, as checked on 27 September 2026.
Sources
- The Payment Services and Payment Accounts (Contract Termination) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/688). PSRs 2017 regs 51A–51C, 90 days’ notice from 28 April 2026.
- The Payment Accounts Regulations 2015, regulation 26. Termination of basic bank accounts, including “no longer legally resident in the United Kingdom”.
- Directive 2014/92/EU (Payment Accounts Directive). Articles 11, 16 and 19.
- FATF: FATF clarifies risk-based approach: case-by-case, not wholesale de-risking (October 2014).
- US Department of the Treasury: The Department of the Treasury’s De-risking Strategy (April 2023), PDF.
- OCC HelpWithMyBank: The bank closed my checking account and did not notify me. Is this legal?
- CFPB: The bank/credit union closed my checking account even though I did not want them to.
- Financial Ombudsman Service: complaint time limits (firms normally have 8 weeks; for payment services the FCA rule is 15 business days; you then have 6 months to refer the complaint).
- Wise Help: How do I update my country of residence? Suspension during review, direct debits cancelled, 2-day review.
- Wise Help: How Wise Payments Ltd safeguards customer funds (e-money, not FSCS).
- Bankrolled: Wise is the rail, not your emergency fund.
- Bankrolled: Moving money across borders without a UK bank.
- Bankrolled: Emergency cash when ISA and FSCS do not apply.
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