Investing Abroad

How to Move Abroad with No Money: Tips & Finance Options

You’re allowed to want a fresh start even if you have a thin wallet. We get that it feels like a risky mix and probably more of a pipe dream than anything, but we’re here to show you how to break it into actions you repeat day after day. 

This is how to move abroad with no money without pretending luck will sort you out. We’ll get it into details shortly, but it mostly boils down to:

• Cutting costs where you can
• Opening doors that let you earn early
• Building a routine that keeps you fed while you find your feet in a new country

Most importantly – you do not need a perfect plan. You just need a simple plan that can get you time and whatever cash you can raise. Let’s get started!

Ground Rules and a Steady Mindset

Start with the basics you just won’t be able to dodge: 

• A ticket
• A place to sleep for the first few nights
• A phone that works on arrival

Then you want to trim some of your spending for a bit, which also means selling some of the gear you don’t really use (because each bit helps you save money before takeoff!). 

You’ll also need to keep all your important documents in a folder you can reach fast. So that’s everything from copies of your ID and brief references to proof of skills and a short contact list. These matter way more than extra clothing! 

You might already be doing this, but treat those final few days before departure as somewhat of a rehearsal for life abroad. This means cooking at home and practicing living on the budget you expect to have. Those habits carry over once you land and soften the shock of new prices and different rhythms.

Housing and work are going to be your main goals at this stage, since they both support each other. Free housing tied to entry level roles can bridge your first month, like a hostel that credits chores against a bed or a small cafe with a room above the shop. 

You might even be lucky and find host families that open their doors during busy seasons in exchange for help with simple tasks. Work exchange programs take that idea further by trading a bed and meals for a few hours of effort each day. 

You might be cleaning rooms or helping with harvests, for instance. Yeah, it’s not exactly glamorous, but the maths works because lower rent makes it easier to get set up in the long run.

Visas and Routes That Open Doors

A legal right to earn changes everything. A working holiday visa, for example, lets people try living abroad while picking up shifts. Of course, requirements will vary by destination country (and most countries set age caps or ask for proof of funds), so read the current rules rather than copy a friend. 

If you fall outside those schemes, a targeted work visa can still make sense when an employee wants your skills. So just keep realistic expectations, and be ready to adjust as you learn how the system in that place actually runs.

And it’s not uncommon to start teaching English when you arrive in a country of non-native English speakers. In some markets, a bachelor’s degree helps, but chances are you can get away with just a short certification.

For example, South Korea tends to pay pretty well with this sort of thing – your payment also arrives on time and apartments often come with the role. 

Other countries can work too if you choose towns that hire newcomers. Your language skills do not need to be perfect to start; you teach the language you already speak, while foreign language grows day by day as you shop and make friends, etc.

Money Tips That Keep You Moving

Needless to say, rent is usually the largest drain. So make sure you sort this out as early as possible. Look at hostels that let you handle reception or housekeeping in exchange for beds. It could even be a farm that includes bunk rooms. Furthermore, ask small hotels whether night audit shifts come with staff quarters. 

The bottom line is, you’re going to have to get a bit creative if you truly don’t have a penny to your name you can spend.

The money side also looks a bit less scary when you handle the basics fast. So that means opening a local bank account as soon as the rules allow so employers can pay without any hassle – not everyone is going to be happy paying you in cash. 

And until your card arrives, try to track spending money by day (not week) because small leaks add up. 

Again, it’s also worth searching for some kind of side income that can soften the landing if you don’t have consistent hours at your primary source of income:

• Tutor kids in your native tongue
• Pour coffees on market days
• Take odd jobs that keep you meeting locals

Focus on work that teaches skills you can reuse, because your progress will compound when each shift makes the next one easier to win! 

And if a trial goes well, thank the person who vouched for you and ask what would make you an easy yes next time. Your goal is basically to just find a rhythm you can live with rather than something that’s going to burn you out quickly and have you looking for a way back home.

A Simple Plan for Week One

You might not be able to control the money that you arrive in your new country with, but you are able to set up a simple plan that gives you a bit of stability:

• Book a flight that lands early in the day
• On arrival, message the contact for your placement
• Confirm the start
• Walk the route before your first shift
• If you arrive with a job lined up from a friend or a recruiter, keep your paperwork in one envelope and confirm hours in writing
• If that lead falls over, move to day work and keep asking managers when they hire
• Work exchange programs can bridge the gap while you seek a longer contract
• Keep learning as you go and treat each week as a short project you can finish and review

Chances are you’re not going to be met with instant success, but you will collect a few small wins that end up compounding over time. For example, your manager might add some hours, or your landlord extends your stay for a couple of weeks.

How Upscore Can Help

If you eventually want to secure a mortgage in whichever country you settle down in, sign up for Upscore’s Finance Passport! It gathers your key documents and helps you show income history when a landlord asks. It won’t buy your ticket, but it can reduce a lot of the friction with gatekeepers so more doors open while you’re getting settled into a foreign country.

Sign Up for Upscore’s Finance Passport Now!

What Happens to My Private Pension If I Move Abroad?

Somewhere between cancelling your broadband and booking the airport taxi, did you ask yourself: “Wait, what happens to my private pension if I move abroad?” The short answer is that:

• Your plan keeps running
• Your money stays invested
• You still choose how to draw it

The longer answer is a bit more complex, which we’ll get into throughout this article. But the bottom line here is that you’re still in charge of the whole process. Let’s explore the details:

The Big Picture

Most private plans today sit under defined contribution pensions, which means the size of your pot depends on what you paid in and how the investments performed. Fortunately, that structure travels well because the contract lives with the provider, not your postcode. 

So your funds stay with your UK pension provider even when your home address changes, and you keep control of switches and withdrawals through the usual secure portal. 

And when you start taking income, you can direct pension payments to a UK bank account you kept for convenience or to an overseas bank account you use every day. Both routes work, and you can switch between them if your plans change later.

The moment you draw from the pot, tax becomes a thing. Some countries look at residency first and expect you to pay tax locally. In other cases you still pay UK tax on the income because the rules give the UK first call. 

But many pairs of countries also have a double taxation agreement, which sets who gets first dibs here and how the other side treats the same income. It’s a bit long sorting these forms out, but completing the right declaration usually stops the two systems from charging you twice, which is obviously the goal.

Tax, Residency, The State Piece

Your contributions earned tax relief on the way in, which helps explain why revenue authorities care about where you live when money flows out. So if you now live abroad, the local office may ask for a simple declaration, while the UK may stand back if the treaty says so. 

But without a treaty, the UK can actually withhold and make you reclaim it later. It isn’t ideal, but it is linear – and it works better when you read the notes and attach proof rather than guess. You don’t need specialist jargon to sort it out. You just need clear instructions and a copy of your residency evidence.

People often mix private plans with the state side and needlessly create a bit of confusion for themselves. You can claim the UK state pension while living outside the country – which is the essence of a state pension abroad – but it runs on different rails to your private pot. 

The state amount rests on your history of National Insurance (NI) contributions and the rules on uprating where you live. Your private plan sits with your provider, not with the government, and you decide the timetable as long as you meet the minimum age.

Getting the Money From A to B

Ideally, you want the income to land cleanly. Some movers keep a UK bank account open because it smooths the currency swings and helps with bills that still arrive in GBP. Others prefer a foreign bank account so they can budget in the currency they actually spend. 

Your provider can pay either way. You can point the money to an overseas account and change instructions later if you settle somewhere new. Before you rely on the arrangement, send a small test payment and confirm the routing details. A difference of a day can move the rate enough to notice, so choose a pattern that suits your cash flow instead of reacting to headlines.

Transfers and Overseas Schemes

You don’t need to transfer your pot to benefit from living elsewhere. Leaving it in the UK simplifies your protections and contact points. Transfer can still make sense if you plan to stay long term and want local features, but the receiving plan has to meet a standard. 

In UK language, you will see recognised overseas pension scheme used as a label for destinations that qualify, and you will also see qualifying recognised overseas pension in guidance. 

Basically, both of these markers exist to show the scheme meets a published bar. Since recent reforms, you also need to consider the overseas transfer allowance, which frames how much you can move without extra charges. 

The allowance links to your lifetime benefits history, so ask your provider for a written figure before you take advice or sign a form. Any reputable adviser will:

• Confirm the receiving scheme’s status
• Explain costs in plain English
• Model how the income would be taxed where you live

So if anyone rushes you or makes you a promise that sounds too neat, ask for the details in writing. 

Practical Steps That Keep Things Calm

Start with your provider. Tell them you’re moving and update your address; ask which documents they need to keep talking to you. If you plan to draw soon, agree the route for pension payments and decide whether they will land in GBP or locally. 

It also helps if you give the team two ways to reach you so a missed message doesn’t turn into a missed payment. Keep scans of passports and bills in a secure place because identity checks tend to appear when you least expect them. 

Think about the calendar. If you split a tax year between countries, the timing of a withdrawal can change how much you keep. You may choose to hold off until you settle your residency, or you may prefer to stagger small amounts. 

If you still add money to a plan, check what your new status allows. Non-residents face different limits, and the relief rules change depending on the provider and the product. 

Others keep a small regular payment for discipline. Either route can work if you tie it back to your tax position and your cash flow rather than habit alone. 

Keep the Basics in View

The system looks fairly complicated until you bring it back to a simple aim. Basically, you want your income to arrive where you live, and you want the tax to follow the right set of rules – double taxation is the last thing you want. 

And you reach that aim when you keep your provider informed and choose a route for payments. Then match decisions to the framework that covers you. You won’t erase admin entirely, but you can turn it into a quiet routine you review a couple of times a year and then get on with life.

How Upscore Can Help

If you want a clean way to travel with your records and proof, consider Upscore’s Finance Passport! Our platform lets you:

• Keep key details together
• Store identity checks you repeat
• Show a neat history when a bank or provider asks

Having all that stuff in order helps you set the right destination for payments and adjust quickly if your plans shift again.

Sign Up For Upscore’s Finance Passport Today!