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The short answer
When a Nigerian moves from one host country to another, the safest order is: tell the tax authority you are leaving, keep at least one local bank account open until refunds and final pay arrive, move savings deliberately rather than all at once, and close only what you will not need. In the UK a P85 tax refund is paid into a bank account in your name, and in Canada the CRA expects you to tell your banks and other payers that you are no longer resident.
Many Nigerians abroad move more than once: a master's in the UK, then a job in Canada; a few years in Dublin, then Dubai. The second move is harder on money than the first, because you now have a credit file, a pension, a tax record and bank accounts in the country you are leaving, plus everything still running in Nigeria. This checklist covers what to settle before you go, what to leave open, and what to set up in the new country. Tax points are information, not advice; your own situation decides the answer.
Before you leave: tell the tax authority
Each country has its own departure process, and most of them affect where your last refund or tax bill goes.
- UK. GOV.UK's P85 guidance is for people who lived and worked in the UK and want to reclaim tax when they leave. You do not need a P85 if you will file a Self Assessment return for the year you leave. You will need details from your P45. If you have not yet left, the form is printed and posted rather than filed online. Any refund is paid by payable order to a bank account in your name or a nominee's, and HMRC says it does not cover conversion or overseas bank fees, so it suggests keeping a UK account open.
- Canada. The CRA's page for emigrants says you are usually non-resident from the latest of the day you leave, the day your spouse or dependants leave, or the day you become resident somewhere else. It says you are required to notify Canadian payers and your financial institutions that you are no longer resident, so they can withhold non-resident tax. You can keep a TFSA, but you cannot contribute while non-resident and you earn no new room. Form T1161 applies if the fair market value of all your property is more than $25,000.
- Canada, property. The CRA treats most property as sold at fair market value on the day you emigrate (a deemed disposition), with exclusions including Canadian real estate, registered plans such as RRSPs and TFSAs, and pensions. Shares held in an ordinary investment account can therefore create a tax bill on departure even if you sell nothing.
- Ireland. Revenue's split-year treatment for the year of departure covers employment income where you are resident in the year you leave and not resident the following year; employment income earned abroad after you leave is ignored, and you generally keep a full year's credits. You claim it through MyEnquiries or your local office.
In other countries, look for the equivalent page on the tax authority's own site (the IRS, ATO, SARS or the UAE's FTA). If you are a US citizen or green card holder, leaving the US does not end US tax filing in the way it can elsewhere, so read the IRS guidance before you go.
What to keep open, at least for a while
- One local current account for the tax refund, last salary, deposit return from your landlord and any final benefit payments. Ask the bank whether it will keep the account open once you have a foreign address; some do not. A third-party summary from Wise (August 2026) reports, for example, that Barclays generally closes accounts of customers who move abroad, with exceptions, while other banks let you keep certain accounts.
- Workplace and personal pensions. These are usually left where they are rather than closed. Update your address and nominee details before you go.
- Any tax-advantaged savings that the rules let you keep as a non-resident (such as a TFSA in Canada), bearing in mind the new country may tax them differently.
- A way to receive post and one-time codes. A local phone number you can keep, or an email-based login, avoids being locked out of the account that will receive your refund.
What to close or cancel
- Direct debits and subscriptions you will not use: phone contract, gym, streaming, council or utility accounts (take final meter readings).
- Credit cards and overdrafts you cannot keep managing. Pay them off first; a missed payment after you leave can still damage your record there, and in a few years you may return or need a reference.
- Spare bank accounts with small balances. Dormant money does not vanish but becomes slow to recover. In Canada, the FCAC says federally regulated banks pass balances with 10 years of no activity to the Bank of Canada, after sending notices to your last address.
- Any joint accounts with people staying behind, unless you have agreed in writing how they will be run.
The detailed order for closing accounts is in closing bank accounts before you leave a country.
Moving the money itself
The usual mistake is to convert everything in the last week at whatever rate the bank offers. A calmer approach is to keep money in the currency it is in until you know what you will spend it on in the new country, then convert in stages. Compare the transfer fee and the exchange rate against the mid-market rate for each route, and expect the receiving bank in the new country to ask where large sums came from: keep your payslips, sale receipts and closing statements together.
Your Nigerian side also needs attention. Update the foreign address and phone number on your Nigerian accounts so you are not locked out mid-move; see updating your Nigerian account to a foreign address and keeping a Nigerian account from going dormant.
In the new country: start the paper trail again
Your credit history generally does not move with you. Expect to start again with a basic account, a small credit line and proof of address, and keep statements from the old country to show income and savings when you rent or apply for a mortgage. The first 90 days money checklist covers the setup steps.
Worked example
Example only. Ada, a nurse, moves from the UK to Canada in March. She sends a P85 before leaving, keeps her UK current account open for the refund and her final pay, closes her credit card after clearing it, leaves her workplace pension in place with her Canadian address, and moves her savings in three stages over two months instead of in one transfer. She closes the UK account in July once the refund and her deposit have arrived.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme Personal account can be opened from any country and holds NGN, USD, GBP and EUR with local account details for each, so money can sit in the currency it arrived in while you move, and you convert with Swap only when you choose, with the rate and fee shown before you approve. Outside Nigeria, Pryme's activities are carried out through regulated partners. See multicurrency accounts.
What to check first
- The departure page of the tax authority in the country you are leaving.
- Whether your bank will keep your account open with a foreign address.
- Which payments are still due to you, and which account they will be paid into.
- Every direct debit and card, so nothing is missed after you go.
Questions people ask
Should I close my UK bank account when I move to another country?
Not straight away. GOV.UK says a P85 refund is paid to a bank account in your name and suggests keeping a UK account open. Close it once refunds, final pay and your deposit have arrived, if the bank lets you keep it until then.
Do I have to tell my Canadian bank I am leaving Canada?
Yes. The CRA says emigrants are required to notify Canadian payers and financial institutions that they are no longer resident, so the right non-resident tax is withheld.
Will my credit score follow me to the new country?
Generally no. Credit files are national, so expect to build again; keep old statements as supporting evidence.
Can I keep my pension in the old country?
Usually yes. Pensions are normally left in place; update your address and beneficiary details before you leave.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Get your Income Tax right if you're leaving the UK (P85) · accessed Oct 2026
- CRA: Leaving Canada (emigrants) · accessed Oct 2026
- CRA: Dispositions of property when you leave Canada · accessed Oct 2026
- Revenue: Split-year treatment in your year of departure · accessed Oct 2026
- FCAC: Unclaimed bank balances · accessed Oct 2026
- Wise: Can you keep your UK bank account abroad? · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.