2026-02-21

How to Financially Prepare for Repatriation

Moving abroad gets all the attention. Guides, checklists, communities — there is an entire industry built around helping people leave their home country. Moving back gets almost none. The assumption is that returning is simple: you already know the system, you have existing accounts, and you are just picking up where you left off.

This assumption is wrong. Repatriation is financially more complex than expatriation in many cases. You are unwinding foreign accounts, timing large currency conversions, re-establishing tax residency, potentially moving retirement funds across borders, and doing all of this while your life is in transition. The costs and tax consequences of getting it wrong are significant.

This guide covers the financial mechanics of moving back — what to do before you leave, during the transition, and after you arrive. If you are still in the planning stages of your move abroad, see Financial Checklist Before Moving Abroad first.

The Repatriation Timeline

Financial preparation for repatriation should start 6 to 12 months before your actual move. The reason is simple: many of the actions involved — closing foreign accounts, converting currencies, establishing new tax positions — take time and have optimal windows.

12 Months Before: Audit and Plan

Start with a complete inventory of your financial life abroad. List every account, asset, and obligation in every country.

Accounts to inventory:

For each item, note the currency, the current value, and what needs to happen to it: close, transfer, keep open, or convert.

If you have been living in Portugal, Germany, or Singapore for several years, this list can be surprisingly long. People accumulate financial footprints.

6 Months Before: Start Unwinding

With your inventory complete, begin the process of simplifying your foreign financial life.

Close accounts you will not need. Foreign bank accounts with small balances and no ongoing purpose should be closed. This is not just tidiness — open foreign accounts create ongoing reporting obligations. US citizens with foreign accounts exceeding $10,000 in aggregate must file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) every year the accounts are open. See FinCEN’s FBAR page and our FBAR guide. UK residents returning from abroad may need to report foreign accounts under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

Consolidate investments. If you hold investments in foreign brokerage accounts, decide whether to sell and transfer the proceeds or to transfer the holdings in kind (where supported). Selling triggers capital gains calculations in both the foreign country and your home country. Transferring in kind avoids the sale but may create complications with foreign fund reporting in your home country.

Notify financial institutions. Banks and brokerages need updated residency information. Some will close your account automatically when you are no longer a resident of the country they serve. Others will reclassify you, which may change available services, tax withholding, and fee structures. Give yourself time for these conversations.

3 Months Before: Currency Conversion Strategy

If you are holding significant cash in a foreign currency and plan to convert it to your home currency, this is the most impactful financial decision of your repatriation. The timing and method of conversion can easily represent a 5% to 10% difference in the amount you end up with.

Do not convert everything at once. A single large conversion exposes you fully to the exchange rate on that specific day. If the rate moves against you by 2% the following week, you have lost 2% of your entire balance with no recourse.

Dollar-cost average your conversion. Split the total amount into 4 to 8 equal tranches and convert one per week or every two weeks over a 2- to 3-month period. This smooths out exchange rate volatility and reduces the risk of converting at a local peak or trough.

Use a specialist FX service, not your bank. Banks typically mark up the exchange rate by 1% to 3% over the mid-market rate. On a $100,000 conversion, that is $1,000 to $3,000 in hidden fees. Services like Wise (formerly TransferWise), OFX, or Interactive Brokers offer rates much closer to mid-market with transparent fees.

For more on how exchange rates affect your financial position, see How Currency Exchange Rates Affect Your Investment Returns.

Re-Establishing Tax Residency

Tax residency is not a switch you flip. The rules for when you become a tax resident of your home country — and when you stop being a tax resident of the country you are leaving — vary significantly by jurisdiction.

United States

If you are a US citizen, you never stopped being a US tax resident. The US taxes citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live (one of only two countries in the world that does this, along with Eritrea). Your repatriation does not change your US tax filing obligations — you were filing US returns the entire time you were abroad.

What changes: You can no longer claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) under IRC Section 911 once you return. If you were excluding up to $126,500 (2024 limit, indexed annually) of foreign earned income, that exclusion ends when you no longer meet the bona fide residence or physical presence test. Plan for a potentially significant increase in your US tax liability in the year of return. See IRS Publication 54 for the rules on tax obligations of US citizens abroad.

For investment-specific tax issues US expats face, see How to Invest as a US Expat Without the PFIC Trap.

United Kingdom

HMRC uses the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) to determine UK tax residency. The SRT is based on the number of days you spend in the UK, your ties to the UK (family, accommodation, work, etc.), and whether you were previously UK resident.

If you are returning to the UK after being non-resident, you generally become UK tax resident from the day you arrive if you meet the automatic UK test (spending 183 or more days in the UK in the tax year, or your only home is in the UK). The split-year treatment rules may allow you to be treated as non-resident for the portion of the tax year before your arrival. See HMRC’s guidance on the Statutory Residence Test.

Key implication for investments: Once you are UK tax resident, your worldwide income and capital gains become subject to UK tax. If you have unrealized gains in foreign investments, consider whether to realize them before becoming UK resident (when you may not owe UK tax on them) rather than after.

Canada

Canada uses a facts-and-circumstances test for tax residency, with significant residential ties (home, spouse, dependents in Canada) being the primary factors. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) considers you to have re-established residency on the date you re-establish significant ties. See CRA’s guidance on determining your residency status.

Australia

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) considers you an Australian resident for tax purposes if you reside in Australia and your domicile is in Australia, unless you have a permanent place of abode outside Australia. Returning residents typically become tax resident from the date of their return. The ATO provides a residency test tool to help determine your status.

Moving Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts are among the most complicated assets to handle during repatriation, because they sit at the intersection of two countries’ tax codes, treaty provisions, and regulatory frameworks.

US Retirement Accounts (401(k), IRA) Held Abroad

If you are a US citizen returning home, your 401(k) and IRA accounts are already in the US system and nothing needs to change. The more common issue is what happens to employer-sponsored retirement plans from the country you were living in.

Foreign Pension Schemes

Many countries do not allow you to withdraw from pension schemes until retirement age. If you contributed to a UK workplace pension, a German Betriebsrente, an Australian superannuation fund, or a Singapore CPF, you may need to leave those funds in the foreign scheme.

UK pensions: You can transfer a UK pension to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) in your home country, but the receiving scheme must be on HMRC’s recognized list. The overseas transfer charge of 25% may apply if the transfer is not to a scheme in the same country where you are tax resident. See HMRC’s guidance on pension transfers.

Australian superannuation: Non-residents can claim their super as a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP), but the tax rate is 65% on the untaxed element of the taxed component and 35% on the taxed element. For many people, leaving the super in Australia until retirement age is the better financial outcome.

Cross-border pension recognition: Some tax treaties include provisions for mutual recognition of pension schemes. The US-UK treaty, for example, provides that contributions to a UK pension scheme by a US citizen working in the UK may be deductible for US tax purposes, subject to conditions. Check the specific treaty provisions between the country you are leaving and the country you are returning to.

Updating Your Investment Strategy

Your investment strategy likely changed when you moved abroad. It may need to change again when you return.

Regulatory Access Changes

When you were living abroad, you may have had access to investment products that are not available in your home country, or vice versa. European investors living in the US could access US-domiciled ETFs that European regulations (PRIIPs/KID requirements) restrict for EU residents. Returning to the Netherlands or France means losing direct access to those US ETFs through European brokers.

Similarly, US investors returning from Europe may hold UCITS funds that create PFIC issues if held as a US tax resident. These positions should be evaluated before your return.

Tax-Advantaged Accounts

Re-establish contributions to your home country’s tax-advantaged accounts as soon as possible after returning:

Currency Allocation

Living abroad, you naturally accumulated a multi-currency portfolio. Returning home shifts your spending currency back to a single currency, which should inform your investment allocation.

If 80% of your future spending will be in your home currency, having 50% of your portfolio in foreign-denominated assets creates significant currency risk that you may not want. This does not mean you should sell all foreign investments — geographic diversification has real value — but you should be intentional about your currency exposure rather than letting it be a relic of where you used to live.

For more on managing currency exposure in your portfolio, see How to Build a Multi-Currency Investment Portfolio.

The Often-Overlooked Costs of Returning

Repatriation has direct costs that catch many people off guard.

Shipping and moving. International moving costs range from $2,000 to $15,000+ depending on volume and distance. Getting quotes 3 to 4 months in advance is advisable — peak moving seasons (summer) can double costs.

Temporary accommodation. You will likely need temporary housing while you find a permanent home. Budget for 1 to 3 months of temporary accommodation at hotel or serviced apartment rates, which are significantly higher than rental rates.

Re-establishing credit. If you have been abroad for several years, your credit history in your home country may have gone stale. In the US, a thin credit file can mean higher interest rates on mortgages and car loans. Start rebuilding credit immediately upon return — use existing credit cards, and consider a secured card if your accounts were closed.

Healthcare transition. Moving between healthcare systems creates coverage gaps. If you had international health insurance, it terminates when you establish residence in your home country. If your home country has public healthcare (UK’s NHS, Canada’s provincial health plans, Australia’s Medicare), there may be a waiting period before coverage activates.

Tax year complications. The year of your move is almost certainly a split-year for tax purposes in at least one jurisdiction. You may need to file partial-year returns in both countries, with different rules for allocating income and deductions to each period. This is the year professional tax help pays for itself.

Foreign account closure fees. Some banks charge account closure fees, wire transfer fees for the final balance, or early termination penalties on term deposits. Factor these into your unwinding plan.

The Repatriation Checklist

12 months before: - Complete financial inventory (all accounts, all countries, all currencies) - Research tax residency rules for both countries - Consult a cross-border tax advisor - Review all investment positions for repatriation implications (PFIC, capital gains timing, etc.)

6 months before: - Begin closing unnecessary foreign bank accounts - Consolidate foreign brokerage positions - Notify financial institutions of upcoming address change - Start researching home country tax-advantaged account options

3 months before: - Begin phased currency conversion (4-8 tranches over 2-3 months) - Set up home country bank accounts if needed - Arrange international health insurance bridge coverage

1 month before: - Final currency conversion tranche - Confirm all account closures are processed - Save copies of all foreign tax documents and account statements - Update address with all remaining financial institutions

After arrival: - Register for tax in your home country - Open or reactivate tax-advantaged accounts (ISA, RRSP, 401(k)) - Begin rebuilding credit if needed - File final tax returns for the country you left

Track Your Transition

Repatriation means your portfolio goes from multi-country to concentrated in one jurisdiction, but the transition period is messy. You need visibility into all your accounts — foreign and domestic — while you unwind one financial life and rebuild another.

FlashFi tracks every account across every currency in one dashboard, giving you real-time visibility during the most financially complex period of your expat journey.

Start tracking your repatriation and see your complete financial picture as you transition home.

By David Brougham