Author Topic: What should I do with my US investment accounts when I move overseas?  (Read 10358 times)

AntiGroundhogDay

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Reading the following URLs got me thinking what GoCurryCracker, and others living the dream abroad, do to address this.  I don't believe GoCurryCracker has addressed this in a blog post, but please direct me if I missed it:
https://moneymattersforglobetrotters.com/what-should-i-do-with-my-us-investment-accounts-when-i-move-overseas/
https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=198958

My GF and I plan to travel the world hopping from country to country, staying the length of our tourist visas.  So not becoming an expat in any one country...well maybe if we fall in love with it after we slow down and get older?  Should we worry about our Vanguard brokerage accounts (doesn't look like we need to worry about out tax advantaged accounts according to the URLs)?

Thanks!

AntiGroundhogDay

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Only reference I've seen GCC make to this is in the comments section here:
"Vanguard is known to a wee bit difficult for non residents."

https://www.gocurrycracker.com/recommendations/money-management/#comment-34697

gocurrycracker

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We keep a US mailing address (via Traveling Mailbox) and US physical address (a friend's house.)
https://www.gocurrycracker.com/snail-mail-paper-checks-21st-century/

We have funds at various brokerage companies and all have our US mailing address and US physical address

Vanguard has a policy of not working win non-US residents. There is really no good reason for it, but is a choice they made. You can either move funds to a different brokerage or not tell them you aren't in the US

AntiGroundhogDay

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Thanks for the information.  I plan to use a service catering to fulltime RVers that give a mailing address and physical address, so hopefully I'm covered there.

Unfortunately in my brokerage account I have Vanguard mutual funds, not ETFs.  I guess they don't care about buying and selling ETFs(?), but I'd have to come up with a way to move VTSAX to VTI while minimizing capital gains, or I guess just pick the mutual funds to sell off first as I retire and need to draw?

gocurrycracker

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You don't need to do anything. Supposedly it is illegal for non-US residents to purchase MFs, but there is nothing that says you can't continue to hold the ones you already own.

Cashonda

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Re: What should I do with my US investment accounts when I move overseas?
« Reply #5 on: September 04, 2018, 06:03:22 AM »
If you don't plan to become a tax paying resident in another country then you can just tell yourself (and the banks) you are "traveling" and not that you are "living" abroad. (semantics for the win) That's what I do. I am traveling (fulltime) but I still pay US taxes so I consider myself a US resident and that is what I tell the banks, Vanguard etc. And I have a USA address for mail.
If you do decide to settle elsewhere and start paying taxes or being a resident of another country you could run into problems. But you could worry about that if it happens. :)
I find Fidelity is much more strict than Vanguard about this btw. Fidelity sometimes won't let me log in to my account if the IP address is abroad.

gocurrycracker

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Re: What should I do with my US investment accounts when I move overseas?
« Reply #6 on: September 04, 2018, 06:48:23 PM »

I find Fidelity is much more strict than Vanguard about this btw. Fidelity sometimes won't let me log in to my account if the IP address is abroad.

I've never had logins denied, but I almost always use a VPN now.

Alloptionsconsidered

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Re: What should I do with my US investment accounts when I move overseas?
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2019, 05:15:08 PM »
Hey GCC, I?m traveling in SE Asia now and using a Mac. Can you recamend a good VPN? Thanks!

gocurrycracker

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Re: What should I do with my US investment accounts when I move overseas?
« Reply #8 on: January 07, 2019, 09:28:36 PM »
Hey GCC, I?m traveling in SE Asia now and using a Mac. Can you recamend a good VPN? Thanks!

I'm using ProtonVPN nowadays. The free option is good, although I've gone with the annual plan and just run 100% of my data through it now for good cafe wifi security (affiliate link)
https://www.gocurrycracker.com/gccprotonvpn

Alloptionsconsidered

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Re: What should I do with my US investment accounts when I move overseas?
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2019, 09:08:53 PM »
Thanks for the recommendation on a VPN and thanks for the link. This helps! Cheers!

whereintheworldaremikeandjan.com

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Re: What should I do with my US investment accounts when I move overseas?
« Reply #10 on: April 27, 2019, 04:59:20 AM »
The VPN discussion has been quiet for a while, so the issue may be solved with the other recommendation, but I have just started using ExpressVPN for streaming and it works great. I have tried several others in the past and it is the only one I have found that does everything I need.