Can unpaid debt follow you to another country?
Rachel Davis
Updated on February 19, 2026
Does debt follow you abroad? Although your credit history may not follow you when you move abroad, any debts you owe will remain active. It will be difficult for lenders to take legal action against you if you’re living in a new country, but it is not impossible for them to try and recoup the debt.
What happens if you leave the country with a lot of debt?
Technically, nothing happens to your debt when you leave the country. If you have assets left in the US, including bank accounts or investments, your creditors may be granted the ability to seize those assets in an attempt to repay your debt.
What happens to unpaid credit card debt when you move abroad?
Last year, bank officials there estimated that as many as 2,500 customers left that country with unpaid credit card bills each month, starting over in a new place with a clean financial slate.
What happens if you don’t pay your credit card debt?
If you don’t pay your credit card debt and a lawsuit is served and filed before you move overseas, it would move forward in your absence. “Typically in the United States, a lawsuit would be filed in the state or county where the debtor lives,” says William “Mike” Troglin, a Norcross, Ga.-based bankruptcy attorney.
Can a bank file derogatory information on a credit card?
In addition to this, banks can’t file derogatory information on your NBI record [1] if you have unpaid credit card balances. Thus, you won’t get a “hit” on your NBI clearance for that situation. However, it is strongly encouraged to settle your credit card balance. Accumulating debt will hurt your credit score.
Can a company sue you for credit card debt abroad?
Companies could also file a U.S. suit against a person living abroad, Hunter says, but that company’s success would depend on the country’s legal system and whether it would cooperate with the United States. But the odds of a suit being filed internationally over credit card debt are relatively slim, experts say.