I've managed to secure a spot in a language school in Japan so the plan is to be there for a couple of years.

I have a flat in the UK which I'd be letting out so the mortgage doesn't bankrupt me.

A few thoughts/questions I have with regards to moving to Japan:
1. UK/Japan Tax: For those who are Non-resident Landlords, or have any UK income that makes UK Self Assessment necessary - do you use any professional both in the UK and Japan? I'm used to filing my own UK Self-Assessment, but I've never dealt with the Japanese tax forms. From what I read online, my 'dual' tax obligation might make this quite complicated.
2. Mobile number: What do you usually do to keep your mobile number alive? I've had mine throughout my life (well since I was a teenager), and it would be rather sad to part with it.
I'm planning to downgrade to PAYG and then send the occasional texts to keep it active?
Some banks/investment platforms also send text to log on to their system, so looks like I need to keep it anyway.
3. Amazon account - especially my kindle books.
Very important since I'm an avid reader.
Not sure if I can get English e-book in Amazon Japan, but also not sure how Amazon won't reject my transactions if my card's address is non-UK.
I'm thinking of just topping up my Gift Card balance (enough to satisfy my bookish needs for 2 years)
4. Banks: I think I've pretty much figured out only HSBC really allows address to be non-UK, so I'll just keep this one and close the others.
5. Credit cards: might have to close them .

Any other tips to keep my UK Credit Score intact?

My parents/other family members don't live in the UK, so I don't have a residential UK address once I let out my flat.
Is there anything else I need to consider?

Many thanks!

Last edited by stan38; Aug 12th 2026 at 3:13 am.

No worries, it's good to see that you've done your homework!

Can't help with Japan at all, but I've lived in the US for 3 years and have kept my credit cards, kept my phone number (don't do PAYG, just do a monthly deal), kept my bank accounts (no HSBC though), but I did need to set up a new Amazon account for my Kindle (also an avid reader). I now have two, one on Amazon.co.uk and one on Amazon.com. I'm a NRL and do my own UK tax returns, but do have help in the US as it's super complex here.

Hope that helps a bit, good luck!

Quote:

A resident taxpayer is an individual either who (i) has a ‘jusho’ (i.e. domicile) in Japan, or (ii) has maintained a ‘kyosho’ (i.e. a temporary place of abode) in Japan for a period of one year or more. A resident taxpayer who is not a Japanese national and whose aggregate stay in Japan is five years or less within the preceding ten years is classified as a non-permanent resident taxpayer. If a resident taxpayer is a Japanese national or a foreign national with an aggregate stay in Japan of more than five years within the preceding ten years, the taxpayer is classified as a permanent resident taxpayer.