Moving abroad does not end your student loan. What changes is how it is collected. UK payroll stops taking repayments when you leave a UK employer, so the Student Loans Company (SLC) collects directly instead, using a threshold set for the country you live in.
GOV.UK says you must tell the SLC if you are leaving the UK for more than three months, for example to travel or to move overseas. You do this by updating your employment details in your online account. You need to do it even if you are not working: the SLC says you can update your details online to tell it you are unemployed, and the service tells you what information it needs, including how you are supporting yourself.
GOV.UK also says you need to update your employment details each year while you are abroad, and again when you come back after more than three months away.
For Plan 5, the SLC says that if you do not update it, the fixed monthly repayment shown for the country you live in will be expected every month, and you may be charged the highest rate of interest on your balance. If repayments are not made, arrears build up. GOV.UK says you will have to repay arrears even if your income is below the threshold, separately from your regular repayments.
Thresholds abroad are based on living costs in each country, using the World Bank's Price Level Index, so they are not always £25,000. They are set once a year on 6 April. The SLC publishes a table of Plan 5 thresholds by country.
The SLC's own example for 2026/27 is a Plan 5 borrower in Spain earning €33,000 a year. The salary is converted at the exchange rate the SLC uses for Spain (0.853461), giving £28,164.21. The repayment threshold for Spain is £20,000. 9% of the £8,164.21 above it is £734.78 a year, or £61 a month after rounding down.
If your income is below the threshold for your country, the SLC says it can defer your repayments for 12 months. GOV.UK says you will need to give proof, such as a recent bank statement. Interest is still added to the balance.
You can pay through your online account with an international debit card, set up a Direct Debit, or use an international bank transfer with your customer reference number as the reference. The bank details are on GOV.UK.
HMRC's employer guidance says that if your employer keeps running UK payroll (PAYE) for you as if you were in the UK, it carries on taking student loan deductions however long you work abroad. If you are paid locally abroad, you need to update your employment details so the SLC can set up a repayment schedule.
Update your employment details when you return after more than three months away. GOV.UK says that if you do not, you will keep repaying at the rate for the country you were living in, which could mean paying more than you need to or being charged a higher rate of interest. Once you are on UK payroll, the normal £25,000 threshold applies again.
The calculator uses UK thresholds. For an overseas estimate, convert your salary to pounds, subtract your country's threshold from the SLC table, and take 9%.
Sources: SLC: overseas earnings thresholds for Plan 5 · GOV.UK: update your employment details · GOV.UK: how you repay · HMRC: student loan guidance for employers. Checked 29 October 2026.
Last checked: 29 October 2026. Estimates only, not financial advice.
Yes, if your income is over the threshold for the country you live in. The SLC collects directly rather than through UK payroll.
The SLC may expect a fixed monthly repayment for your country, may charge the highest interest rate, and arrears can build up.
Not always. Each country has its own threshold, set on 6 April from living-cost data. Spain's 2026/27 Plan 5 threshold, for example, is £20,000.