Keeping your credit union membership after you move or change job

Moving house or changing job does not usually end your credit union membership. Once you are a member, most credit unions let you stay even when you no longer live in the area or work for the employer that let you join in the first place. One credit union puts it plainly: "No, once you are a member you can remain a member even if you move outside the Field of Membership."¹

The rule that decides who can join is called the common bond. All credit unions in the UK may only accept members who share one, and it can be based on where you live or work, the type of occupation you have, or your employer.² The common bond is checked when you join. After that, membership generally continues.

What does change is how you pay money in. If you saved through payroll deduction at work, leaving that job stops the deduction, and you would move to a standing order or another method. Your savings and your membership stay with you, and they are not tied to your job.³

The common bond decides who can join a credit union

A credit union is not open to everyone in the way a bank is. Membership is based on a common bond, a shared link between members.⁶ That link can be where they live or work, the type of occupation they have, or their employer.² In practice it often comes down to something simple: working for a particular employer or in a particular industry, or simply living or working in a specified geographical area.⁶

Some bonds are wide and some are narrow. One credit union describes its bond as employment-based, meaning anyone working in the UK can join.⁷ Another asks only that you live or work within a six mile radius of its main office.⁸ A third covers people residing in or employed in the locality of four London boroughs.⁹

There is usually a way in for people close to a member. As long as one member of a family meets the common bond requirements and has joined the credit union, the other family members living at the same address can usually join too.⁵ Anyone in the house of a person with a common bond can usually join.¹⁰

The bond is not only about geography or employers. It can also cover studying or volunteering in a certain area, working in the same industry or for certain employers, or belonging to the same trade union.¹¹ Some credit unions also accept members through an occupational bond: you work in an eligible UK occupation, have retired from one and receive a private pension, live in the same household as an existing member, or are a member of a listed partner organisation.¹²

If you are not sure whether you qualify, the practical step is to contact the credit union directly. To become a member, you need to visit or call your chosen credit union to confirm what information you need to join.⁶ Our guide to the common bond sets out the types in more detail, and finding a credit union you can join covers how to search by area or employer.

Moving away usually does not end your membership

The question people ask most is whether a move means closing the account. The answer from the credit unions themselves is that membership survives. Once you are a member you can remain a member even if you move outside the field of membership.¹ You can also usually stay in the union if you are not in the bond anymore, for example if you move house or job.¹³

Some credit unions formalise this with a status for members who no longer meet the bond. One describes it directly: if a member leaves the common bond they are able to remain in membership of the credit union as a non-qualifying member.¹⁴ Another says that if you joined under its previous geographical bond, your membership stays valid and you do not need to requalify.¹²

What changes is the practical side of paying in. If you leave your present employer, you can remain a credit union member but may need to pay funds in by an alternative method such as a bank standing order.¹⁵ Payroll saving is convenient, not a condition of membership. One credit union states that you can increase, reduce, pause or stop your payroll saving at any time, with no minimum term and no penalty for changing your mind.³

Membership costs vary. Some credit unions advertise free membership with no annual fee.¹⁶ Others charge. One introduced a £10.00 annual membership fee for all members, with new members also paying £2.50 on joining and £1.00 to activate the account.¹⁷ Another announced that membership would be free for 2026/27 because the annual fee had been waived.¹⁸ If you are weighing up whether to keep an account open after a move, the fee position is worth checking with your own credit union.

Common bond types: where you live, where you work, who you belong to

Credit unions describe their membership rules in different ways, but they fall into a few recognisable shapes. Knowing which one you joined under tells you what happens when your circumstances change.

The household route is the one most affected by a move, because it depends on living with someone who qualifies. If the qualifying member moves out, or you do, the basis for that particular route changes. The credit union's own rules decide what happens next, which is why it is worth asking before you move rather than after.

There is also a difference between joining and staying. The common bond is a test at the point of joining. A credit union may only accept members who share one, but once you are in, the bond is not usually re-tested every year. That is why a member who joined through an employer can keep the account long after leaving that employer, and why someone who has already moved out of an area may not be able to join that credit union as a new member.

Loans and your membership after a move

A continuing membership means continuing access to borrowing, subject to the credit union's own lending rules. Those rules vary more than the membership rules do. Some credit unions will lend to you as soon as you become a member.⁵ Others ask you to save regularly for a set period first. Three months is a common minimum: one credit union says you can apply for a loan once you have been a member for 3 months,¹⁶ another asks for a member to save regularly for at least 3 months,¹⁹ and a third says members can take out flexible loans 3 months after joining.²⁰ One asks for six months of membership.²¹

How much you can borrow is usually linked to what you have saved. If you are a member of a credit union, you can usually borrow at least two or three times the amount you have in savings, depending upon the loan policy of your credit union.⁴ The same rule of thumb appears across independent guidance.²² Affordability is checked against the money you have left after paying your bills.⁵

There is a further benefit to staying a member rather than closing the account. As a member and owner, you would qualify for any loan interest rebates too.¹⁶ Members also have a say in how their financial service provider is run.²³

If you are moving because of a change in your benefits, the benefit rules are separate from the credit union rules and worth checking in their own right. Moving home within the UK does not mean cancelling a Universal Credit claim and starting again, but the Department for Work and Pensions still needs to be told.²⁴ If you move from Universal Credit to another benefit, repayments on a Budgeting Advance will usually continue from your benefit payments until the advance is paid off.²⁵ Our guides to applying to borrow and what a credit union loan costs cover the borrowing side in more detail.

Common bond rules are being reformed

The rules on who a credit union can accept are set to change. The UK Government said it would reform the common bond requirement to allow an area-based credit union to cover a population of up to 10 million, up from the current cap of 3 million.² HM Treasury plans will raise the credit union membership limit from three million to ten million people and widen eligibility to students, local workers and relatives of existing members.²⁷

The direction of travel is towards wider membership, which matters for anyone who has moved. A larger geographical bond means fewer people fall outside the area their credit union covers, and the widening to relatives of existing members extends the household route that already exists at many credit unions.⁵

The documents here do not set out when the change takes effect, so the current rules continue to apply in the meantime. If you are deciding whether to keep an account open after a move, the position today is that membership generally continues, and the reform is a change to who can join in future rather than to what happens to existing members.

Where to get help

If you are unsure whether your membership continues, or what happens to a loan after a move, the first place to ask is your own credit union. It holds your membership record and its rules decide the answer. To become a member in the first place, you need to visit or call your chosen credit union to confirm what information you need.⁶

For free, impartial information about how credit unions work and what they offer, MoneyHelper is the government-backed service.¹¹ The advice on credit unions applies to anyone living in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.¹⁰ If you are struggling with debt rather than a move, free debt advice charities can help, and our guide to falling behind on a credit union loan sets out what happens and what to do.

If you are moving abroad rather than within the UK, the position is different for benefits, though not for your credit union membership. You cannot keep receiving Housing Benefit or Pension Credit if you move abroad permanently,²⁸ and Carer's Allowance will not automatically move to Carer Support Payment if you live outside the UK.²⁹ Our guide to money abroad covers the wider picture.