As someone who spent the greater half of a decade living abroad, let me tell you: changing your Apple account's country settings can be a hassle. Few modern fates are worse than losing access to your photos, documents, movies and books simply because you decided to pick up your stuff and move across the ocean. Luckily, you can take several steps to protect your purchases and personal information before changing your account's country settings.

As a rule, you should always re-download your purchased content before making major changes to your account settings. This logic is especially true when changing your country's account, as content isn't universally viewable in every region. Before making any changes, download all the apps, music, streaming video and books that you want to access onto your devices. Importantly, you likely won't be able to transfer this content between devices once it is rendered inaccessible, so make sure you have what you want available before making any changes. 

Next, make sure you have a valid payment method, as Apple will ask you to add a new payment method before confirming any country changes. To learn what payment methods are available for your upcoming location, check the guide on Apple's support page. 

If you are unable to add your new payment method, you may need to wait until you are physically in your new country or region. Once there, you will be able to create a new Apple Account under your new location settings. 

Luckily, Apple now allows you to transfer digital purchases between accounts. However, some limitations still apply.

Once you're ready, you should clear the remaining balance in your Apple Account, since it may not be transferable once you've switched your Apple store's country. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't provide the option to get a cash refund unless you live in a region where such refunds are required by law. 

Instead, spend your remaining balance on App Store products or Apple services. In some countries, these balances can be used on products or accessories. If you don't have enough to buy anything, you can clear your balance outright by contacting Apple Support. To check your account balance, head to the App Store > Tap your Photo or your initials and your funds will be viewable under your name. 

Next, let's dive into your subscriptions. Unfortunately, many of your favorite subscriptions do not allow you to retain membership while changing your country settings. Luckily, Apple typically allows you to cancel a subscription if it prevents a country or region change. 

To cancel a subscription on your Apple device, go to Settings > your name > Subscriptions. Then select your subscription and tap . If you see an expiration message in red, your subscription has already ended. 

You should always wait to amend your account until all pending transactions are completed. In some cases, changing your settings too early could cause you to lose access to select memberships, pre-orders, Season Passes and movie rentals. If you need to change your account before a pre-order is available, you can cancel it on the App Store by selecting your account and heading to the menu underneath .

Of course, there are some caveats when changing your account's country settings. If you are part of a Family Sharing plan, for instance, you may not be able to make the change. Instead, you will need to leave your Family Sharing group before making any adjustments.

If you are unable to change your account's country, Apple suggests working through all of the above settings before contacting support.

On an iPhone, iPad or Apple Vision Pro, go to your app and tap . Next, go to and sign in to your Apple Account. From there, tap , select your new area of residence and tap . After reviewing your Terms & Conditions, tap . Finally, select your payment method and enter your new payment information and billing address.

Alternatively, you can enter your Apple account online at account.apple.com. Then, go to .

Once you update your account settings, you may notice that certain features are unavailable in your new region. This is particularly true for Apple's updated assistant, Siri AI, which will not be rolled out to European customers due to an ongoing legal battle with the EU. However, these situations aren't necessarily static. In China, for instance, Apple overcame a prolonged regulatory stalemate to bring Apple Intelligence to the People's Republic. 

For a list of features that may, or may not, be available in your new region, consulting online resources like Apple Feature Map can be helpful.