Can you travel abroad with an IVA?

People in IVAs go on holiday, visit family abroad and travel for work. What changes is how you pay for it and what you need to tell your supervisor. This guide covers both, along with what the IVA Protocol 2025 says, holidays booked before your IVA, and what happens if you want to move abroad.

Do you need permission to go on holiday?

No. Under the standard terms that apply to protocol IVAs from 1 July 2025, you do not need your supervisor’s permission to travel, and there is no rule about how long a trip can be. You must keep your supervisor informed of your residential address, phone number, email address and employment details. A holiday changes none of those.

The one thing that must not change is your payment. Make sure your monthly payment goes out while you are away, ideally by standing order or direct debit. Arrears equal to three or more months of payments count as a breach of the IVA, so a missed payment while you are abroad is something to sort out as soon as you notice it.

If your IVA was agreed under older or non-protocol terms, read your own proposal, as terms can differ.

How do you pay for a holiday during an IVA?

This is the real constraint. Your IVA payment is worked out from a budget drawn up using the Standard Financial Statement, and whatever is left over after reasonable living costs goes to your creditors. Do not assume your budget includes money for holidays. The money has to come from somewhere legitimate.

Saving from your budget

Your budget is yours to manage. If you spend less than the budget allows in one area, you can put the difference aside. Bear in mind that your spending is looked at again at each annual review.

Gifts from family

A relative may offer to pay. Check with your supervisor before accepting. Under the standard terms, any asset, windfall or inheritance worth more than £500 that you receive during the IVA can be claimed for your creditors, up to what is needed to repay them in full plus costs. A large cash gift could fall within that. See pay rises, bonuses and windfalls for how the rule works.

Borrowing

You must not take credit of more than £500 without your supervisor’s prior written approval. That includes credit cards, loans and buy now, pay later. Borrowing for a holiday without approval is a breach, and a supervisor is unlikely to approve credit for a holiday. Your IVA is also on your credit file, so most lenders would refuse anyway. See credit checks during an IVA.

Payment breaks

The IVA Protocol lets a supervisor agree payment breaks of no more than 9 months of payments in total over the whole IVA. Missed payments are then recovered by extending the IVA by up to 12 months, unless you make up the shortfall. Breaks are there to help when your circumstances change, such as losing your job or falling ill. Using one to fund a holiday would lengthen your IVA and use up leeway you may need later.

Can you go on a holiday you booked before your IVA?

Usually, yes. Tell your insolvency practitioner about the booking when you give them details of your finances.

• If the trip is paid for in full, there is normally nothing more to do.
• If there is a balance still to pay, it has to fit into your budget, and your insolvency practitioner needs to know about it before the proposal goes to creditors.
• If you paid with a credit card that is going into the IVA, that card company becomes a creditor like any other.

Be careful about booking an expensive trip just before you apply. Creditors see your bank statements and can ask questions, and your proposal must give an accurate picture of your finances. Making a false representation to get creditors to approve an IVA is a criminal offence under section 262A of the Insolvency Act 1986.

What practical problems can come up abroad?

• Card deposits. Car hire companies and some hotels ask for a credit card to hold a deposit. If you only have a debit card, check the terms before you book.
• Running out of money. You cannot fall back on an overdraft or credit card over £500 without approval, so take a buffer in cash or on a prepaid card.
• Insurance questions. Travel insurance is a sensible cost to budget for. If any insurance application asks about insolvency, answer honestly.

Can you work or live abroad during an IVA?

Nothing in the standard terms stops you moving abroad, but it is a big change to your IVA and needs planning with your supervisor first.

• You must tell your supervisor your new address and employment details.
• Your income and expenditure will be reassessed. At each annual review you will need to provide evidence such as payslips and bank statements, and if your disposable income rises, your payment goes up by 50% of the increase.
• Payments continue. Moving abroad does not end the IVA or release you from it.

If you cannot keep up payments, tell your supervisor straight away. If the IVA fails, creditors can pursue the full balance again, including interest and charges frozen during the IVA, and the supervisor or a creditor can petition the court to make you bankrupt. See what happens if an IVA fails.

What people commonly get wrong

• “I have to report any trip longer than two weeks.” There is no such rule in the standard protocol terms. Check your own terms if your IVA is older.
• “My passport will be affected.” It will not.
• “A family member paying is always fine.” A gift over £500 can count as a windfall. Ask first.
• “I can take a payment break for a holiday.” Breaks are limited and extend your IVA. They are there for when things go wrong.

If the restrictions of a formal IVA would get in the way of plans you already have, such as a move abroad, it is worth comparing the alternatives. See debt solutions compared.

What to do next

1. Check your IVA terms for anything about travel or notifying your supervisor.
2. Set up your IVA payment so it goes out automatically while you are away.
3. If someone offers to pay for a trip, or you are thinking about working abroad, ask your supervisor first.
4. If you are not in an IVA yet and want to understand your options, free, impartial debt advice is available from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice and National Debtline: see where to get free debt advice. More guides on everyday life are in life in an IVA.