# Protect your credit score | Pre-move | Moving to Ireland > As a US citizen moving abroad for work, there are a few steps you can take to protect your credit score: Source: https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/pre-move/protect-your-credit-score/ Pre-move · Step 7 of 8 # Protect your credit score For US citizens 1 min read · Updated 13 September 2026 As a US citizen moving abroad for work, there are a few steps you can take to protect your credit score: **Keep your credit accounts active:** Maintain your current credit accounts, even if you don't use them regularly, to demonstrate that you have a long credit history. **Inform your credit card company:** Let your credit card company know that you will be living abroad so that they don't flag any foreign transactions as fraudulent. **Use a credit monitoring service:** Consider signing up for a credit monitoring service, which will alert you to any changes or suspicious activity on your credit report. **Pay your bills on time:** Make sure you continue to make your payments on time, as late payments can have a negative impact on your credit score. **Maintain your US address:** Keep your US mailing address current, as this will ensure that you receive any important mail related to your credit accounts. **Get a credit report from US agencies:** Obtain a credit report from the major credit reporting agencies in the US to see if there are any errors or inconsistencies that need to be addressed. **Consider a credit freeze:** If you're concerned about identity theft or fraud, consider placing a credit freeze on your accounts, which will prevent new accounts from being opened in your name. By following these steps, you can help protect your credit score while living abroad and ensure that you're able to maintain a good credit history when you return to the US. ![](https://www.movingtoireland.co/apple-touch-icon.png) You have read 30% of this guide ## Keep reading in the Moving to Ireland app The rest of **Protect your credit score** — about 1 minute more — is in the app, free to download, alongside 98 other guides and a checklist built around your own move. [Download free on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261) iPhone and iPad · no account needed ## More on pre-move [All 8 guides in this section](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/pre-move/) - ### [Getting a passport](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/pre-move/premove/) Start with gathering your documents: Prepare all the required documents, such as your passport, birth certificate, educational qualifications, and any… 1 min read - ### [Obtain your visa](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/pre-move/obtain-your-visa/) If you are travelling to Ireland and you are not a citizen of the UK, Switzerland, or a country in the European Economic Area (the EU plus Norway… 3 min read - ### [Sell the items you own](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/pre-move/sell-the-items-you-own/) Making a few more euros just before moving to Ireland could be a logical action. Here is why: 2 min read - ### [Arrange your temporary accommodation](https://www.movingtoireland.co/guides/pre-move/arrange-your-temporary-accommodation/) When relocating to Ireland and looking for temporary accommodation until to find a permanent flat, there are a few options to consider: 1 min read Keep going ## Get the full pre-move roadmap in the app Moving to Ireland turns 99 guides into a personal checklist. Tell it your passport, whether you have moved yet, and who is coming with you, and it lays out every step in order — from the visa to the bins. - Step-by-step checklist - Tailored to your passport - Pre-move & post-move - Family & pet sections [![Download Moving to Ireland on the App Store](https://www.movingtoireland.co/images/app-store-badge.svg)](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261) ★★★★★ 4.9 on the App Store [![Expats who settled in Ireland, two five-star App Store reviews, and the Moving to Ireland app showing its relocation checklist](https://www.movingtoireland.co/images/app-social-proof.webp)](https://apps.apple.com/app/moving-to-ireland/id6446055261)