ZeroLeftWhat Apple requires before a change
Apple's page on changing your Apple Account country or region starts with a checklist. You need to spend any remaining Apple Account balance, cancel subscriptions that block a change and wait until the end of the subscription period, wait for memberships, pre-orders, movie rentals and Season Passes to complete, and wait for pending refunds to process. If you are in a Family Sharing group, Apple says you might not be able to change your country or region.
The balance is the item people get stuck on, and it is the one you can work on yourself. The right method depends on how large the balance is compared with what the store sells.
A card is not strictly required
During the change itself, Apple's steps end with selecting a payment method and entering payment information and a billing address. The page also says you might need a valid payment method for the new country or region, and offers an alternative: if you do not want to enter one, wait until you are physically in your new country or region, then create a new Apple Account.
So there are two separate questions. The first is how to bring the old balance to zero without paying with a card. The second is what to do about the payment step in the new country. The sections below take them in turn.
Option 1: spend the balance exactly
If your balance is above the cheapest item in your store, you may be able to use it all without a card. Apple's balance article says the way to clear it is to spend the remaining balance on App Store items or other Apple services. Because prices come in fixed steps, you need a set of purchases whose prices add up to your balance to the last cent. A balance of 1.74, for example, could be a 0.99 item plus a 0.75 item if both exist in your store.
Whether an exact combination exists depends on the price list of your country and on tax. The article on small balances explains the arithmetic. Disclosure: ZeroLeft is made by the author of this site. ZeroLeft is an iPhone app that does this search for you from App Store prices and pays only from your balance, but you can also do it by hand with your own purchase options.
Option 2: one purchase just above your balance
If no combination of prices matches your balance exactly, but you do have a card, you can buy one item priced just above the balance. The balance is used first and the card pays only the difference, so the balance ends at zero. This needs a card on file, so it does not fit people who have none. Check the amount on the confirmation screen before you confirm.
This works for any balance, including one below the cheapest item, as long as you accept a card charge for the difference. If you want no card involved at all, use Option 1 or Option 3.
Option 3: wait and create a new Apple Account
Apple's own wording is that if you do not want to enter a payment method, you should wait until you are physically in your new country or region, then create a new Apple Account. This avoids the change on the old account, but it means starting over with a different account.
Apple's page does not describe moving your purchases, subscriptions or iCloud storage across to a new account. Think through what you would leave behind before choosing this route.
What you lose or may lose
Apple lists consequences of a country change on the same page. "Some types of content might not be available in your new country or region," so Apple recommends redownloading apps, music, movies, TV shows and books on the devices you plan to keep using. If you cancel Apple One or iCloud+, your iCloud storage drops to the free 5 GB plan, and after updating your payment details you can resubscribe in your new location where the service is available.
There is also timing. Subscriptions that block the change have to run to the end of their period, so you may have to wait before the new country can be set.
- Balance that stays unspent cannot be converted back to cash, except where the law requires it.
- Content that is not available in the new store.
- iCloud storage reduced to 5 GB if you cancel iCloud+ or Apple One.
- Time spent waiting for subscriptions, pre-orders and refunds to finish.
Which option for which balance
If your balance is above the cheapest item, try exact spending first. If no exact match exists and you have a card, one purchase just above the balance finishes the job, and the same works for a balance below the cheapest item. If the balance is below the cheapest item and you have no card, ZeroLeft cannot bring it to 0, because nothing can be paid for from the balance alone. If you are about to move abroad and are happy to start fresh, the new account route needs no balance cleanup on the old account, though you give up that account's history.
Questions
Can I change my App Store country without a credit card?
Apple's page says you might need a valid payment method for the new country or region. If you do not want to enter one, Apple says to wait until you are physically in the new country or region and create a new Apple Account.
Does Apple let me keep a small balance when I change country?
No. Apple lists spending any remaining Apple Account balance as a requirement. If it is less than the cost of one item, one purchase where the balance covers part and a card pays the rest brings it to 0.
Can I change country if the balance is $0.01?
Not while any balance is left. Apple lists spending any remaining Apple Account balance as a requirement. With a card on file, one purchase uses the whole balance and the card pays the rest, so the balance ends at 0. Without a card, a balance this small cannot be spent on its own.
Will I lose my iCloud storage if I change country?
Apple says that if you cancel Apple One or iCloud+, your storage drops to the free 5 GB plan.