It seems as though many students are considering moving abroad to live and work after graduation. Some plan on staying forever, others just for a few short years. No matter how long one is overseas it is important to know how to handle student loans while out of the United States.
Repayment of student loans is still possible by paying online, but the student will need a US bank for the payment to draft out of. All repayment options that are offered for students living in the United States, including extended and graduated repayment, are still available. Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is also a possibility even if salary is being paid in foreign currency. Foreign paystubs along with the Alternative-Documentation-Of-Income Form will be required. In addition, deferments and forbearances should also be available to the student. Public Service Loan Forgiveness is not an option unless it is work for a US entity.
The type of service and assistance one will have while overseas will depend on who the loan servicer is for the federal loans. Some servicers have upgraded their website to allow for recognition of foreign addresses. In essence, this will open up all of the aspects of repayment assistance that have currently only been available to domestically domiciled borrowers.
Payments on Commercial FFEL loans can be made by credit card payments. However, Direct Loans cannot be paid by credit card; the borrowers would still need to have a domestic bank account to facilitate payments on the online payment system.
Another option would be to designate someone you trust to act as an authorized payer. They can quickly and easily make payments on your account through the online payment system, but you would obviously need to set them up as an authorized payer on your loan servicer account. The authorized payer would only be able to make payments; they would not have access to your account information or loan servicer messages.
The most important piece to start and finish with is to stay in contact with your loan servicer. The more that is communicated with them, the more they will be willing and able to help with your specific situation.
Lastly, here is a link to a directory of International Banks: http://www.gbanking.com/international-banks/
If you have further questions or would like to talk to a peer financial advisor about other financial matters, please request an appointment at www.k-state.edu/pfc or call us at 785-532-2889.
Roxanne Martens GTA & Peer Financial Counselor Powercat Financial Counseling www.k-state.edu/pfc