When asking yourself how to move to a new country, a minimum of foresight and organization is required. Because you don’t go abroad to live like you go on a two-week vacation!
To prevent the dream from turning into a nightmare, it is important to carry out certain steps and formalities, and we strongly recommend creating an expat checklist adapted to your new destination.
Administration permits for your new destination
Verify that you have all documents to travel and work abroad
Administrative formalities are crucial steps to be complete before moving to a new country. Some can only be done in the host country, but most must be done before departure, and as soon as possible.
When thinking about how to prepare to move to another country, the first thing to do is to check the validity of the identity documents of all family members.
Be careful, as the time required to issue passports or identity cards is sometimes quite long, even if expedited procedures exist.
It is also necessary to take care early enough of your visa application as well as obtaining your work permit. An international driver’s license can also be very useful, and registration in the register of the specific nationality citizens living abroad at the consulate is strongly recommended.
Procedures with banks and taxes
In order to properly prepare for moving to a new country, it is important to find out about your current tax status as an expatriate to avoid any risk of double taxation, as some countries have signed agreements with your country of origin.
It is also important to inform the tax department of your move: a departure abroad may result in certain sums due becoming immediately payable.
Banks must also be informed. It is necessary in most cases to open an account in the country of expatriation, but it is not always recommended to close all your accounts in your country of origin.
Your advisor will be able to help you and also order foreign currency for your departure.
How to move abroad with your family?
Crucial point of the expatriation checklist: the move
Preparing for expatriation also involves finding out about the living conditions in the destination country, its customs and laws, but also its language: taking classes before departure can be a very good idea.
It is also essential to check in advance the question of housing. Think about:
- Report your change of address to the post office
- Organize the follow-up of your mail
- Cancel all of its energy, insurance or telephony contracts.
It is recommendable to use an international company to organize your move, but also not to wait until the last moment to give, sell or entrust the goods that will remain in your home country.
Animals are also sometimes part of the trip: it is necessary to take care early enough of the obligations in force in certain countries (identification, quarantine, vaccination).
Finally, children’s schooling is a crucial step in preparing to move across country: finding a school abroad is not always easy, and some schools have waiting lists and require the child to pass knowledge tests or a medical examination.
Expat moving checklist. Things to put in your suitcase
In order to properly prepare for moving to a new country, it is essential to pack all your essential documents in your suitcase:
- Diplomas
- Identity papers
- Family Booklet
- Health record
- Etc.
Several copies in paper and scanned format must be taken with you in case of loss or theft, and sometimes they must be translated or certified to be valid abroad.
It is also advisable to take with you :
- A copy of your important medical exams
- His current orders, translated
- His medications, especially if they can’t be found on site. Just make sure they are authorized to cross the border.
When preparing to move abroad, you should also think about updating your vaccinations. To create an expat checklist it is advisable in order not to forget anything important before moving to the new destination country.
Social protection, an important issue for any expatriation
Organizing access to health insurance
With the exception of seconded workers, expatriates lose their rights to Social Security in their home country. You must notify your health insurance fund and mutual insurance company of your departure.
It is also necessary to find out about the health system of the country of expatriation and the health coverage that may be provided by the employer in order to properly prepare for expatriation, especially if you leave the European Union.
Taking out international health insurance is often recommended when moving to a new country.
Repatriation insurance is also an essential point to settle before your departure.
To find the insurance offer best suited to your needs and situation, it is advisable to use an online comparator that will allow you to compare offers on the market and quickly obtain free quotes.
Don’t forget your retirement
Finally, one of the issues not to be neglected when preparing for expatriation is retirement.
While things are quite simple when you move to the European Union, it is more complicated when you settle elsewhere in the world.
Bilateral conventions exist, but this is not a general rule, and in many cases, an expatriation can lead to the loss of certain annuities or a reduction of one’s future retirement pension.
