Moving abroad to another continent may sound fun, but it’s also scary, and sometimes it’s an unnecessarily complicated process. But while it shouldn’t be that complicated, most of the problems that may arise come from improper planning in the first place.
So, with that said, you do have to make sure you set everything up yourself, notify all interested parties, and even prepare yourself and everything you own for the move.
You’re basically starting a new life on another continent. Now, that’s why we sat down and really started looking into all the fine details that come with moving abroad. It’s best if you can hire a professional to guide you through the process, but it’s also necessary for you to do your own research on the topic.
In this article, we’ve made sure to highlight and go over some of the more important, but somewhat overlooked aspects of moving abroad. You won’t necessarily get a step-by-step, because for every country it’s different, but you’ll get a lot of information other places won’t list. So, let’s get started!
Make sure you make double copies of all important documents weeks before you move.
If there’s one thing most people absolutely forget to do when they are relocating abroad, it’s to make multiple copies of important documents. People seem to forget that relocation is a huge project and it’s easy to misplace important documents that can take days to get reissued and then sent to you.
With that said, make sure you have a copy of any global insurance plans, your ID, a visa if you have and need one, and your passport.
And if you aren’t sure if you need any other documents copied – make a copy. It’s cheap, and it never hurts to have them.
A pro tip is to scan the documents and save them in Google Drive. That way if you lose the physical copy of a document, you can quickly print out another one.
Research and apply for a visa if you need it for the country of choice.
Make sure you do thorough research about visas and any other permits that you may need in order to legally relocate to another country. Sometimes a work visa may be enough, but some governments require investor visas that have vastly different requirements.
Start this process from early on, as getting approved for a visa can take multiple interviews and months of waiting before you get yours.
If you aren’t familiar with what type of visa would be most suitable for you, you can always call the local government and schedule a meeting with them.
Spend some time exploring and living in the city and country you plan to move to.
Whether you’re moving for work, or just to spend the rest of your life in a place where you dreamt of living your whole life, it’s important to go and spend some time in that country and city (or town) first.
Not only will it show you what the country is, but you’ll also be in contact with the local culture.
As someone who’s moved quite a bit, I can assure you that the culture is what makes people fall in love with a place. Yes, pretty buildings and history are nice to have, but culture is what makes people stay.
Decide what to ship, what to store, and what to sell before you move.
And before you move, make sure to decide what to take with you what to store in a local storage place and what to sell before you move.
The best way to do that is to create a sheet with three columns labeled “Ship”, “Store”, and “Sell”. Then list everything that you will need to take with you under “Ship” and everything that you can afford to store under “Store”.
Everything else you can sell and make some money back that can help you start your new life.
And a couple of weeks before you go make sure to notify your bank, the postal office with your new address of residence (that way they can reroute any mail that you have), and other local authorities that may be interested in your address of residence.
If you aren’t sure about exactly who you need to notify, there are plenty of lists that you can check online, and most government websites have information on the topic, so you can check there as well.
Do very in-depth research before moving to the country of choice.
And finally, you have to do your part of the research before moving. Find out the best neighborhoods in the area, research the housing market, if you’re moving with kids, research local schools, etc.
The truth is, relocation is a complicated process that takes time, sometimes even more than a year. Make sure you start early to have time to adjust if unexpected problems arise.
