Are you planning to move to another country anytime soon? Well, we wish you all the best, but you should make this transition a smooth one so that you do not end up living uncomfortably for the first few months in your new home. Moving has always been a hectic thing even if it means shifting from one side of town to another and it is good to be prepared. Always plan ahead of your move and put down a checklist of some crucial things that should not be missed so that you can move in an organized and smooth way. Read below and find out a moving checklist when migrating to another country.
Get Your Visa
Before you start moving, ensure that you are legally allowed to stay in your destination country. You will probably need a long-term visa, be it a study or work one depending on the circumstances. It is vital to check on the legal requirements for one to move into any country for you to know the correct visa you will need. Order it and wait till it is processed for you to go ahead with your move. It is necessary to carry all your supporting documents when you move, and you could make several copies and scan some of them and store them in a drive so that they can be accessed on your phone easily. It would help if you also had a family member keep a backup of these critical documents so that they can send them to you quickly when your copies are not accessible. Some vital documents include your birth certificate, medical records, academic papers, and identification card among others. If your passport is almost expiring, ensure you renew it as it will save you trouble having to fly back to your home country just a short time after you settle in your new place.
Cancel Your Subscriptions
You must have signed up for several subscriptions in your hometown and ensure you cancel them before you leave. If you had planned for any meeting, appointment or date, cancel them in advance so that the people involved can be aware that you will not be around. If you had a phone internet and TV subscription, cancel the package and only pay for a renewal if you will still be around at that time. You can move without invalidating these things and find that the phone company deducted some money out of your accounts yet you do not use the same line anymore. If you are not sure of when you will be moving, just suspend the subscription until you get the confirmation.
Change Your Mail Destination
If you had a physical post office box that you previously used to receive letters, reroute them so that they can be delivered to a friend or relative. You can easily do this online at www.us-mailing-change-of-address.com or by contacting your mailing service providers. You could move and receive important mail while you are away and no one will know about it. Make sure to this with your employer as well so that your W-2 forms can be sent to someone you know, and then you could have them send you the details.
Have The Last Minute Medical Checkup
When you move to another country and have to quit your job, you will be taken of your employer’s medical insurance plan. Some employers allow you to use the cover for up to thirty days after the day you terminate your employment and take advantage of this to visit all your medical practitioners. You are probably being deducted some small amount for this insurance and utilize it fully. When you move to another country, you might be forced to go through some hefty processes before you can have a fully working health insurance cover. Check with your dentist, physical doctor, dermatologist and any other medical expert for any health issues that you might have suffered from before. This way you will move to your new country with an idea of your prevalent medical condition and know if you might need to seek medical care when you get to your new home.
Finalize On Your Travel Arrangements
Please confirm all your travel plans are well set and after obtaining a visa, book your international ticket. Flying to another country could be costly, and it is cheaper to book a ticket long before the date of travel. You could examine the flight prices as they keep on fluctuating and time when they are affordable for you to book. If you need to carry some things to your new destination, package and ship them earlier as you cannot bring everything along. It is advisable to ship them long before you move so that you do not have to wait for a long time for these goods when you get to the new place. You will probably be tired when you get to your new destination and always plan for your first night. It is not easy to navigate through a new country with jetlag and luggage and book somewhere that you can rest and operate from before you move to your home.
Financial Considerations
You might have several financial accounts set up under your name in your host country, but if your bank is not a multinational one, you might need to open a new one overseas. Your local bank should also be informed that you will be moving so that they can transfer your credentials to their partners in the new country or allow you to make withdrawals there. Make a point of asking if any of these banks have a foreign fee so that you do not have to pay up so much for operating a local account while in another country.
The things that come into consideration when moving to a new country are endless, and some vital ones have been highlighted above. All these things point to the fact that you should carefully plan your move and have everything sorted before the day you fly so that you are not forced to get back home to clear with some pending issues.
