Relocating Overseas is exciting and tiring.
Exciting, as it confers you an opportunity to traverse new places, culture & cuisines; tiring, as you need to start from ground zero once again. Whether you are moving for a new career opportunity, to further your studies, or to retire, relocating overseas entails changes.
Though the first thought of moving to another country fills you with gusto, do the reality check beforehand. If the idea to embark a new journey in another country has hit your mind, read our guide to transit smoothly and pleasant.
Fulfil the Visa Requirements First Before Relocating Overseas
You can’t step into a foreign land without fulfilling all the legal obligations. Visa is like a valid entry to another country that proves your immigration is lawful. Any lapse in this may turn your dream to settle down in abroad into your worst nightmare.
Understanding the requirements and actions to take for a successful visa application is important. For example, if you are moving to India and require a Regular India Visa, you will need to make the application through their e-portal. Subsequently, you will schedule an appointment for a visit to the Indian embassy for the sticker visa that allows you to stay in India of up to 10 years.
Depending upon your intention to move abroad, you can easily get the long-term visa, temporary-stay visa permanent residency visa, work visa, or business visa. If you genuinely want to move to another country hassle-free, getting your visa right is a must. Also, you will do well to backup all visa related documents into your cloud storage or physical hard drive. Of course, be sure that you have a valid passport with a distant expiry date.
Hire Professional Movers
Often, when you move to another country, you will want to move and bring along your favourite furniture, paintings, piano, turn-table etc.
How can you ensure that these prized possessions reach the new destination safely and securely?
Well, hiring professional movers is the right answer.
Being an expert in their work, they will shift your assets and valuables internationally with utmost care. Any worthy professional moving company will take a detailed list of the inventory, packed and load the items snugly into a container best suited for your volume of items. They will also be able to offer you options for insurance and storage.
Quash All Your Memberships and Collect the Balances
During your stay in the current country, you may have various memberships for international clubs, pubs, gyms and others. Say you’re currently living in Singapore and will be moving to Malaysia, take the time to find out which memberships would continue to serve you in Malaysia. You’d be surprised that many memberships have shared benefits of use across borders!
However, if you are all set to leave for a city that is further, it’s probably time to cancel the non-international memberships. Out of these memberships, some are monthly subscription while others are single advance payment. If you belong to the latter, don’t hesitate and ask for a refund. Why will you pay for services that you can’t access conveniently anymore?
Find the Right Way Out for Your Assets Back at Homeland
While you can easily bring your jewellery and other small prized possessions with you to your destination country, you won’t be able to do so with your properties. Thus, you will need a good plan on how to manage them.
If you are leaving your country to the point of no-return, selling them off will be a good option. However, if you are away for a short period of say three to five years, consider renting them out and keep the bulky items in long-term storage.
For some, hiring a reliable agent to manage your properties (such as finding tenants and maintaining the properties) is a better solution.
Money and Insurance Matters When You Are Relocating Overseas
Inform your bank about your migration and ask for an international credit/debit card and how you can get the best exchange rates and make withdrawals in your destination country. Talk to your bank representative and ask whether you can transfer your bank account to another country as well. If the current bank offers worldwide services, transferring it to your next destination country could be possible.
Discuss with your insurance agent how your existing policies can continue to serve you when you are no longer in your current country. You will want your insurance to be able to protect you while you are abroad.
All said, moving to another county demands careful attention to a variety of factors to make the relocation process an easier one. Taking care of your financial assets and properties, ensuring uninterrupted access to your funds and the hiring of professional movers are just some of the things that will give you the peace of mind throughout the relocating process. Do feel free to contact us if you are in need of a professional mover to help with relocating overseas.
Image Credits:
1. Scott Graham on Unsplash