Moving countries to start a new job always feels like a challenge. It’s exciting for sure, yes, but it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a huge amount of fear in there as well.
Questions like “Will I build a new life once I move?” and “How am I going to adjust once I move?” inevitably start popping up in your head. Two say it in two words, and there are a lot of unknowns that come with moving abroad for a new job.
Well, we thought it’s our responsibility to share with you our know-how. But, keep in mind that there’s no “one fits all” situation here. The process of moving to another country for work will vary from case to case, and it will be mainly influenced by where you’re from, the country you’re moving to, and how you’re going to move.
Yet, it’s still important to have a basic understanding of the process. The things you have to do, the small details you will have to take into account before you move countries.
You’ll have to sort out important details like getting the right health insurance.
When you’re moving to another country, there’s a big chance that your health insurance won’t cover everything in another country. It’s best to do research on global health insurance companies and either update to different insurance or switch to another insurance company.
If you are looking for a proper insurance company, take a look at their expatriate packages and search for opinions and reviews online.
Of course, it’s always a great idea to ask an ex-pat that’s living in the country that you’re looking to relocate to and see what insurance they have.
Make sure you do your research before you rent a property.
When you’re moving to another country, there’s a huge chance that the first place you’ll call home abroad will be a rental property.
Now, there’s nothing wrong in that, but you will have to do proper research before renting a house or an apartment. So, what are the things that you’ll have to look out for?
Well, for starters, you’ll have to take into consideration your commute and how long it’s going to take you to get to work. If you’re going to have to spend an hour or two to get to the office, then maybe it’s not worth it to rent that apartment.
You’ll have to look for the perfect fit between size, price, and the commute time you’ll have to spare to get to work. Of course, there are some other factors as well, but they can be either overlooked or you’ll be able to find a substitute for the things that you’re going to miss (like your favourite grocery store).
Spend enough time planning your move to ensure that everything will go smoothly and according to plan.
It’s important to start planning your move at least two months before you actually move. There are a lot of things that you will have to plan for and deal with than you can imagine.
At the very least, you will have to contact every local service provider that you have constant communication with to let them know that you’re moving abroad. That means you’ll have to contact your local post office as well, so they can reroute all the letters that you may receive after your move.
If you aren’t exactly sure what you’ll have to take care, there are plenty of to-do lists online that you can download and use them for guidance.
Do proper research about the legal process of moving countries and working visas.
More often than not, you’ll need a visa in order to legally work and live in the country you’ve chosen to move to. In some instances, employers will help you with obtaining a work visa.
Of course, you can apply for another type of visa that will be suitable to you as well, but you will have to do your own research about the restrictions the visa will have and the amount of time that you’ll be able to use it for.
Make sure you have an international credit or debit card and set up a local bank account once you move.
Finally, one of the more important things people often overlook is that they don’t transfer their savings to a local bank. Of course, in today’s day and age, we have a lot of modern solutions that will take care of how we use money when abroad.
But if you’ll need a substantial amount of money once you relocate to your new home, then maybe it’s smarter to seek for international credit card opportunities. It will be much easier to transfer your accounts to a new bank that way.
Moving your whole life to another location is never easy. There’s a lot of planning involved, and you will have to go over everything twice to make sure everything is in check.
