5 Things to Consider Before Moving Abroad
Source: The Free Library
Every year thousands of individuals decide to move abroad permanently
and to start a new life for themselves in a new country. For a
significant number of these people this turns out to be one of the best
decisions they have ever made, but for a large number of other people
their dream will quickly turn into a nightmare. Below are a few of the
numerous things that you will have to consider.
Make certain that you really do want to move abroad permanently.
There is a saying that the grass is always greener on the other side and it is very easy to conjure up an idyllic picture of living in your chosen country. However, once you arrive, you may find that the grass is now a lot greener back home. It is also generally the case that your opinion of a foreign country as a holidaymaker is considerably different from that as a resident.
Not only is it essential to visit the country a number of times before you make any decision to move there, but you must visit at differing times of the year and for increasingly lengthy periods of time. You should also try 'living' in the chosen country by renting a house or condo and living as far as possible as you would be living as a resident rather than a holidaymaker. If you still feel that moving is the correct choice after you have spent a few months or so 'living' in the country, thenthere is a good chance that you would not come to regret your choice.
There is a saying that the grass is always greener on the other side and it is very easy to conjure up an idyllic picture of living in your chosen country. However, once you arrive, you may find that the grass is now a lot greener back home. It is also generally the case that your opinion of a foreign country as a holidaymaker is considerably different from that as a resident.
Not only is it essential to visit the country a number of times before you make any decision to move there, but you must visit at differing times of the year and for increasingly lengthy periods of time. You should also try 'living' in the chosen country by renting a house or condo and living as far as possible as you would be living as a resident rather than a holidaymaker. If you still feel that moving is the correct choice after you have spent a few months or so 'living' in the country, thenthere is a good chance that you would not come to regret your choice.
Make certain that you fully understand the immigration policy of the country in question.
Check on the present immigration rules of your chosen country and also take a look at its past history on immigration and any known or rumored plans for change.
In most cases you will be required to meet strict visa requirements and some of these may be inconvenient, expensive and leave you with little security. The absolute last thing you wish to do is to sever your ties with home, buy a condo and get your kids settled into school only to discover that you are not permitted to extend your visa and are given seventy-two hours to get out of the country.
Check on the present immigration rules of your chosen country and also take a look at its past history on immigration and any known or rumored plans for change.
In most cases you will be required to meet strict visa requirements and some of these may be inconvenient, expensive and leave you with little security. The absolute last thing you wish to do is to sever your ties with home, buy a condo and get your kids settled into school only to discover that you are not permitted to extend your visa and are given seventy-two hours to get out of the country.
Examine your financial position very carefully.
Think very carefully about how you are going to support yourself financially in your chosen country. For instance, do you intend to seek employment once you arrive to give you an income, or will you fund yourself from investments, savings or retirement income from home?
If you intend to seek employment overseas then how easy is it going to be to find work? If you are lucky enough to find work, what sort of salary can you expect? Will they let you work at all? Many countries will require you to have a work permit and these are sometimes only issued in exceptional circumstances or for employment requiring special qualifications or skills. In a lot of cases your visa will clearly state that you are not permitted to seek employment.
If you intend to fund your stay from sources at home, do you have sufficient resources not merely for today but for the next ten or twenty years or beyond? For instance, if you are taking retirement income overseas will it keep pace with rising costs? In many cases you are permitted to receive retirement income overseas but, if you opt to do so, you will lose any cost of living increases and your income will be pegged at the level at which you start to take it overseas.
Think very carefully about how you are going to support yourself financially in your chosen country. For instance, do you intend to seek employment once you arrive to give you an income, or will you fund yourself from investments, savings or retirement income from home?
If you intend to seek employment overseas then how easy is it going to be to find work? If you are lucky enough to find work, what sort of salary can you expect? Will they let you work at all? Many countries will require you to have a work permit and these are sometimes only issued in exceptional circumstances or for employment requiring special qualifications or skills. In a lot of cases your visa will clearly state that you are not permitted to seek employment.
If you intend to fund your stay from sources at home, do you have sufficient resources not merely for today but for the next ten or twenty years or beyond? For instance, if you are taking retirement income overseas will it keep pace with rising costs? In many cases you are permitted to receive retirement income overseas but, if you opt to do so, you will lose any cost of living increases and your income will be pegged at the level at which you start to take it overseas.
Consider what to do with your assets at home.
If you own your home will you rent it out, sell it or just leave it empty? What will you do with your car, furniture and other personal possessions?
Your home of course is a great deal more than merely as asset as it also provides you with a tie to your home country and provides you with an address back home which may be very useful if you do not have friends or family who are happy for you to use their address. You only have to wait until your credit card expires and your bank informs you that they can only send the new card to the registered address in your home country.
As far as your other possessions are concerned you could of course get rid of many of them if you wish, retaining only those or particular sentimental or real value, or you can take them along with you. But how easy will it be to ship things abroad and what will it cost? You must look carefully too at the regulations in your chosen country. Some countries will let you bring practically anything you want into the country, while other countries will have very strict limits on importation or charge high import taxes. In many cases for instance it would be far less expensive to buy a new car than to ship your own car and suffer high import duty and possibly to need to have the vehicle adapted to comply with local requirements for registration.
If you own your home will you rent it out, sell it or just leave it empty? What will you do with your car, furniture and other personal possessions?
Your home of course is a great deal more than merely as asset as it also provides you with a tie to your home country and provides you with an address back home which may be very useful if you do not have friends or family who are happy for you to use their address. You only have to wait until your credit card expires and your bank informs you that they can only send the new card to the registered address in your home country.
As far as your other possessions are concerned you could of course get rid of many of them if you wish, retaining only those or particular sentimental or real value, or you can take them along with you. But how easy will it be to ship things abroad and what will it cost? You must look carefully too at the regulations in your chosen country. Some countries will let you bring practically anything you want into the country, while other countries will have very strict limits on importation or charge high import taxes. In many cases for instance it would be far less expensive to buy a new car than to ship your own car and suffer high import duty and possibly to need to have the vehicle adapted to comply with local requirements for registration.
Examine the provision of healthcare.
You may feel fit and healthy now but, if you are thinking about moving overseas permanently, then a time will come when you will have to avail yourself of the local healthcare facilities. Just how good are those local facilities and how do they stand up against the facilities that you have grown used to?
Yet another extremely important factor is the provision of public healthcare. If you come from a country with a publicly funded healthcare system, such as the UK, then you could be more than a bit shocked by the cost of treatment when you are in a country with only private healthcare. Of course, if you are accustomed paying for your own healthcare, you could be very pleasantly surprised to find that you can get the same or better treatment much more cheaply.
No matter what the case, healthcare is something that you will have to look at very carefully and you will certainly have to have some form of expatriate health insurance plan.
This short list of just five tips is certainly not exhaustive but hopefully it will give you a starting point and set you in the right direction. Deciding to become an expatriate is a very big step and one that needs considerable and careful thought.
You may feel fit and healthy now but, if you are thinking about moving overseas permanently, then a time will come when you will have to avail yourself of the local healthcare facilities. Just how good are those local facilities and how do they stand up against the facilities that you have grown used to?
Yet another extremely important factor is the provision of public healthcare. If you come from a country with a publicly funded healthcare system, such as the UK, then you could be more than a bit shocked by the cost of treatment when you are in a country with only private healthcare. Of course, if you are accustomed paying for your own healthcare, you could be very pleasantly surprised to find that you can get the same or better treatment much more cheaply.
No matter what the case, healthcare is something that you will have to look at very carefully and you will certainly have to have some form of expatriate health insurance plan.
This short list of just five tips is certainly not exhaustive but hopefully it will give you a starting point and set you in the right direction. Deciding to become an expatriate is a very big step and one that needs considerable and careful thought.
