Dos and Dont's of Overseas Removals.

Moving overseas can be both exciting and demanding. It is exciting in the sense that it brings up rewarding and liberating experience. However, at the same time, it is demanding, as you have to deal with lots of stuff before leaving your current country. The amount of things you need to do for moving abroad can be truly overwhelming. However, with complete knowledge and proper planning, you can sort out things quite easily without any complications or issues. Keeping in mind this key to a successful move abroad, there are a few simple dos and don'ts to follow. These are essential for fulfilling the goal of moving smoothly abroad. Let's check them out now!

Dos 1: Research, Research, and Research

Well, this should be the first step toward a smart move. Research about your new residential place, join its related forums to know what others say or have experienced, and frequently explore the expat community resources to know how the area will be for you.

Dos 2: Familiarise with Local Laws and Customs

Get to know about all the latest and prevailing local regulations and customs. This is applicable for both source and destination places. Without knowing them, you are bound to invite different issues or complications. For the UK citizens, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s page on gov.uk is worth reading, especially for the first timers. The same site also provides a page on local laws and customs in France, which is equally important to read.

Dos 3: Do Obtain Legal Advice

Well, this is something that most people ignore. However, on the contrary, it is worth your time and efforts. It is recommended seeking advice from estate agents and lawyers to know about all possibilities and limitations regarding accommodation, travel, business start up or expansion plans, healthcare, and education. You can simply check out the list of English speaking lawyers by FCO at the gov.uk site.

Dos 4: Inform about Your Move

It is mandatory to inform about your international shifting to the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), General Practitioner (GP), Social Security Office and to the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP). You need not tell the exact date of leaving, which is fine. You also need to inform the credit agencies such as Experian and Equifax about your move, so that they can note it down for future reference. This is essential to avoid identity theft if the unauthorized entities find that you have an inactive account, which can raise the risk of falsely applying for loans with fake IDs of your name.

Dos 5: Pay Off All Debts

This includes credit card payments and outstanding loans before shifting overseas. This is actually an obvious step but is given least importance. Defaulting on loans is bound to invite grave consequences ahead, especially when you consider applying for new loans. Although there might be no default, a single late payment is enough to negatively impact your credit score as well as report. No matter where you live, it is essential to minimize this negative impact. It is vital to bear in mind that even France has its own credit rating agencies!!!

Dos 6: Find out all Long-term Financial Needs

It is wise to know how moving broad could impact retirement income or give other benefits. Similarly, you should actually compute the cost of living at the chosen international destination, instead of assuming it to be the same as home. What if something goes suddenly wrong - is there a plan B? You need to be prepared for such situations. Additionally, consider the account exchange rates as well while determining the overall savings you would have with you for surviving abroad.

Dos 7: Go through Tax Regulations

Do a research on taxes relevant to you in abroad. This will help you compute the exact cost of living.

Dos 8: Do Health Planning

When you leave United Kingdom forever, you are then not entitled to medical treatment through the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or under the NHS. This requires you to obtain a suitable health insurance cover. In case you are inside the European Economic Area (EEA), consider going through the S1 form (formerly E121 form) as well as the NHS site.

Dos 9: Mingle with Nativesv

It is essential to mingle with the local community for a successful move abroad. Even if you do not know the local language, do learn some basic greetings and other words for socializing in your new place. This will help you settle quickly in the new area. Thus, do not isolate at all.

Dos 10: Download Free Apps

While going to abroad, having free apps such as Yelp, Skype, Viber, and Whatsapp can help you carry out things well.

Dont's 1: Never Hurry in Choosing things

Settling abroad is neither a child's play nor a shopper's passion. In simple terms, you should not be rushing when it comes to finalising accommodation, flight, school, business venue, insurance policy or anything else. In fact, give time to such things and make sure you select only after seeking an advice from an expert who knows the local protocol.

Dont's 2: Closing all Bank Accounts at Once

Instead of closing all accounts at once, it is recommended doing so over a period of time. This is because the former would negatively affect your credit score.

Dont's 3: Never Keep Necessities in Luggage

Passports, credit cards, cash, tickets, debit cards, and other official things and documents are your necessities. You simply should not put them in your luggage but carry in your hand bag. The worst thing is to see that your luggage did not make it at the destination place, which had all the essentials in it. Consider buying a few travel pouches that can hide under your clothes or inside a zipped pocket of a purse, which should not go out of your eyesight.

Dont's 4: Don't be Scared of Rules

Bureaucracy and laws can be complicated but there is nothing to get scared. With a bit of respect, willingness, and tact, it becomes easy to understand and adapt them. For example, start by speaking some polite phrases and ensure that you have proper letters of approvals (as per the law) in the right language.

Review from Rob Davies.

Dear Sir,
We contracted Hunts Removals & Storage ltd to move us from Watford UK to Toulouse in France. Every stage of the move was carried out with professionalism, skill and courtesy. The two guys who came to pack up arrived spot on time, got everything packed and loaded in just 5 hours or so. We recommend the full packing service: it was faster and easier than I could have dreamed and well worth the money. As it happened the same guys delivered our belongings in Toulouse and were just as efficient. They did everything right: they were on time, professional, thorough, careful, astonishingly hard-working and at the same time courteous and friendly. It was truly a pleasure to deal with them and they are a credit to Hunts Removals & Storage ltd. Communication with Hunts was superb throughout, a big thank you to all the staff who were there behind the scenes. What more can I say? This was a big upheaval for us and Hunts made the removal the easiest part of it all. Thank you!.

Kind regards

Rob Davies