Emigration and living abroad checklist for legal and insurance matters
1. Make use of a legal advisor
- A scan of your juridical status and the possible risks abroad may be advisable.
- Check the consequences for inheritance tax, family law, succession rights and matrimonial properties.
- Possibly get a review of your new international contract (mind the differences in labour law).
- Check our blog 'How do you assess the reliability of an international insurer?' (in Dutch)
2. Look into the visa requirements & start the visa procedure
- Expand the basic inventory that you made in the orientation phase.
- Use online communities and forums, check recent experiences from people who requested the visa and have the same nationality as you do. Double check their advice.
- Check for everyone if they need a work permit or residence permit, if they meet the requirements for that and which documents are necessary.
- Some countries have extra requirements, such as medical clearances or police certificates.
- Arrange a definitive contract or proof of employment with your future employer.
- Contact the consulate or embassy before you emigrate and (double) check the current state of (visa) affairs.
- Download all required documents and read the notices.
- Plan way ahead, visa procedures can take long, up to several years (be flexible in purchasing/selling housing, finding temporary housing etc.).
- Consider using a visa service company, especially for popular emigration countries.
3. Check which documents you need to legalize
- Find out if your new country has a treaty with your native country.
- Find out which documents need translation and into which language.
- Find out which documents you need to legalize.
- Provide birth certificates, marriage certificates, evidence of (special) (work) skills, diplomas, recommendation letters.
- Start on time.
4. Check your insurance policies and ask for advice
- Create an overview of your current policies, contract terms, contact information.
- Ask about the consequences of your emigration with regards to current insurance policies and make sure that you terminate them in time.
- Make sure that you terminate home insurances, property insurances, car insurances etc. at the correct time: not too early (not insured), not too late (double costs).
- Read up on (international) health insurances. Find orientation on www.expatinsurances.org.
- Get information from an insurance expert about:
- Ending your current health insurance.
- Whether your new country has treaties with your home country.
- Whether to get local insurance or not.
- Whether the insurance provided by your local employer provides enough coverage.
- Getting international health insurance.
- Start on time, mindful of how long medical checks can take to complete.
4. How to prepare documents?
- Check the validity of all passports. Or arrange passports for family members with a different kind of ID.
- Also bring: passport photos, drivers licenses (possibly a temporary international driver's license), birth certificates, marriage certificates, last wills, documents on euthanasia, police certificates, divorce papers, death certificates (if your previous partner died), recommendation letters, diplomas, resume/CV, medical files, evidences of being creditworthy, school files, insurance papers, student ID's, medicine recipes and proof of the vaccinations you had.
- Make an easy-to-find archive for every family member with (copies of) personal documents.
- Make sure you know about recent developments concerning double nationalities and find out how to extend your passport in your new home country.
- Consider using an online/digital safe or cloud functionality and give access to your lawyer or someone you trust.
- Gather receipts of the properties you take with you (proof you own them already, to avoid breaking import laws).
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