The ultimate checklist for moving country

This week we’ve put together the ultimate checklist for moving country.

Whether you are going to be living overseas in retirement or simply moving country for a new job there are more than a few things you could be doing right now.

For most, becoming an expat will provide rewards they never could have imagined, but that’s not to say you won’t face the odd challenge along the way, particularly at the beginning.

That’s why you’ll likely reap the benefits of a little forward planning.

Time to run through what to do before leaving the UK.

Health

The first thing you should probably consider is health.

And there are three key health related matters to deal with before you move abroad: Insurance, vaccinations and supplies.

We are going to cover insurance next so we’ll begin by taking a look at vaccinations.

Depending on where you are moving to, you may need one or more vaccinations and sometimes a health check before you get on your plane.

There are too many countries and different kinds of vaccinations that you may need to cover here, but luckily the NHS goes into a lot more detail about vaccinations when leaving the UK here.

Even if you are moving to a developed country that you are familiar with, it usually makes sense to take some medical supplies along with you.

Your favourite go-tos for common medical problems might not be available when you leave the UK and even if they are, it might not be convenient for you to get hold of them when you first arrive.

Lack of sleep, jet lag and the possibility of being in close proximity to people with infectious illness mean it can pay to carry at least some of your medical supplies in your carry-on luggage. Checked in baggage has a nasty habit of being delayed when you most need it.

Passport validity

Passports are going to be one of the first items that spring to mind when thinking about what to do before leaving the UK.

Becoming an expat means a heavy reliance on passports and visas. In some countries, you are required to carry your passport with you at all times, and even if you are moving to a location that’s not quite so strict you’ll still be surprised by the amount of everyday tasks that can require your passport.

The first thing to do is make sure you’ve got plenty of time before your passport is due to expire. As anybody whose had a passport expire on them whilst abroad will tell you, it’s a lot easier to replace your passport at home than abroad.

If yours is due for renewal within a year or even two it probably makes sense to get a new one before you leave.

Additionally, you’ll need to ensure you have the correct visa and/or work permit for your new destination.

Some countries’ visa systems are very straight forward, but many others aren’t, particularly when work is involved. In many cases, your employer will handle this for you, but in others they won’t. If you are short of time or are having problems it maybe worth getting in touch with a dedicated visa agent. All countries seem to have them.

As visas and work permits will link to your passport, make sure you get your passport renewed before you apply for your visa or work permit.

Tax planning

You should notify HMRC if you intend to leave the UK permanently. This includes working overseas for at least one full tax year. You can find out how to tell them here.

Oftentimes, it’s actually worth it just for the free advice they give you.

And you may need it because becoming an expat can lead to tax issues if you aren’t careful. Have you paid all taxes owed before you leave? Will you be liable for tax whilst away? Are there any actions you could be taking before you go to reduce your tax liabilities?

We’ve gone into a lot more detail about expat taxes here. However, one of the most common situations where you need to pay UK tax (even though you are non resident) is when you let out your property for the duration of your stay abroad so it’s worth going over that in a bit more detail here.

Rental income is subject to income tax no matter where the house owner resides. To avoid paying unnecessary tax on your rental income it usually makes sense to sign up for the Non Resident Landlord Scheme. You can find out how to do that here. If you don’t the tax is usually taken automatically from your rent whether you are liable to pay it or not.

The key thing is, you’ll have to do your own tax return. Now this used to be a bit of a pain in the old days because you either did it via days of form filling or you used HMRC’s online portal which, to say the least, isn’t the most intuitive system.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) expats aren’t allowed to use the HMRC system anymore, and instead are forced into using paid software.

Of course, the downside is you have to pay, but the plus is, you don’t have much to pay and software makes things a million trillion times easier. Feel free to do your own research, but we’d recommend using GoSimpleTax which you can try for free here.

Alternatively, if you want to minimise the chance of errors and maximise your time, you can pay somebody to do everything for you. Prices are a lot lower than they used to be. We’ve talked more about that here but UK Landlord Tax would be a safe place to start.

Bank accounts

This seems like an obvious one, but you’d be surprised by the number of people that move abroad only to realise they can’t access their own money.

If you are lucky your UK bank may offer some kind of service in your new destination. However, they are unlikely to offer all the services you require, and even if they do, the costs are likely to be much higher than you’ll get elsewhere.

Whilst local bank accounts are a solution for some, in many cases, a better option is a dedicated expat bank account, particularly if you are going to be moving money to and from the UK. We’ve covered a few good expat bank accounts here.

Although an international bank account should provide you with all the services you require, you might not want to give up on your existing bank account just yet.

Strictly speaking, you should inform your UK bank that you are moving overseas, but be aware some of them will automatically close your account the minute they realise you’ve become non resident. As a result, rather than lie, some expats simply update their address details to a correspondence address (more on this later) and keep their UK account whilst abroad.

Pensions and investment accounts

This is another big topic, which you can read about in a lot more detail here.

However, there are a couple of points worth mentioning here.

Some pension providers will enable you to keep your UK pension when you move overseas. Others won’t and even if they will, they almost certainly won’t let you continue contributing to your pot and in the extremely rare instance they will, those contributions won’t have tax sheltering (which is the whole point).

The good news is, developed countries tend to have their own alternatives, particularly for employed personnel.

The other good news is there’s nothing stopping you from putting your own pension together wherever you are these days.

At the end of the day pensions are just stock and bond investments with some tax sheltering.

And unlike a few years ago there are now plenty of investment platforms open to expats (You can read about some of the good ones here).

Most expats will be able to put together a strong low cost investment portfolio for their pension using a couple of exchange traded funds (ETFs).

And as for tax sheltering, in all likelihood you’ll be moving to a place with lower tax liabilities than the UK, and in a lot of cases you could be moving to a low tax designation.

But even if that’s not you, ETFs are extremely tax efficient anyway.

Storage / shipping

Experience says if you aren’t taking it, then you should be getting rid of it, but oftentimes that’s easier said than done.

If your friends or family members don’t have space in their attics or garages then you may need to look into self storage companies.

The big two in the UK are Big Yellow and Safestore and both say they won’t be beaten on price so are probably good places to get quotes from at the very least.

As a very rough guide, you can start by assuming the UK average (net rental rate) of £23.94 per square foot per annum. (This is according to the Self Storage Association Industry Report)

But in reality prices depend on location, size of unit, length of stay and insurance value. The further away from the town centre you store, the smaller the unit, the longer the length of stay and lower the insurance value of the things you are storing the better.

Although some people manage with a few check-in bags, in all likelihood you are going to need to use a removals company for the items you are taking with you.

Anglo Pacific, Pickfords and Santa Fe Relocation are three of the bigger names you can start asking for quotes from.

Though it is focused on the UK, Which Magazine give some good advice on choosing a removals company here.

Insurance

When thinking about what to do before leaving the UK many people forget about insurance. Don’t let that be you.

We’ve gone into a lot more detail about what insurance you might need when moving overseas here, but the headline is, at the very least, you’ll usually want your health covered and oftentimes travel insurance makes sense too.

The good news is that this doesn’t need to cost the earth. Companies like Safety Wing have products like Nomad Insurance that is going to cover most people’s medical and travel needs from about $46/month (approx £38/month at the time of writing).

Bills

I’m sure it goes without saying that before you move overseas you need to make arrangements to pay all your bills. That usually means contacting the gas, electricity, water, telephone, TV and broadband companies you use to make sure you haven’t any outstanding amounts that need paying.

Correspondence

We’ve touched on this already, but suffice to say, it is nearly always useful to have a UK correspondence address. At the very least, it will be handy in the early days before you have settled in your new location, but in many cases it will pay to keep one permanently.

Some UK companies simply won’t send correspondence overseas and equally, it might not be so straight forward to receive mail at some locations.

Whether you go for a correspondence address or simply go with your new overseas address, you’ll usually also want to redirect your mail to your new address.

You can find out how to do that here.

Mobile

It’s always a good idea to ensure your mobile phone is unlocked so you can use it abroad. The convenience is usually worth the extra cost in the beginning.

That said, if your provider doesn’t offer that service or at least provide the service at a reasonable price, another option is to use a VoIP provider like Yolla.

That way, as long as you have an internet connection you can make low cost calls.

Documentation

The final item on your checklist for moving country should be a documentation check. Make sure you have everything you need before you set off and in many cases, you should make sure important documents that you may not need are either safely stored somewhere or taken with you.

The ultimate checklist for moving country – the bottom line

It doesn’t matter whether you’ll be living overseas in retirement or simply moving country for a new job, becoming an expat will definitely throw up the odd challenge.

Checking all the items of your list can give you peace of mind, confidence and most importantly help simplify your life.