International Moving Checklist

After all those years of traveling to other countries with different cultures and environment, you might one day feel like moving abroad and settling down in your dreamed country.

From the day it’s decided that you will be moving abroad till the day you finally arrive and settle in your new house overseas, international moving is a lengthy and difficult process.

While moving your goods constitutes a significant part of the bigger picture, there are several other tasks that must be fulfilled before and after you move.

Amidst all the complexities of the process, it becomes difficult to keep track of what has been done and what still remains to be done.

So, to ease your work when you are moving overseas, we bring you this comprehensive checklist to guide you through the complicated journey.

3 months before departure

• Buy your travel tickets. If you will be staying in a hotel, it’s best you book a room now.
• If your children are moving too, ask their school administration for transfer certificates and other required educational documents.
• In case you own a pet, check the quarantine requirements of the destination country and make arrangements accordingly.
• Make sure you have valid passports or apply for passport renewal, if they are about to expire. The same goes for your international driving license.
• Decide which international moving company will be best suited for your move and get an estimate quote from them as well as the list of any items you might not be allowed to carry to the new country.
• Prepare a checklist of all boxes and what you will be keeping in each. Start packing items that you will not need in the next three months for example, books, ornaments, photos, etc.
• Inform all concerned personnel, including your family and friends, bank, any other company you have subscribed to and so on about your change of address.
• If you plan to rent out your house and don’t have a tenant yet, ask a local agent for help. And if you plan to sell it, put it on the market in case you haven’t done so already.
• Create both, a softcopy and a hardcopy folder of all your important documents and paperwork. This is a very essential task that you must not neglect.

1 month before departure

• Organize a farewell party, if you want.
• Make sure you have certified copies of all your documents including the Power of Attorney you will be handing over to the person who will be in-charge of your affairs while you move.
• Sign up for online banking service if you don’t have it yet. You will definitely need it in the coming days.
• Sell out any extra items in a garage sale otherwise give them in charity.
• Cancel all you subscriptions and pay any outstanding bills.
• Get all necessary information and paperwork from the international moving company that you’ve selected.
• Start packing up all your belongings, leaving out only the daily essentials.

The ‘big’ day

• Make sure you aren’t leaving any important stuff behind.
• For the next few days, your suitcase is all you will have. Ensure it is well packed and has all the basic items you need.
• Verify all delivery dates with the company.
• Last, but definitely not the least, say your goodbyes and capture the last moments with your friends and neighbors.
• It is indeed a turning point in your life. So, remember to relish the moment as you board the plane and fly to your new life ahead with a bright and cheery frame of mind.

We wish you a happy relocation journey! – Travel Feeder

About The Author

Cecil Lee

The author is an avid traveler and photography hobbyist who loves to share with others his travel and photo-taking experience in many popular tourist destinations around Europe, Asia and Australasia. Read the exciting stories with many photos captured on his journeys.