• Make sure that you really do wish to move permanently overseas.
They say that the grass is always greener on the other side and it is extremely easy to imagine an idyllic picture of life in the country of your choice. However, once you arrive, you might discover that the grass is a lot greener back at home. It is also generally the case that your opinion of a country as a holidaymaker is considerably different from that as a resident.
Not only must you visit the country several times before deciding to live there, but you ought to do so at different times of the year and for increasing lengths of time. You also need to try to 'live' in the chosen country by renting a house or apartment and living as far as is possible as you would be living as a resident rather than a holidaymaker. If you still believe that relocating is the right choice after spending a few months or so 'living' in the country, thenthere is a good chance that you would not come to regret your choice.
• Make sure that you understand the immigration policy of your chosen country.
Check on the present immigration requirements of your chosen country and also take a look at its past history on immigration and any published or rumored plans for the future.
In many cases you will have to meet strict visa requirements and these may be inconvenient, costly and leave you without much security. The absolute last thing you ought to do is to sever your ties with home, purchase a condominium and settle the children into school only to discover that you are not allowed to extend your visa and have three days to get out of the country.
• Examine your financial position carefully.
Think carefully about how you will support yourself financially in your chosen country. For instance, do you plan to look for a job after you arrive to furnish you with an income, or will you fund yourself from saving, investments or retirement income from home?
If you wish to look for a job overseas then how simple will it be to get a job? If you are lucky enough to find a job, what kind of salary are you likely to get? Will they let you work at all? A large number of countries will require you to apply for a work permit and these are often issued only in particular circumstances or for employment which requires special skills or qualifications. In a lot of cases your visa will specifically say that you are not allowed to seek employment.
If you are going to fund your stay from sources at home, do you have sufficient resources not simply for today but for the next five or ten years or more? If you are taking retirement income overseas will it keep pace with rising costs? In many cases you may receive retirement income overseas but, if you elect to do so, you will lose any cost of living increases and your income is fixed at the level at which you start to take it abroad.
• Consider what you will do with your assets back home.
If you own your own home will you rent it out, sell it or simply leave it empty? What will you do with your car, furniture and other personal belongings?
Naturally your home is a great deal more than simply an asset because it also provides you with a link to your home country and gives you an address back home which might be very useful if you do not have friends or family who would be happy for you to use their address. You only have to wait until your credit card expires and your bank informs you that they will only send your replacement card to the registered address in your home country.
As far as your other belongings 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 might decide to take them with you. But how simple is it to ship things overseas and what will it cost? Look carefully too at the rules in your country of destination. Some countries will allow you to bring more or less whatever you wish into the country, but others will have strict limits or levy high import taxes. In many cases for instance it would be much cheaper to purchase a new car than to import your own car and pay high import duty and perhaps to have to have your vehicle altered to comply with local requirements for registration.
• Take a careful look at the facilities for healthcare.
You might feel fit and healthy now but, if you are thinking about relocating abroad permanently, then the time is going to come when you will need to avail yourself of the local healthcare facilities. So, just how good are those local facilities and how do they compare to the facilities that you are used to?
Another very important factor is the availability of public healthcare. If you live in a country with publicly funded healthcare, such as the UK, then you might be more than a little shocked by the cost of medical treatment when you find yourself in a country with only private healthcare. Of course, if you are accustomed paying for private healthcare, you might be pleasantly surprised to discover that you can get the same or even better medical treatment at a fraction of the cost.
No matter what the case, healthcare is one thing which you will need to check out very carefully and you will certainly need to have some form of expatriate health insurance plan.
This brief list of just five tips is far from exhaustive but hopefully it will give you a starting point and set you in the right direction. Becoming an expat is a huge step and one which needs considerable and careful thought.
Donald Saunders writes on many subjects, in particular health, and is also himself an expat. For more information on international travel health insurance or on low cost health insurance in general then please visit MedicalHealthInsuranceToday.com