Relocation for Expatriate Families

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By BaliMermaid


Relocation - Job Assignment & Family

When your company asks you to make a move of any type it is both an exciting and perilous point in your career and employment. Failure to plan and execute the move can have serious and negative effects on both your job and your family relations. The information in this hub page will provide you with steps, determined by seasoned expatriates, necessary to make a successful job relocation. While these steps, and the information in this article are meant for expatriates moving to and from overseas, many of the steps apply to a move of any distance for yourself, job wise, and your family. Digest the information carefully and if at all possible find another person in your company that has been posted overseas, preferably to the same country you will be relocated to.




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Relocation Planning is a must for expatriate families.
Relocation Planning is a must for expatriate families.

Expatriate Employment Check List

An important word of advice; do not forget the impact that relocation has on children of any age. Moving away from where they have been happy and comfortable is stressful for children. Especially upsetting is the loss of the only friends they may have known. Be aware and get prepared to meet the needs of these, also important, members of your family.

Here is a list of steps you can take to ensure a successful move to any location the company assigns you. The company will expect you to "hit the ground running" as soon as possible after arrival in the host country. Minimizing problems with the move to the new host country must be a first priority. Success in this matter will show the company they picked the correct employee for the assignment. Often utilizing the services from one of the international moving companies when moving to an overseas location can be very helpful.

Here is a list of steps you can take to ensure a successful move to any location the company assigns you. The company will expect you to "hit the ground running" as soon as possible after arrival in the host country. Minimizing problems with the move to the new host country must be a first priority. Success in this matter will show the company they picked the correct employee for the assignment. Often utilizing the services from one of the international moving companies when moving to an overseas location can be very helpful.

1. Familiarization Visit

Ask if your company provides a familiarization trip to the host country for you and your spouse prior to the final moving. Exploring alternatives for real estate, housing, international schooling, recreation and availability of goods, as well as beginning to learn the layout of the area where you will live in will greatly assist in preparations for departure on your international adventure.

2. Pre-shipment Inventory

Requirements for listing every item in a shipment can be a bother. If all paperwork is complete and in order, it will greatly speed up clearing goods through customs in the host country. Every country has a list of specific requirements for entry and clearance of personal property of foreign workers. A complete list of every item in your shipment is usually a requirement.

3. Pre-departure To Do List

Hopefully if will have been possible to do a good amount of research before accepting the new assignment. Now make sure all the important areas you gained knowledge of are taken care of. Suggestions for a 'To Do' list are as follows:

  • Make sure passports and visas are in order.
  • Prepare to rent or sell some of your property before you move. Decide well in advance what should be stored, sold or given away. As the day of departure gets closer it is for sure there will be little time for these matters.
  • Visit an accountant or tax adviser. If you do not have one, discuss financial aspects of the move with the finance department in your company.
  • Organize your banking and insurance matters. Ask the company about expatriate health insurance and for information on other types of expatriate insurance coverage available.
  • Prepare to carry important papers and documents that will be required in the host country.Have more than one list of these documents.
  • Notify correspondents, friends and family of your address and get temporary change of address data from the sponsoring company.
  • Visit the doctor to discuss medical care in the host country before departure. Make sure immunizations records are up to date. If immunizations are needed, it is best to do this as far in advance of the departure date as possible.
  • Be sure to allocate a sufficient amount of Quality Time with friends and family before departure.



Expatriates in the News - See below

  • Permits Foundation Petitions Indian Government to Grant Expatriate Spouses Easier Access to WorkITNews24 hours ago

    Permits Foundation, an international non-profit corporate initiative, has initiated a campaign directed at changing the existing laws on employment rights for expatriate spouses through an improved visa regime for those on intra-corporate transfers.

  • /C O R R E C T I O N -- Permits Foundation/ITNews18 hours ago

    NEW DELHI, November 30 /PRNewswire/ -- In the news release, "Permits Foundation Petitions Indian Government to Grant Expatriate Spouses Easier Access to Work" issued on 30 Nov 2009 03:30 GMT, by Permits Foundation over PR Newswire, we are advised by a representative of the company that a change has been made to the first paragraph and that an additional contact for India has been added.

  • Workers line up at vaccination unit for H1N1 jabsThe Peninsula27 hours ago

    DOHA: The Vaccination Unit in Abu Hamour functioning under the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) has been receiving a number of expatriate workers as well as families seeking the H1N1 jabs.

  • Dubai's expats fear for their future amid holiday funZawya22 hours ago

    DUBAI, Nov 27, 2009 (AFP) - Many of Dubai's large expatriate population are anxious about their future after the shock news of the emirate's financial difficulties, revealed just before the long weekend of the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday.

  • Will Abu Dhabi Impose Conditions for Dubai Bailout?New York Times19 hours ago

    It was the most subtle of gestures, but looking back, many in Dubai now see it as a sign of their salvation.

  • Crisis, what crisis? As rest of world reels, Dubai insists everything's fineThe Scotsman3 hours ago

    DUBAI is facing a debt crisis that has sent a shudder through the global markets. But you wouldn't know it from local officials or media.

  • Iran: five British sailors seized after straying into Iranian watersDaily Telegraph5 hours ago

    Five member of a nine-strong racing crew of the Kingdom of Bahrain racing yacht being held captive in Iran after they strayed into the country's territorial waters on their way to a yacht race.

  • Dubai's debt payment plea shakes marketsSun-Sentinel10 hours ago

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Just a year after the global downturn derailed Dubai's explosive growth, the city is now so swamped in debt that it's asking for a six-month reprieve on paying its bills — causing a drop on world markets Thursday and raising questions about Dubai's reputation as a magnet for international investment.

Comments

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R J Grawet  says:
4 months ago

Great website, full of extremely useful and helpful information. Inclusion of needs and wishes of the entire family is, indeed, extremely important when making any move, but especially important when moving abroad.

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