Moving overseas can be a necessity, such as a change in your employment or career, or to take care of family matters. It can also serve as an adventure. Maybe you have always wanted to take the family and live in another country. Maybe your family or other relatives are from a country and you’ve decided to go back to your heritage. No matter what the reason you need to understand what is involved if you are going to move overseas.

While we could never cover everything that’s involved in moving to another country in just one blog, we’ve taken some of the basic steps that you will need to be aware of before you hop on that plane to your new home. https://www.humboldt.com/your-international-move-relocation/

And remember, every country may have their own rules and regulations, so it is important you get all the necessary information you need before embarking overseas.

What do I need to know before my International Move?

First, if you know you are moving to another country you will need to contact an international moving company immediately. While local moves may be able to be executed on short notice, there is so much more involved when moving to a new country. In short, never delay contacting the moving company because they are a vital part of getting to your next destination. You should request that home or virtual survey fast, and then find out how to get a quote from a moving company as soon as you can.

Review your moving company quotes and choose that company carefully. They should have extensive experience when it comes to moving families overseas. Work with your company to book that date, and get your moving day scheduled.

If you are planning an international move, there will be a fair amount of paperwork as you might imagine. For example, if you are moving to the UK, you will need to apply for a TOR1 Form. That stands for Transfer of Residence. Other forms and documents include an application for insurance, destination information form, EIN number application for that export clearance and any other forms depending on the destination country you are moving to. https://www.humboldt.com/humboldt-moving-forms/  If you have chosen a moving company that has experience moving clients overseas, they will guide you through the process and tell you exactly which forms need to be completed for your move.

What are the next steps in booking my move?

Your mover will then need to book ocean freight with a specific carrier and order a container for your household goods. They will need to confirm those dates with you and others and review last minute documents. Then they will let you know when the moving crew needs to start.

Like any other move, you the homeowner would walk your crew through your home and show your movers what needs to be shipped, what will not be shipped, and show them special items such as antiquities and other expensive items.

Your household goods are then packed, wrapped, put into cartons and even crates for international shipping. Your moving crew will take a final inventory of everything being shipped and depending on the job, your goods will be loaded into a container or a moving truck. Your goods are weighed, and at this point a final cost can be determined to move you overseas.

At this point you will be required to pay for your move. Typically, the best way to pay for that is a credit or debit card or even a wire transfer. Once that is complete, your items are off and running and your journey begins.

Your household items are on their way

As you might imagine an international move is going to take much longer than local moving. And your moving company will do everything they can to schedule your move, so you get your items as soon as possible. Your moving company will send all documents including what they call an ocean bill of lading to the destination moving agent and once that happens your goods set sail. Your mover will advise you as to the sailing details and they will keep you posted as to the progress as your goods travel across the ocean to your new home.

You will then be notified of the agent that will be receiving your goods for arrival and any other information including customs clearance.

Once your goods clear customs, your destination agent will schedule your moving date immediately.

You will receive all your household items and goods, your compare your inventory with the mover to make sure you have everything in your possession and once everything is moved in you will sign up on the final paperwork. You have now moved to another country, congratulations.

One last thing. It always helps your moving company if you fill out that post moving survey. It tells them if they did a good job, and it lets them know if there were any issues so they can correct that for future moves. As we have stated, there are many moving parts to an international move so if something needs to be improved, your moving company should know about it.

Welcome to your new home!

Are you ready for your next relaxing moving experience? If you’re moving soon, give our team a call today and let’s get started!