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What Is in This Moving Abroad Checklist

This moving abroad checklist works for moving to another country from anywhere. It has 241 items in 25 groups, from the visa to the first weeks in the new country. 73 items are this list's own, and 168 come from the General Moving List.

Three groups are only on this list: Flights, Luggage and From your country. A group that does not fit your move, such as Pets, can go all at once: More, then Delete by Group or Tag.

Seeing a home in person helps you judge its condition, so the list plans a short stay after you land and keeps most new home tasks in After the move.

When to Start Planning a Move Abroad

Start as soon as you know where you are moving. The visa, papers that need an apostille and a pet's tests can each take weeks or months, so they come first in Before the move and Pets.

Documents for Use Abroad

Papers such as birth, marriage and education certificates often need an apostille before another country accepts them: a certificate that shows the document is real. It is for countries in the Hague Apostille Convention; others ask for an authentication certificate instead.

  • US: a state document, such as a birth certificate, goes to that state's secretary of state. A federal document goes to the US Department of State.
  • Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan give their own. Global Affairs Canada gives them for federal documents and for the other provinces and territories.
  • UK: the Legalisation Office adds it. A paper one usually takes up to 25 working days plus post, an e-Apostille up to 2.
  • India: the Ministry of External Affairs, for personal and educational documents.

Baggage Allowance: How Many Bags and How Heavy

Your fare sets how many checked bags you can take, and in economy each one can usually weigh up to 23 kg (50 lb).

Air Canada, for example, gives the number of free bags "as per the fare paid", and allows 32 kg (70 lb) a bag only for some members and military travelers. Check your own ticket before you pack.

What You Can Bring Into the Country

Food, plants and animal products have to be declared when you land in countries such as Australia and the US, and your household items may come in free of import tax.

  • Australia: declare all food, plant material and animal items, and some medicines, on the Incoming Passenger Card. Not declaring them can mean a fine of up to A$6,600, or a cancelled visa.
  • US: every farm item, food and plants included, has to be declared. Not declaring a banned one can bring a fine.
  • UK: Transfer of Residence relief lets your belongings in without import duty, if you lived outside the UK for at least 12 months and owned them for at least 6. Apply before they are shipped.

Health Insurance When Moving Abroad

Travel insurance is made for trips of a set length, so for life in the new country you need health care there or international health insurance, which is made for people living abroad.

  • UK: most people with a visa pay the immigration health surcharge, and can then use the NHS free from the day the visa starts. Prescriptions and dental care can still cost money.
  • US, leaving: Medicare usually does not cover health care outside the US.

Bank Accounts Before and After the Move

Before you leave, make sure you can still log in to your home bank from abroad. Santander UK, for example, guarantees its text codes only to UK numbers in the UK, and lets you change the number online only while you still get texts on the old one.

  • Canada: you can open an account while you live outside Canada, with proper ID such as a foreign passport. You may need to go to a branch.
  • Germany: you need the certificate from registering your address, for a bank account among other tasks.

Moving Abroad With Pets

Moving abroad with pets starts with the microchip: the EU, Great Britain and Japan ask for it before the rabies vaccine.

  • EU, from outside it: travel at least 21 days after the first rabies vaccine, with an EU health certificate from an official vet, given no more than 10 days before you arrive. Pets from some countries also need a rabies blood test.
  • Great Britain: travel at least 21 days after the first rabies vaccine. A dog also needs a tapeworm treatment 1 to 5 days before you arrive.
  • Japan, from most countries: the pet arrives at least 180 days after the rabies blood test, and you tell the Animal Quarantine Service at least 40 days before you arrive. Pets from Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Guam, Fiji and Iceland have other rules.
  • US, arriving: a dog that has been in a high-risk rabies country in the past six months is not let in without a rabies vaccine.
  • US, leaving: a USDA-accredited vet prepares the health certificate and sends it to the USDA to be endorsed.

Your First Weeks: ID Numbers and Your Address

Countries such as the UK and Canada give you a number you need to work, and some, such as Germany, ask you to register your address.

  • UK: a National Insurance number, applied for once you are there. You can start work before it comes, if you can prove your right to work.
  • Canada: a 9-digit Social Insurance Number, needed to work or to get government programs and benefits.
  • Germany: register your address within 14 days of moving in. Your tax ID then comes by post.

Print, Share or Change This List

The controls on a phone and on a computer are in How to Use This Moving Checklist App, and paper and PDF files in Printable Moving Checklist and PDF.

The list is saved in this browser from your first change.

Leaving a rented home? Moving Out has the notice, the move-out clean and getting the deposit back. Moving into an apartment in the US? See New Apartment.

Moving Abroad Checklist FAQ

  1. What should I pack when moving abroad?

    Your papers, your medicines, clothes for the first weeks and the items that cost more or are hard to find in the new country. This checklist leaves out big furniture and large appliances; if you ship with movers, add them back with Add Items From Another List in More. What goes in each bag is in the Luggage group, and how airlines count bags is in Baggage Allowance: How Many Bags and How Heavy.

  2. What should I do before moving abroad?

    Start with the visa and the papers it asks for, then your home and what you own, then your health, money and the offices to tell, and last your services and phone. Before the move lists them in that order, and Flights has the flight and a first place to stay. When to start is in When to Start Planning a Move Abroad.

  3. What documents do I need to move to another country?

    A valid passport and the visa or permit for the new country, and the papers the visa asks for, such as a job offer or admission letter and bank statements. Take your birth, marriage and education certificates too, with an apostille where the new country asks for one. What an apostille is, and who gives one, is in Documents for Use Abroad.

  4. Do I need health insurance when moving abroad?

    Yes, unless public health care in the new country covers you from the start: travel insurance is made for trips of a set length, not for living abroad. The rules in the UK and the US are in Health Insurance When Moving Abroad.

  5. Can I open a bank account before moving abroad?

    In some countries, yes. Canada lets you open one while you live outside Canada, with proper ID, though you may need to visit a branch. In Germany, you need the certificate from registering your address first. More is in Bank Accounts Before and After the Move.

  6. How do I move abroad with a pet?

    Microchip your pet first, then get the rabies vaccine, then the tests and waits the new country sets, which can take months. Then book the pet's place on the flight and get the health certificate from the vet. The rules of several countries are in Moving Abroad With Pets.

  7. Do Americans living abroad have to file taxes?

    Yes. The IRS says US citizens living abroad generally file the same tax returns as in the US and report all their taxable income. Some can leave out foreign earnings up to a yearly limit (the foreign earned income exclusion), and anyone whose accounts outside the US add up to more than $10,000 at any time in the year also files an FBAR. If you live and work abroad, you get an automatic 2 extra months to file.