Shortly After Accepting an Assignment

Home

• Talk to company about moving policies/procedures.
• Decide whether to rent or sell your home. Contact agents or make arrangements to handle the property yourself.
• If renting, give notice to the landlord.
• Keep a record of all moving-related expenses and save receipts.
• Clarify what expenses your company will cover and what costs will be your responsibility.
• Organize and keep a first-aid kit handy at all times.
• Complete a household inventory. Include everything you plan to move or store. This information will be useful on moving day and also for insurance and estate purposes. Take pictures/video.
• You may wish to sell or give away some items. Eliminate as much as possible; your new home may be smaller.
• If your company allows you to choose, interview and select movers.
• Check with the mover, your company, and insurance agent regarding insurance coverage for the move. Arrange for any additional coverage that may be needed. Optimum coverage is all-risk, replacement-value, no deductible coverage.
• Have precious and expensive items appraised (art, antiques, musical instruments, etc.). Consider not shipping these items and arrange for secure storage. Do not plan to ship anything you cannot replace.
• Start to use up items in the cabinets and freezer.
• Take in items for servicing and buy spare parts, if appropriate.
• Decide if you are taking pets. Check the country and airline regulations for quarantines, inoculations, vet certificates, etc. Make vet appointment based on requirements.

Personal and Official

• Obtain passports, visas, and work permits (two months in advance); and extra photos.
• Obtain international driver’s license (especially helpful if driving between countries).
• Collect school records/curricula along with children’s immunization records for ease in enrolling in a new school. Collect documents such as birth, baptismal and marriage certificates, adoption papers, wills, divorce papers, etc., and place in safety deposit box or “Essentials Box”
• Arrange for physicals, immunizations, dental and eye exams.
• Get medical and dental records and x-rays, prescriptions for contacts or eyeglasses, and generic names of medicines taken on a regular basis.
• Establish a Power of Attorney/someone to handle your personal affairs in your absence.
• Arrange access to a safety deposit box for storage of important documents in your absence.
• Rewrite your will, if necessary. Leave the original in a safety deposit box and take a copy with you.
• Contact a tax consultant regarding your home country taxes in your absence.