Many people plan on moving abroad, whether it’s moving to Canada, moving to Australia, the United States or the UK. However, in putting these plans in motion, there are vital points that are overlooked as nobody seems to talk or throw light on them.
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These are issues that will directly or indirectly affect a foreign nationals stay in a new country. So, whether an individual plans on moving abroad with a work or student visa, these issues must be addressed in other to improve the quality of living abroad as an immigrant.
In this article, we will be highlighting 12 vital points that nobody talks about, but if left unaddressed will drastically affect the quality of living in a foreign country negatively. It is recommended that intending travelers use this piece to take stock, boosting their level of preparation when it comes to traveling abroad.
Total Cost Associated With Flying While Moving Abroad
While preparing to relocate to another country, whether the intent is moving to Spain, moving to Canada or the United Kingdom, potential travelers must be mindful that there is a need to allocate funds for all costs associated with traveling by air.
This cost in most instance is not covered under funds kept aside for personal upkeep while in a chosen country in which the individual plans on relocating to. With scheduled trips, it is always important to note that direct flights are more expensive than connecting ones.
So, if a foreign national is moving to Canada for work, a direct flight from Johannesburg to Vancouver is more expensive than one that necessitates connecting flights which involves layovers at select destinations.
If the primary beneficiary of a work/student/tourist visa is moving abroad with his/her family, then financial provision must be made for the children who will be embarking on the journey with the foreign national, in terms of feeding, type of clothing to suit specific weather conditions etc.
Failure to plan for these liabilities could potentially live primary visa recipients and their partners over extended, leaving them less funds to work with when they arrive their target country. Thus, properly plotting all cost associated with flying while moving abroad is a must.
Is A Human Resource Company In Charge Of Your Moving Abroad For Work?
There are many reasons why intending travelers moving abroad for work should avoid using a HR company to move overseas. For one, both parties are looking to maximize their profits by cutting cost. This translates to harsh working conditions for foreign nationals who seek to travel for work.
There are isolated cases, where recruitment agencies have been known to secure jobs with lucrative packages for individuals moving abroad for work. However, there are other cases as well were human resource companies were used to traffic people to foreign countries for nefarious purposes.
Legitimate human resource companies do not request payment from professionals to assist in providing job placements for foreign applicants and after foreign nationals secure these jobs, these companies do not transport successful applicants to their select country. It’s suspicious when HR companies offer free transportation to another country.
Which Type Of City Will You Be Moving To Abroad?
It is common for foreign nationals moving abroad for work, tourism or studies to choose exotic cosmopolitan cities around the world, because let’s face it who doesn’t want to respond to the question; “what city are you currently in?” with response like; “Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Paris, London or New York”.
However, these cities are extremely expensive to live in, in terms of cost of living. Even though the jobs taken up by foreigners in these cities pay relatively high wages which is commensurate with the cost of living in these locations, it is really not worth it, because money earned simply goes back in trying to maintain a lifestyle.
Immigrants are advised to seek out cities and counties located in the suburbs to reside in, even if one’s preference is working in a cosmopolitan city. An individual could work in London and live in Northampton, this is by far an economically viable option than working and living in the former.
Housing Plans While Moving Abroad
Most people planning on moving abroad never take time to ponder on their immediate accommodation plans when they arrive their oversea destination. Before fulfilling your first rental obligation, where will you put up? Do you have a family member or friend who will house you when you arrive?
Or will you put up in a hotel, a bread and breakfast or will you take up the option of booking an Airbnb accommodation? Whatever your plans are, you must be mindful that if you are traveling with your family, the size will determine your final choice of accommodation in your new city.
Usually if individuals seek a cost-effective solution to solve accommodation challenges when they touch down, we recommend putting up in either one of a bread and breakfast or an Airbnb. At least till they secure the right housing type that suits their needs.
Most tier 1 countries have low-cost housing for people who are pressed for funds at least in the early days of arriving a new country. Interested foreign nationals will have to find out more about live-in mannerism, in terms of domestic noise levels accepted in this type of accommodation particularly if you plan on immigrating with your family.
Are You Moving Abroad With Your Children? What Plans Have You Put In Place?
While moving abroad with a family, foreign nationals have to bear in mind that different tier 1 countries have different laws in relations to the age acceptable for children to begin schooling. For the United Kingdom, children are not accepted in schools unless they turn 5 years.
For the United States, its 4 to 6 years, Canada is 6 years, Australia is 5 years, New Zealand is 5 years and the Netherlands is also 5 years. Families moving abroad must be mindful of this so as to make proper arrangements for their ward’s upkeep while abroad.
If both the primary work/student visa applicant and his/her partner plan on working, then who will be responsible for looking after the child/children? Would the services of a child minder be sought? Or a child-minding care home? What are the cost implications?
If you plan on relocating abroad for work or studies with your family, we recommend that the partner who makes the most by way of income, support the family while the other partner stay home with the minor/minors at least till they are of school attending age.
Another option is to invite a family member, maybe a sister, in-law or parent, who will look after the child/children when their biological parents are out working. This option could be very beneficiary for families who want to maximize their income earnings.
However, countries like the UK only grant 6 months to these visa applicants (family members coming in to help look after the children), after which they are required to return to their home country and re-apply for another visa after a period of time has elapsed. However, countries like Canada offer a maximum of 10 years to super visa applicants (visa for parents and grandparents). Depending on the conditions in which the visa is applied for.
Work/student visa applicants must bear in mind that if they plan on moving abroad with their children, depending on the country, they must not be older than 18 to 25 years and they mustn’t have dependents who they cater for. Also, they must be living with the primary applicant and his/her partner.
Another key child support policy that must not be violated, is in regards to leaving children alone by themselves at home. Even though they might be 16 or 17 years of age, they cannot be left alone at home unsupervised for periods greater than 5 minutes. Doing this violates a foreign national’s visa terms.
What’s The Downside To Working The Job Offered By Your Overseas Employer?
Have you stopped to research what people who work the job you’ve been offered are saying about their experience? For instance, a live-in care giver job in the UK will require successful applicants to work for 12 hours per shift, 5 days a week.
The client being cared for might be a mentally unable patient, are you ready for the psychological toll this might have on you, if you work for this sponsor for 6 months to a year? Or are you only focused on the pay?
Does your employment contract have a non-compete clause that binds you to this employer for a specific period of time? In which period you are not allowed to apply for open positions in other companies. For countries like Canada, unless a foreign national is granted an open work permit, he/she cannot change employers when they enter Canada on a work visa.
Do You Plan On Working Multiple Jobs When You Move Abroad?
It is common practice for foreign individuals to work multiple jobs when they relocate to another country. Sometimes even people on a student visa could decide to work multiple jobs, depending on the country of course.
These individuals must be mindful that when an employer grants a foreigner employment to work overseas, the internal revenue service for that country assigns a tax code to that employee, upon taking a second job, particularly in the United Kingdom, if they are not notified, no tax code will be assigned to the second job.
This could lead to a situation in which a foreign individual is taxed at a higher bracket. If this is the case, a tax refund could be processed, but this is usually an uphill task. We recommend that foreign nationals always communicate with the internal revenue service for that country informing them of the nature of work taken as a second job.
Most people think that in keeping a second job a secret, they are gaming the system, but in all fairness, the only person being gamed is yourself and over time this is observed in lost earnings.
Is There A Pathway To Permanent Residency In Your Chosen Visa Category?
It is common to find people who are desperate to relocate to another country whether for work, studies or other reasons. In moving abroad, foreign nationals need to find out whether their chosen visa category offers a direct pathway to permanent residency. This is of course if they are interested in becoming permanent residents the country.
For instance, individuals on a student visa to New Zealand are not eligible to apply for permanent residences, to do so they will have to switch to a different visa category such as a temporary work visa or an essential worker visa to be eligible.
Another example of this rule at play is in respect to individuals who enter Australia with a New Zealand visa, which is a visa category of itself to Australia. Even though they are given the privilege of working in the country in perpetuity, they cannot become permanent residents in Australia, to do so a special application has to be submitted.
These immigration bottlenecks exists in most tier 1 countries, so before applying for a visa abroad an individual must ask these questions to avoid impediments to PR in the future.
What Is The Passport Renewal Policy For Your Country While Overseas?
Countries like Canada require foreign nationals to apply for a transfer of visa, when a new passport booklet is obtained, there is usually a timeline to get this done and if this is not met, foreigners could be in violation. However, before this can kick in immigrants to tier 1 countries must have information as to how their expired passports can be renewed.
Would you have to travel out of the country to get this done? Can you apply while overseas through your country’s high commission or embassy? Are there fees to pay? All these information have to be gotten before a foreign national embarks on a trip abroad.
As a rule of thumb, passports that have a validity period of 3 to 4 months have to be renewed before visa application of any category can be submitted. Not doing this is tantamount to a denial.
What Happens If Your Passport Gets Stolen?
The same applies to stolen passports, individuals need to be aware of the channel in which a complaint can be lodged if their passports get stolen. This of course is different across multiple tier 1 countries. If there is a timeline to be met and this expires, ignorance will not exempt one from consequence.
Before Moving Abroad, Do You Know How People Of Your Race Are Treated In Your Select Country?
Racism is a big challenge the world over and even though people try to act like it doesn’t exist, it is still out there and there are victims of racial abuse all over. Have you found out how your race, be it Chinese, Africans or Hispanic are treated in your target destination?
You could run a simple google search with your target destination right next to the word “racism” and see what comes up. This could be a barometer of which you could use to measure the racial pulse of the city in which you plan on moving to.
Different people have different levels of tolerance when racism is concerned, where some find tolerable others might find repugnant. We recommend that you do your research. Find out if there is an elevated level of racism in the corporate or informal society where you plan on moving abroad. And be prepared.
Benefits Of Select Destination To Your Race
Apart from racism, see if there are benefits that accrue to people of your race in your target destination. Are there benefits such as reduced taxes, free education or free medical cover? These could help a foreign national settle in quicker.
For instance, citizens or permanent residence of the United States do not require a visa to enter Canada, just as people from Argentina do not require a visa to enter Spain. These are special benefits that accrue to people from these countries offered by the immigration services of their preferred destinations.
How Difficult Is It To Move To Another Country While Overseas?
Some people relocate to a country as a make shift destination to a final country. For instance, Sierra Leoneans who move to South Africa, with the intention of working to raise money to move to the United States of American. Many people have this sort of plans.
If your plan is to move to a country in other to get the right amount of money or documents to finally immigrate to your chosen country, then endeavor to find out the level of difficulty that could be encountered in moving to a final destination.
Countries like Canada do not accept people with a Somalian passport, neither do they accept people from the Czech Republic or with a temporary passport from South Africa. So, if a Somalian plans to move to the UK before applying for a Canada visa, this will be impossible unless he/she gets a change of passport through a permanent residency in the UK first before applying to go to Canada.
While Moving Abroad, Are People From Your Country Regarded As Flight Risk?
There are tier 1 countries who for whatever reason see citizens of other countries as a flight risk and so blacklist passports of people from these countries. Foreign nationals are mandated to know if their country fall under this category.
For instance, people from North Cyprus are banned from traveling to Australia, France, the United States and the United Kingdom. Individuals with passport from this country will not be granted visa when they apply. Even if they were to apply from another country.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why moving abroad is entertained by a lot of people. However, in relocating to another country, there are several aspects that are overlooked by potential immigrants which are pertinent to their well being in a foreign country.
These points, although informal in their nature must be looked into so as not to hamper the success of the civil pursuit a foreign national is traveling overseas for, whether its for studies or work. Sometimes being ignorant of these factors comes with immigration penalties that are far reaching in their ramifications.
If moving to Canada, UK or whatever country an individual chooses, for one researching the age in which a child can start school could be the different between paying exorbitant amounts for a child minder or other forms of child care services and bringing the child into the UK or Canada at a later date when he/she is ready to begin school.
Have you fallen victim to any of the above 12 mistakes foreign nationals make before they relocate? Which one did you fail to consider before moving abroad?
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