| By :
Alison Withers
Copyright (c) 2010 Alison Withers Moving a household abroad takes a lot of organising and thought and includes making sure you have all the family's personal documents together, deciding what personal household possessions to ship, ensuring you have all the right paperwork for shipping goods and personal effects abroad and most importantly how to pay for it all. Sometimes people can find the experience frustrating, and run into brick walls trying to gather all the information they need. This is a time when habitual list makers come into their own. Whatever your reason for moving, whether it's retirement, to be closer to family or for work, this can be a good opportunity to really review all the clutter you have collected over the years and decide how much of it you really need. The first step is to submit applications for passports, visas and permits as soon as possible. Check to see what will become invalid shortly after the move. If a family member's passport is due to expire in the coming year, for example, renew if early. You will need to keep all important family documents together in one place and ideally carry them with you when travelling - also perhaps consider scanning them all and storing them in online storage as a precaution. Such documents include birth, marriage and divorce certificates, wills, tax records, Birth and Marriage Certificates, Naturalization, Green Card, Proof of Citizenship, etc, Social Security Cards, Vaccination, Medical and Dental Records, Academic Records and Diplomas, Employment Records, and Proofs of Residency (utility bill, statement, etc.), prescriptions and records of medical conditions. You need to check the energy supply details in the country you are moving to before you can make a list of what you plan to keep and take with you from your home and what you intend to get rid of and replace on arrival. If the home and destination countries use different electrical sources - 220V compared to 110V, but also consider such factors as warranty, whether repairs will be east and also currency exchange rates. This applies to TVs, DVD players, washing machines, refrigerators and other electrical appliances. Decisions on household effects at an early stage will help in making a list of what you will be taking, which will be needed for customs declarations in the destination country and in assessing the size of container you will need if you are shipping everything by container. Many people choose the self-pack shipping option if costs are a majore factor as it offers cheaper container shipping, but it does mean your taking on an extra load of work in packing and loading yourself. It's a good idea to use the services of a shipping consultant once you have a basic list of the items you want to move, especially if it includes the family car. An experienced consultant will guide you through the whole process of completing all the paperwork you will need from departure to arrival can put you in touch with an agent at the arrival point, to help you through the arrangements at your destination. A consultant will also be able to ensure you get good commercial rates that have not been increased just because you are a one off private shipper.
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