Emigration: checklist and advice

There are many different reasons why people decide to emigrate. Better employment, better working conditions, higher wages, lower cost of living or a variety of other motives can be decisive factors. 

In Europe, the Scandinavian countries are especially attractive because of their high wages and better living conditions, but the neighboring countries are often also very popular. In the same way, there are also more distant countries on the papers of emigrants.

Emigrate – the right preparation is important

The most common emigration traps

Emigration – the checklist

Emigrate – the right preparation is important

If you are planning to emigrate as an individual or with your family, this is something you should think about and consider all the conditions here. On the one hand, the financial aspect is of course important for your project, because moving and building a new life is not necessarily cheap.

On the other hand, the topics of language, culture, new people and homesickness are also essential and should not be neglected. That is why for most who play with this idea, emigrating on a trial basis is a good way to get an idea of what is to come.

Rent self storage space for your home, so that you no longer have to pay rent during this time. Spend more than the usual vacation time on the emigration test and actively look around at daily life there. Assess the job market and find out how easy or difficult it is to find a job in the target country. As an emigrant you are not automatically insured in your new home country. In many countries there are only controversial state health systems for which additional insurance is inevitable.

The most common emigration traps

Especially in emigration environments there are many fraudsters and it is not uncommon for new emigrants to be scammed. So that your emigration does not turn into a nightmare, you must know these traps:

1. Trust: Especially in corrupt countries and areas where emigrants often live, there are often questionable offers. In South American countries, for example, emigrants are often used as drug couriers for transport to Europe. Even if you don’t know exactly what you are doing, it is a criminal offense. Likewise, in these countries houses are often sold by people who sell these houses multiple times or who do not even own the houses. Therefore, you must have the documents checked by a legitimate person. But beware, there are also notaries and lawyers who defraud emigrants. Therefore, it is advisable to contact the Embassy, which often has a list of renowned and German-speaking lawyers and notaries. It is advisable to rent storage space for the bridging time.

2. Emigration advisor: Your project is in principle feasible without such an advisor. In some countries, e.g. South Africa or Paraguay, an advisor can be very helpful. However, there are also many fraudsters among the advisers. Therefore, please contact the large and well-known advice centers immediately. Ask all your questions to your advisor. He or she must also answer these in detail, if the questions are avoided you must be extra careful.

3. Buying real estate: As already mentioned under 1., there is a lot of cheating in this area. “Fake notaries” and forged title deeds are well-known examples of this. Ultimately, your money will run out and it will belong to someone else’s dream home. Ask the neighbors who owns the house and why they want to sell it. Read more about reputable intermediaries.

4. Documents: Often emigrants with well-paid jobs are lured abroad and don’t know that they do not have a work permit. They then get it fairly quickly from the same intermediary for a large amount of cash. Then you have lost the money, and you are without a work permit and job. If the papers are missing, please contact the local administration or your embassy.

5. Bank account: Make sure to open an account with a large and reputable bank. There are often small banks on the market that are nothing but fraud. When the first large payment is transferred, your account suddenly no longer exists and you have little chance of seeing the money back.

Emigration – the checklist

• The right country: if you choose your emigration destination after a nice holiday stay or even a television series, you should reconsider this. Holidays and series such as “The Emigrants” are only partially suitable for getting to know a country well. Therefore, before you fully emigrate, plan a temporary departure. In the meantime, you can rent a storage place for your belongings, so that you do not always have to pay your expensive rent.

• Language: those who emigrate to German-speaking countries do not need to make extraordinary changes. Foreign language skills are essential for all other target countries. Many emigration plans fail on this important point, the language barrier. Knowledge of the English language is a minimum requirement.

• Living Safely: This point should have the highest priority when emigrating. Do not go on an emigration trip without job prospects and financial support. Experts advise you to properly disassemble your tents in Germany after one year. You can easily store household items and furniture at BOXIE24 during this time.

• Relocation: In the beginning, think carefully about what you want to keep, what you want to leave in the original country for the time being and what you want to take with you. Also check out what e.g. Kitchen appliances in your destination country. You can sell excess items on eBay or a flea market. You can rent a storage box for everything you want to leave for the time being. Emigrants often independently organize a relocation to neighboring countries or Europe in general. If you are going abroad, you should inquire with your airline about large items of luggage, otherwise rent a sea container to have it shipped.

• Visa and passport: Your passport must certainly be valid and, if possible, longer than a year. Governments often require a minimum period of validity. In some countries, entry is only possible with a passport. To save costs at the embassy, you must have a valid passport and visa when emigrating.

• Certificates: find out which of your certificates and training courses are valid in the target country. You can request information about this from the State Ministry of Culture, for example. Sometimes translation and certification of the documents is required. You should do the same with any kind of permit (driver’s license, forklift permit, truck permit, fishing permit, etc.) so that you don’t get annoyed during an on-site inspection. It is therefore necessary that you know this in advance, for some certificates you may need to follow further training on location.

• Health insurance: Take out travel health insurance abroad for the first time, because the health insurance of the country of origin is no longer responsible after emigration. Then make sure that you are insured in the system of the new country.

• Contracts: You must cancel contracts and subscriptions in good time so that they do not continue to run. Contracts such as mobile phone contracts or the gym are often forgotten.

Whichever city you want to emigrate from, BOXIE24 is your reliable partner for storage space.