At least three months before you move, arrange for an in-home survey and consultation with Crown Relocations. We’ll come to your home to give you a quote on how much it will cost to relocate your possessions. Doing this several months before you move ensures you have time to sell or give away anything you don’t want to move, or take advantage of our dedicated storage services.

Now is also a good time to determine how you will handle finances in your new country. Research the types of bank accounts available and what is required to open them. Depending on how long you will be gone, you may want to keep your local checking and savings accounts open and notify your bank that you will be living abroad. Also check with your credit card companies about any special rules or fees for using your cards. If you will incur foreign transaction fees, it may be better to open a new account prior to arrival or when you arrive.

Do the same for your insurance policies, especially health insurance. Meet with your tax adviser to determine how your move will affect your tax status, and what you will be required to pay after you move.  

Traveling with children? Make sure you know what their new schools require in terms of applications, school and medical records, and anything else.

Don’t wait until the last minute to find out that important information is missing. Check that all of your passports are in date and have plenty of empty pages (the exact number needed will depend on your destination).

If you are planning to sell your house and haven’t yet listed it for sale, now is the time to get started. It can take months to find a buyer and complete the process, and you don’t want the deal to fall through a week before you leave the country. Another option may be to rent your home to tenants. Make an appointment with a property management company that can find qualified tenants and manage the property while you are away.

Are you taking your car with you? If not, decide whether you want to sell or store it, and make arrangements accordingly.

For many people, pets are part of the family and travel wherever the family goes. Moving your pet to another country may require special applications, medical records and even a brief quarantine period. Research the requirements and talk with your veterinarian about the best way to handle them and then talk to us about transportation. Crown can help you make safe, comfortable moving arrangements.

Don’t wait for the last minute to find out whether your television, computer, mobile phone and other electronic devices will work in your new country. There is a great deal of variation between countries, so be sure to buy the appropriate adapters and transformers as necessary. International rates and roaming charges for mobile phones can be very expensive, so you may be better off getting a new contract.