Seriously…
My friend was talking about what it would be like to move to another country, and I was wondering what it would take to do so, I know that you would to talk to imigration at some point, but there has to be more than that.
I am not sure if this is an Imho thing- if it is feel free to close or move it or whatever…It seems like it would be General though
thanks :d
The hardest part would be obtaining a visa at the foreign country. This depends on the country. To move to the US or Canada and work there, you need to find an employer there and have them explain to their government why you should be allowed to work there. This gets you a work visa which is good for a couple of years, during which time you can apply for a permanent resident status (green card). Or you can get married to a citizen there and I believe this entitles you to be a permanent resident.
There usually isn’t much paperwork to do with your own government, just a change of address. This depends on the country too, I imagine it’s very different in North Korea…
Assuming you’ve got a visa or work permit sorted out, there are alot of other things to worry about, like how do you get all your stuff from point A to point B? I moved from the US to the UK a few years ago. I had to find a moving company that could deal with an international move which meant getting the stuff properly packed, getting it onto a ship, handling the customs paperwork, and getting it delivered and unpacked at this end. Before I left I sold or gave away all my electrical appliances except for my PC which could handle dual voltages. I sold my shotgun since I hadn’t used it in years and getting the UK permits would have been more hassle than it was worth. I brought my car and motorcycle, but both needed minor changes to the lights to conform to local regulations.
And, aside from practicalities, it’s also a question of your legal status. Where do you pay taxes? What happens (if you’re a U.S. citizen) to money you’ve paid to the social security system towards your pension? Planning on returning?
There are so many things to be figured into that equation, that you nedd to be more specific: from what country to which?
I’ve done this - moved from one country to another, and there were so many things I had no idea about. I’m paying for some of them, eight years later…
I was going to be living in PNG for a while. For that particular move I had to have various health checks including an AIDS test and Hepatitus test, also I had to have a number of vaccinations against some nasty diseases. My employer had to explain why I should be doing the job and why he couldn’t get a PNG national to do the same job. There were a number of other paper work type things that I can’t remember now. This was only for a short working trip though so full immigration would be much more involved.
However, when I moved from New Zealand to Australia all I had to do was buy an air ticket.
I’ve done it many times, and it’s a lot easier than some posters here are making out. I wouldn’t try to move all my stuff over, if I were you. Buy new stuff when you get there.
As stated, getting a work visa is the hardest thing - usually requires you to get a job in advance.
You’ll also need some seed capital (between $5K and $10K is recommended) for things like deposits on an apartment, buying clothes and household goods, though when I moved to Hong Kong, I had $50 in my pocket and nothing else (though I did have a friend who let me stay with him rent-free till I got on my feet).
Then you pay up all your bills, get travellers’ cheques, buy your tickets, and off you go.
Of course, the ease of immigration differs from country to country; I think the PNG example is unusually extreme.
Marry a local girl.
I moved to Panama many years ago. A large bank account got me a permament visa and I have full legal rights. (OK, I can’t vote, but I can own property.)
Now I am in Saudi Arabia and had no problem as long as you have a sponsor (that is an employer).
Okay, it’s 6 in the morning and I had 4 hours of sleep? PNG?
PNG = Papua New Guinea
Well, pick a country first. Then read in the newsgroup: alt.marriage.visa.based ( or something like that) to find out what is required. Then get an immigration lawyer, etc.
Countries you might want to avoid? Hmmm, Iran & Iraq ?
gee whiz LOL
Some of this stuff is stuff I know I never thought of before
Yikes!
seed capital, jjim? Planning in advance? All a load of hooey if’n you ask me. Moved to eight different countries in the last eleven years, enjoying each move immensely, and picking up and heading somehwere else is the easiest thing in the world. Ended up in Turkey with a quarter and a nickel in 1994 (my girlfriend had $30 so i cheated, I suppose), and guess what? Nobody in that fine land ever gave a hoot if I had working permission or not. I realize that when we’re talking about earning more than hand to mouth incomes, legal status comes into play (particularly here in Sweden), but people seem to make out that it is a hassle to relocate globally when that’s just plain not true. Many, if not most, countries (as far as I know) would like you to think it’s difficult to immigrate for the sheer purpose of discouraging immigration by whim (as opposed to, say, refugee status), but I’ve never had any troubles, I am not lucky, and my taxes are all in order.
Getting a visa for Taiwan was a little tricky - had to show a bank statement, letter from my employer guaranteeing that I would still have a job when I returned, college diploma, etc. They’re a little touchy about people working there without permission. After that, though, it was just a matter of loading up the pack and getting on a plane. Getting a resident visa was easy once I’d found a job.
Now moving back to the USofA is a bit more complex, but mainly because I’ve married and accumulated all kinds of stuff. Good luck!