The Moving Abroad Checklist: A Timeline From 12 Months Out to Your First 90 Days

An international move is a hundred small tasks that depend on each other. Your visa needs apostilled documents, which need certified copies, which take weeks to arrive. Your pet's paperwork has a clock that starts on a specific date. The checklist below is organized by when each task should start, not when it is due, because the most common mistake people make is starting the slow items too late.

Not every item applies to every move, and the order will shift with your destination and visa type.

12 or more months out: decide and qualify

This is the research and decision phase. The goal is to confirm that you can legally live where you want to live, and to identify every slow, document-heavy task early.

• Choose a country (or a short list). Start with the legal question: is there a visa you actually qualify for? Our country decision framework walks through the full process.
• Identify your residency route. Retirement, remote work, investment, family ties, or ancestry. Read the official consulate or immigration agency page for the exact requirements, then read our overview of how residency visas work.
• Check your income and savings against the requirement. Many programs set income thresholds that change annually, often tied to a local minimum wage. Confirm the current figure with the consulate.
• Plan a scouting trip. Two to four weeks on the ground, ideally in the off-season, will tell you more than months of reading. See our scouting trip guide.
• Build a realistic budget. Include one-time moving costs (visa fees, flights, shipping, deposits, temporary housing) and a monthly budget for your new home. Our cost of living guide explains what actually drives costs abroad.
• Check citizenship by descent. If you have a parent or grandparent from Italy, Ireland, or another country with ancestry-based citizenship, that path can take years. Start now. See citizenship by descent.

6 to 12 months out: documents, passports, and the big decisions

This is when the slow paperwork starts. Many residency applications require official documents that must be recent (often issued within the last 90 days or six months), so check the window before ordering too early.

Passports

• Check every passport in the household. The State Department advises that many countries require at least six months of validity remaining at entry and at least two blank pages. For a move, aim higher: a residency permit is usually tied to your passport, and some countries will not issue a permit that outlasts it.
• Renew any passport expiring within the next two to three years. Renewing from abroad is possible through a US embassy or consulate, but it is easier at home and avoids a gap in the middle of a residency process.
• Get passports for children. Minors under 16 must apply in person with both parents or guardians (or a consent form), and their passports are valid for only five years.

Official documents

• Order certified copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, and name-change documents from the issuing state or county. Order extras; you will be asked for originals more than once.
• Request an FBI background check if your visa requires one, and find out whether it must be apostilled. Timing matters because many countries accept a check only if it is recent. Our apostilles and background checks guide covers the process step by step.
• Get apostilles from the Secretary of State of the state that issued each document (or from the US Department of State for federal documents like the FBI check).
• Ask about translations. Many countries require certified or sworn translations done by a translator recognized in that country. Ask before paying for a US translation that may not be accepted.
• Gather financial proof. Pension award letters, Social Security benefit statements, bank statements, and employment or client contracts. Find out how many months of statements the consulate wants.

Housing and belongings

• Decide whether to sell, rent out, or keep your US home. Each choice has tax and domicile consequences. Read state taxes and domicile before you decide.
• Decide what to ship, store, or sell. For many moves, selling most furniture and shipping a modest amount is cheaper than a full container. Compare the options in our shipping vs. selling guide.

Pets

• Start pet paperwork now. Some countries require a microchip before the rabies vaccine, waiting periods after vaccination, and in some cases a blood test months in advance. See moving abroad with pets.

3 to 6 months out: apply, insure, and arrange

• Submit your visa application once your documents are inside their validity window. Book the consulate appointment early; slots at busy consulates can fill weeks ahead.
• Arrange health coverage. The State Department is direct about this: Medicare does not cover medical costs outside the United States, and the US government does not pay medical bills abroad. Many visas also require proof of health insurance. Compare options in our international health insurance guide.
• Consider medical evacuation coverage. The State Department notes that most plans do not cover air ambulance transport back to the US, which it estimates can cost $20,000 to $200,000.
• Decide about Medicare. If you are 65 or older, think carefully before dropping Part B. Late enrollment penalties can apply if you re-enroll later. Our healthcare abroad guide explains the tradeoffs.
• Get quotes for shipping or storage and book the mover if you are shipping a container. International moves are often booked months out in summer.
• Research schools if you have children, and request school records. See moving abroad with kids.
• Book temporary housing for your first one to three months rather than signing a lease sight unseen. Our housing abroad guide covers how renting works.

1 to 3 months out: health, money, driving, and voting

Medical records and prescriptions

• Schedule checkups: doctor, dentist, eye exam. Get any procedures done while your US coverage is active.
• Request copies of your medical records, including recent lab results, imaging reports, and vaccination records. Digital copies are easiest to carry.
• Check that your medications are legal at your destination. The State Department advises contacting the foreign embassy of every country you will enter or transit. Some common US prescriptions, including certain ADHD medications and sleeping pills, are restricted or need a permit elsewhere.
• Ask your doctor for a letter listing each prescription by its generic name (brand names differ abroad), and keep medications in their original packaging with copies of the prescriptions.
• Fill a larger supply if your insurer allows it, to cover the period until you find a local doctor.

Banking and money

• Tell your banks and card issuers that you are moving, and confirm they will keep serving you with a foreign address. Some US institutions restrict or close accounts for customers living abroad.
• Get a card without foreign transaction fees and a debit card that reimburses or minimizes foreign ATM fees.
• Sort out two-factor authentication. If your bank texts codes to a US phone number, you need a plan to keep that number or switch to an authenticator app. See mail, phone, and keeping a US address.
• Plan how you will move money. Wire fees and exchange-rate markups add up. Read banking abroad.
• Update Social Security and pension payment details if needed. See Social Security abroad.

Driving

• Renew your US driver's license if it will expire within a few years. Renewing from abroad can be difficult, and some states require an in-person visit.
• Get an International Driving Permit (IDP) if your destination recognizes it. According to USA.gov, the State Department authorizes only two organizations to issue IDPs in the US, and other websites selling "international driver's licenses" are often fraudulent. An IDP is valid for one year and must be carried with your US license.
• Learn the local license rules. An IDP is generally meant for visitors. Once you become a resident, many countries give you a limited period before you must get a local license, and some require a local driving test.

Voting

• Register as an overseas voter using the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), available through the Federal Voting Assistance Program at FVAP.gov. It registers you and requests absentee ballots in one step.
• Resubmit the FPCA every year, ideally each January, and whenever your address or email changes. State election offices recommend this so your ballot requests stay current.
• For which address to use and how state rules work, see our voting from abroad guide.

Taxes and accounts

• Understand your ongoing US filing duties. The IRS taxes citizens on worldwide income, and the filing rules are generally the same whether you live at home or abroad. Read US taxes abroad.
• Know the FBAR rule. Once your foreign accounts are open, you may need to report them to the Treasury each year. See FBAR and FATCA.
• Handle your state. Some states continue to treat you as a resident for tax purposes unless you clearly cut ties. Address this before you leave.

The final month: mail, phone, and loose ends

• Set up your US mailing address. Choose a trusted family member or a virtual mailbox service. Think about which state that address is in, because it can affect your tax and voting situation.
• File a change of address with USPS. USPS says that if you are moving outside the United States, you must visit a Post Office location before you leave to submit the request in person. Standard forwarding for a permanent move lasts 12 months.
• Update your address with the IRS, Social Security, VA, banks, brokerages, insurers, pension administrators, and credit card issuers.
• Decide what to do with your phone number. Porting it to an internet-based phone service is a common way to keep it for bank codes. Do this before you cancel your plan, not after.
• Unlock your mobile phone so it will accept a local SIM or eSIM.
• Enroll in STEP, the State Department's free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, at travel.state.gov. It sends alerts from the nearest US embassy or consulate and helps the embassy contact you or your emergency contact in a crisis. The State Department specifically mentions residents and long-term stays as users.
• Scan your important documents (passports, visas, birth and marriage certificates, insurance cards, prescriptions) and store them securely in the cloud, with a copy shared with someone you trust.
• Cancel or transfer utilities, subscriptions, and auto insurance. Ask your auto insurer for a letter showing your claim-free history; some foreign insurers give credit for it.
• Pack a "first two weeks" bag with documents, prescriptions, chargers and adapters, and enough clothing to live on until shipments arrive.
• Carry originals by hand. Never pack apostilled documents, passports, or visa paperwork in checked baggage or a shipping container.

Your first 90 days after arrival

The work does not end when you land. Many countries give new arrivals a short window to complete registration steps, and missing it can mean fines or problems with your residency.

1. Complete residency registration. If you entered on a visa that must be converted into a residence card, find out the deadline on day one. Some countries require an appointment within weeks of arrival.
2. Register your address with the local municipality if required. In many countries this unlocks everything else.
3. Get your local tax ID number. You will need it to open a bank account, sign a lease, and set up utilities.
4. Open a local bank account. Bring your passport, residence permit or visa, tax ID, and proof of address.
5. Get a local phone number with a local SIM or eSIM. Many local services require a local number.
6. Register with the healthcare system if you are eligible, and find a doctor, a pharmacy, and the nearest emergency room before you need them. See healthcare abroad.
7. Update STEP with your permanent address so the embassy knows you live there.
8. Start the driver's license conversion if your new country requires one. Note the deadline.
9. Clear your shipment through customs and keep the paperwork. New residents often get a one-time exemption on household goods, with conditions.
10. Find your community. Language classes, places of worship, and volunteer groups ease the loneliness many people feel in the early months. See culture shock and language.

After the first year

A few items come around annually. Put them on your calendar now:

• US tax return: the IRS gives citizens living abroad an automatic two-month extension to file, to June 15 for calendar-year filers, but interest on unpaid tax runs from April 15.
• FBAR filing for foreign accounts, generally due April 15 with an automatic extension.
• FPCA resubmission for voting each January.
• Residency permit renewal: note the date and the documents required, and start early.
• Passport expiration check: renew through the nearest US embassy or consulate well before it runs out.

Very little of this is hard once you start the slow items early. Work backward from your move date and give every document its lead time.

Last reviewed October 17, 2026. General information only, not legal, immigration, or tax advice. Requirements change, so confirm with official sources before you apply. See our disclaimer.