So you wanna move overseas? A life of travel or immigration to a new land? People talk about it all the time. Very few ever actually do it. Hell, very few ever even try to do it.
I was reading a recent post by Mark over at Uruguay Expat Life. He was laying it down about how he and his wife obtained the necessary permits to become legal residents of that fine country. And he was also taking some time out to officially snap on people who spend their days preaching “wisdom” in internet forums.
And his story sure reminded me a lot of ours when we made our way to Berlin, Germany, back in early 2011. We felt his ire back then, and still have quite a bit of disdain for certain parts of the internet. So, I asked Mark if I could talk about him in this post, and add a little bit of my own ranting into the mix.
This is Mark. He moved to Uruguay from the United States with his lovely wife. His recent blog post inspired what I wrote here.
Once your done ogling Mark’s handsome mug, you can continue reading below…
Do you really want to move overseas? Then do it. Yes, it is that plain and simple. If you want it, you’ll do it. And you’ll do anything (within the law, yeah?) to make it happen. When we decided to move to Berlin, we had a very frank conversation about actually doing it. Less talk, more action. Roadblocks would come, and we would work our way around each one.
Before you head over and read Mark’s post, which applies in its own right to every country in the world, let me give you a few tips. If you don’t want to hear it, then you’re probably not ready to fulfill your “lifelong” dream of moving overseas.
All the things mentioned below are things that we did and things that helped us accomplish our goal of moving over yonder.
1. Set a goal / set a time-frame.
This is important. It gives you a “deadline” at which point you should complete your project. It also keeps you from procrastinating and ending up in the bar two years later making excuses about how you were going to move overseas but you just weren’t feeling it. We made our decision in August 2010: We would move to Germany in February 2011. We moved one month late – March 2011 – with all of our ducks in a row.
2. Read everything you can get your hands on.
Google everything you can think of. Starting a business in Spain? Google those terms and and all of their iterations. Moving to Bulgaria to teach English? Do the same. Whatever it is you want to do, google the hell out of it and all of its related terms.
A good trick here is to use Google for your target country, in addition to your normal Google searches. I’ve talked about this before and I can’t tell you enough how much of a difference it can make, or how much more info you’ll find. If your target country is Serbia, for example, also be sure to use google.rs for Serbian sites. You can search these localized forms of Google and then have the option of only seeing results based in your target country, or even in your target language if you’re comfortable with that.
Read everything. I don’t care how crappy or out of date or unreliable or shady the website seems: Read it.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
When you’re googling all of the things above, you’ll inevitably stumble across government organizations that talk about immigration, how to immigrate, how to start a business in that country, etc. You’ll also come across non-profit sites and chambers of commerce and arts websites and whatever else you’re into. They will provide you with many ideas that you will take note of, or put in the back of your brain. They will also provide contact info. Government representatives, non-profit immigration and/or business consultants, etc. Email all of them. If you see ten contacts on a website, email all ten. Get your email game down to a science. Ask questions. If they don’t have answers, ask them if they know someone you can talk to.
Same goes for everyone and anyone you know who has spent a reasonable amount of time in your target country. Parents of your friends who emigrated from Portugal. A business associate whose wife is from Italy. Whatever. Holler at them. If they don’t respond, holler again. If they ignore you after a thousand requests, get over it. It’ll feel that much sweeter when you succeed and think back on all the suckers who ignored you when you needed their intimate insight into a foreign land.
4. Visit internet expat forums and chat rooms for your target country.
Most people who have successfully emigrated will cringe when they see this. Don’t worry, I hate the hell out of these places, too. They are full of know-it-alls, people who apparently know the letter of the law and that things can’t be any other way, folks who will tell you that in “your” situation, you shouldn’t even bother trying to move to “their” country. Their country. Really.
As much as they will annoy the hell out of you, they will also provide you with a vast array of correct, incorrect, and ambiguous information that pertains or does not pertain to you. The point of this is to learn. Gain valuable insight from all the shit-talkers and fancy-pants who might as well claim to have written immigration law for your country.
When you’re going through the immigration process, it will help to have all of the things said locked away in your Superman (or Superwoman) Master of Immigration Skills vault. You never know when you’ll need the slightest tidbit of info.
We can tell you this: We have exhaustively read forums for where we’ve been. (And still read some of them to this day, for no apparent reason.) One thing we have never, ever done is join one of these forums. Just because it’s a forum doesn’t mean you have to join it. If it’s public, it’s fair game. Get reading, and bring some antacid tablets.
5. Over-prepare to the extreme.
If one person says you need this paper, and another says you need a different paper – have both. If they want “a few” letters-of-intent for your job or whatever it is you do – get as many as you can. If they say three, get ten.
Are you in business? If they ask for business financials, give them a business plan (with financials, of course). If they say they’ll want a copy of your college degree, get a copy of it and transcripts and do the same for high school.
Always bring more to the party than is requested of you. Over-prepare yourself and come knowing that you’re going to rock this shit.
Here’s the catch, though: You probably don’t need most of it. But you will need some of it. And from our experience, you will never be told the same set of requirements by any two people, anywhere. So, gather up as much knowledge as you can and get as much together as you can.
I know that sounds a bit wishy-washy. Alas, the process of immigration is wishy-washy, so it kind of fits.
6. Do not hire a lawyer or for-profit consultant to do your dirty work.
Unless you’re extremely wealthy, or a company is sending you overseas and you don’t care about assimilating into a new culture, then you don’t need this. (You also don’t need to be reading this post.)
Doing this yourself – by reading, researching, scoffing at bullshit, learning a new language bit by bit, navigating foreign bureaucracy and red tape, asking questions, and being excited about your new life – will provide you with vast knowledge and a great feeling of success when you finally get that visa or residency permit.
If you’re not up to the task, then maybe you shouldn’t be doing this (yet). Get your ducks in a row, get excited about doing what your parents and your friends and your coworkers said was impossible.
7. Don’t be a jerk.
Seriously. Be nice. Be really nice. Nice gets you things. Because people like nice. And because you are nice, no matter what your ex says. People like sympathy and charm and genuine interest and respect. You can be an asshole after you have your visa (but just because you can be, doesn’t mean you should be).
And those are the seven things I have for you today.
Take our word for it: We moved overseas less than seven months after we decided to do so, we learned a new language, we navigated some seriously sickening bureaucracy, and we got permits for twice as long as we thought we would. Good things come to those who rebuff the naysayers and work to achieve their goals.
Determination, perseverance, proactiveness, and a real desire will get you there. Believe it.
Before I turn this into an even longer post, I’m going to pass it over to Mark at Uruguay Expat Life, who details some of the aforementioned fun and hate in this great blog post.
Questions or comments? Let us know down below!
Best post on this topic ever! From Lisa, Mark’s lovely wife!
Thanks for stopping by, and for doing what you two do!
Good stuff, as always.
Above anything else people should trust those who actually live on the ground as opposed to guidebooks and advice offered by the “big name” travel companies who only ever market books to sell for profit. People with boots on the ground who have actually lived through the process as opposed to merely investigating it or researching it are always going to have superior information. Which you mention. So yeah =P
I like to think of guidebooks the same way I think of internet forums: They should be read, taken with a grain of salt, and knowledge vaulted. I think of it like reading a newspaper or periodical. It’s great for the info and the learning, but that doesn’t mean it’s gospel or even correct.
You’re right: People on the ground are a great source of info. But again, a lot of those “people on the ground” are just internet forum jerk-offs who have no interest in doing anything except telling you that you’re wrong, will fail, and can never be like them.
I particularly like #7, not just because you are likely to draw more bees with honey, as the saying goes, but because it’s what we all need more of (forgive the dangling peposition). There are far too many people acting like jerks in our world today, thinking that’s the way to operate. They are mistaken. Your comment “People like sympathy and charm and genuine interest and respect” is spot on. That has been our experience everywhere we’ve been, and, after all, isn’t that what we want,too? If one wants to be a world traveler, why wouldn’t you want the very best experience, which is what being interested and respectful will get you? Thanks for a great article!!
Indeed. And I can say that I was taught and raised by the best! Despite the fact that we’re the American freaks who seem to have never left (unlike most tourists here, who come for the sun and leave), I like to think that people are kind to us because we respect them, are genuinely interested, and are nice people. :)
Love this post – what a great attitude! We’re in the preparation stages of moving to Uruguay. Time frame/deadline – got it. Paring down belongings, converting stuff to digital – working on that. Reading the blogs 9love the antacid comment!) – doing that too.
Seems a lot of folks want to recreate an existing life rather than embracing the new culture – I don’t get that. Why would you move, if that’s the case? Looking forward to the adventure… great to have this advice.
Nice to hear you’re following your dreams and moving overseas – and of course, that you’re taking the proper approach with regard to preparation and embracing a new culture. Paring down belongings? Get rid of everything. :)
I wrote a post in that vein a while ago, although it had more to do with funding travel: https://www.jetsliketaxis.com/2012/05/07/look-around-youre-surrounded-by-your-travel-fund/
But after moving to new countries more than once, I can certainly say it’s very rewarding not to have more than a few suitcases/backpacks of belongings anymore.
Thanks for reading!
Great post! I absolutely agree about getting information from as many places as possible. But take it all with a grain of salt and know that in a lot of places, your experience and process will vary greatly depending on the nuances of your particular situation and the official you happen to talk to the day you show up.
I got a lot of feedback from friends on their own experiences and experiences of *their* friends on trying to get residency in Argentina, and none of it turned out to actually be the case for my situation. I had been told by friends that there were certain documents I’d need translated, for example, but none of the official information said it was necessary, so I didn’t get the documents and no one ever asked for them. Being overprepared can be useful, but it can also be a waste of time if it turns out all of that extra stuff wasn’t needed.
I agree with most of it, but I don’t necessarily think the over-preparation is a waste of time. I try to look at it as experience instead; and hey, if you’ve gone to the trouble to get some of these things, you know more about it or them now, and you have it if you ever need it. I guess it all depends on how much of a hassle it is to get thee “unnecessary” things, though. Using official info is best when you prepare, but I tend to find that giving them way more than they need (or at least having it) tends to give them the impression that all your stuff is in order, especially since they’re so used to people trying to get by with half-ass attempts at fulfilling requirements. But you’re right…you often don’t need half of what people tell you that you need. Hell, a lot of the time you don’t need half of what the official information says you need either.
Thanks for stopping by!
[…] from others.We recently wrote about this in “Tips and Tricks: Preparing for Your Move Overseas”, after a friend had some frustrating and very rewarding experiences in Uruguay. This idea could […]