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8 Things To Know About Ireland Before You Move Over

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With the ease of restrictions, and Ireland finally coming out of a lockdown, the usual questions about moving over to Ireland have been popping back into my inbox. I thought I would slowly start adding back some content around expat life in Ireland again. Hopefully this info will help people who are looking to make the move, as some things you you need to know before you make the big decision to immigrate to Ireland.

1. Secure a job before moving over

We might have an ease in restrictions but the pandemic and effects of it are still unfolding. Many, many people have been living on government subsidies after losing their jobs for over a year. I have been saying this one long before there was a global pandemic – but if you are looking to move over, please secure a job with a work permit before you come over. Now is not the time to come over and then look for a job.

This luxury of job hunting here is really only for those with UK/EU passports – South African passport holders need a work permit first. However with the pandemic and loss of jobs, there are a lot more people looking for employment here, more than ever before. Also its worth noting that there is currently a backlog of 90k people waiting on receiving their Irish passports. The bureaucracy and paper admin of being an expat has just lengthened and delayed, be prepared that these things may take longer than normal.

If you do need a work permit, then check that your job/skill is not on the recently updated ineligible for work permits list. This is unfortunately a said reality for some expats – some jobs are not eligible for work permits, meaning they are jobs only available to people who have Irish/EU/UK passports. Professions like hair dressing, fitness instructors, book-keepers are on this list.

2. The housing crisis is dire right now.

Pre-2020, rent was expensive and hard to find. Pet friendly rentals are like unicorns – incredibly hard to find. Now that construction was paused for a short while, means that there is a heavy delay on building new homes. This means the rental market is even tougher to navigate. If you are fortunate enough to be able to afford to buy a house here, due to the housing crisis, its a definite sellers market here – house prices are ramping up.

3. Consider your costs for transport.

Most people want to live closer to work, to save on the commute, however some opt to move out into the country where rental prices are a bit lower. The reality is yes, there is public transport here, but its not as great as other places. I find people who have experienced public transport in the UK are dismally disappointed but Irish Public Transport. Sure its set up OK in the city, and there are trains and busses available in neighbouring commuter towns – but its long, sparse and can turn out quick expensive. I guess the one benefit of working from home for over a year, there is a definite shift in perspective with companies leaning into creating work from home policies etc. So perhaps you find a job, get a work permit, and are able to move to the countryside and work from home. That would make things a lot easier for sure. Buying a car is generally OK, its doable, but car insurances as an expat is absolutely mental. I wrote a post all about our experience of buying a car. Most families either don’t own a car at all, or opt to one car in the household. Its not like in SA where everyone that can drive in the house owns a car.

4. Eating and drinking out is expensive

OK so pubs are still closed, outdoor eating is only opening up in a few weeks – but when eating out is something you are used to doing, you may find when you live here that this is a bit of luxury. I like to bring this up because I think its really important for you to try match the lifestyle you have, don’t sell yourself short by saying you are going to cut back and sacrifice to move over to Ireland, because changing your whole lifestyle to make it work is hard. If you are the kind of family that is used to travelling, taking holidays, eating out weekly, etc. – then you want to make sure that your new budget here is able to at least try maintain some of that here. I wrote a post about things to budget for, which gives you an idea on some of the costs to live here.

5. Health care is not free

A common misconception is that Ireland is the same as the UK, we do not have the NHS here. You will need to consider GP visits, dental costs, etc. Depending on the type of stamp you have when you arrive, you may be required to hold private health insurance, which is really pricey here.

6. Education might be ‘free’ but childcare is very expensive!

This is going into unchartered waters for us, as we haven’t had to consider education or schooling yet for Riley. We are however paying 1000 euro for creche fees, per month. A lot of South African families looking to move over, first look at private schooling. I guess there is a perception that private is better? Like I said, we haven’t thought that far ahead yet, but its likely that we will look into sending Riley to local, public school. I think depends on the area that you are, but some of the best schools in Dublin, are actually public schools – the schooling issue is a crisis too though – there are seriously crazy waitlists. I had to secure creche for Riley my first week of maternity leave, 10 months before it was needed! I know of one person who secured creche for her baby and she is not due till later this year! The school year starts in September and ends end of June – so that is another factor you will need to consider. Once we go through this issue ourselves, I will share more on this.

7. Litter is a serious problem.

Maybe its because Dublin is a city, and cities are generally quite messy, or perhaps because there are public gardens, public areas, walking pavements – but OMG, the litter here is UNREAL. Sure its green, and beautiful too, but if you look closely, there is ALWAYS way too much litter.

8. Bureaucracy – it takes ages

I know this is similar to point 1 – but its worth noting that things are confusing, setting up appointments, getting a job offer, applications for work permits, visa requirements, applying for Irish Residency Cards, setting up a PPS number, taxes, opening up a bank account, swopping your drivers license, heck even figuring out your groceries – then you throw in new challenges like mandatory quarantines, covid tests, restrictions, uncertainty, nevermind the feckin weather – its mentally a long game. And you need to be prepared that most of it is sorted out slowly, frustratingly slowly and almost all of it you are figuring out on your own. Being aware of this before you move, helps, but also prepare to unlock a whole new appreciation for patience – because you are going to need a bucket load of it.

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU DIDN’T REALISE BEFORE MOVING TO IRELAND THAT OTHERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF?

With love from Ireland,

~Meg~

p.s I write about expat living in Ireland, minimalism and slow travel (when we can travel!). I am mindful about inbox spam and only send out one email newsletter each month, so to be sure you don’t miss out you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

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Should you immigrate to Ireland? 8 questions to help you decide

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Should you immigrate to Ireland? 8 questions to help you decide if Ireland is the best place for you to move to.

Is Ireland the best place to immigrate to?

Lately I have been getting a few emails about people looking into moving overseas, in particular, immigration to Ireland. And whilst I have this blog and I have shared a lot about how we made the move – so many people expect me to do all the heavy lifting in terms of researching if they can in fact move over. Erm, no sorry, I am not an immigration Ireland consultant or expert – I use this blog to share our experiences, hopefully they help the next person. But I am not really in the best position to do all your research for you – nor should you fully trust information you receive off the internet from a stranger. Having said that, I thought I would jot down 8 questions you should answer before you make the decision to move over. The sad reality is for many people, immigrating to Ireland might not be possible… I know that is sometimes hard to hear, especially with so many people moving all over the world every day – not everyone is able to make this move as easily as it looks. Because the truth is, it is not always easy.

Here are 8 questions as well as further research and links to read up on to help decide if you can actually move over:

1. What passport are you travelling on?

This really helps guide you on two important things: 1) if you can enter the country with or without a visa; 2) if you need a work permit or not. An important thing to note is that you cannot come to Ireland on a holiday visa and then look to find a job and get a work permit in the country. If you need a work permit, then you need a job offer before you can apply for a work permit, and before you can move over.

Helpful links:

2. Can you work in Ireland?

Here are some points to consider, if you need a work permit, and what kind of work permit you are eligible for:

  • Some industries are listed in the ineligible to apply for a work permit – meaning if you need a work permit you will not be apply for these jobs.
  • If you are coming over with a General Work Permit this has two important points to consider: 1)If you are married, your spouse/dependents will need to wait 12 months before they can join you here in Ireland; 2) It will also mean that your spouse/dependents will not be allowed to work in Ireland without applying for their own work permit. Furthermore, a General Work Permit requires a labour needs test to be done by the employer; it also costs €1000 to process this type of work permit application.
  • If you are intending on applying for a Critical Skills Work Permit, then you need to make sure that you have the relevant skills, experience and qualifications. A spouse of a critical skills work permit holder is also entitled to enter Ireland and work (this is from effect 6 March 2019).
  • If hold a UK or EU passport, then you won’t need to get a work permit; your spouse may be entitled to apply for EUfam, however I do not know the paperwork or terms/conditions for this. Also, this may all change after Brexit.

Helpful Links:

3. Are there job opportunities for you?

Along with the ineligible list, some industries are at capacity here – meaning that employers would be able to find these skills through Irish and EU people without having to wait for someone who needs a visa. As much as this is hard to hear, employers in Ireland do seem to favour Irish or EU experience, especially if it is in roles that are seen as a bit more generic (take my role in marketing as an example – a lot of people have the necessary qualifications to do this role. I truly just got lucky that my employer saw me as valuable and skills as unique, but also it helped that I only needed a spousal visa which is free and a bit less of a hassle).

I get asked alot of about if XYZ jobs are plentiful in Ireland, and while I really and not in recruitment so I have no idea!! My first suggestion is to google ‘your role + Ireland’ and see what kinds of jobs opportunities look like in your field. Please don’t email me and expect me to know this answer for you!. Secondly, apply for jobs and see what the response is like – but know that 1) this will take a while, don’t expect it to happen instantly. 2) if you need a work permit, you might not get many responses, as the wait time to process applications takes nearly 15 weeks – some employers just won’t have the time to wait to fill a position. 

Another question I get asked a lot is what recruitment agencies to look at… and my honest opinion about recruiters is that unless you are in a specialised field, where you find specialised recruiters, and you are looking to apply for a critical skills work permit – then recruitment agencies might be a good option for you… but if you require a general work permit, then it is not really worth applying for roles with recruiters. Recruiters are looking to fill positions quickly, and won’t want to put forward candidates that could take over 3 months to actually start working – unless their skills are incredibly specialised and unique. To find recruiters, I suggest you google search for this – I never found much luck with them.

Helpful links:

4. Is Ireland Pet friendly?

Jack is part of our family, so we always knew we would bring him with us. So this was a big question for us, and perhaps it could be a question for you too! I have written two really good posts (if I do say so myself) on how to bring your pet over to Ireland, but also how to find a pet friendly place to rent. The short answer is that Ireland is and isn’t really pet friendly. Yes there are loads of parks and pet friendly places to visit with your pooch, but finding a home to rent that is pet friendly is quite challenging.

5. How much should I be earning to live comfortably in Ireland?

I have covered this in a previous post, but it is probably good to reiterate here…the reality is that the rental market is limited and incredibly overpriced. Depending on where you plan to work, you could choose to live close to work (with high rental costs) or further away from home (with high transport costs). I wrote this post about working out a budget you would need to live in Dublin as a guide to figuring out costs of living in Ireland. The reality is no one really can tell you a magic number on what you should earn to be able to live comfortably in Ireland – this depends on so many personal factors (lifestyle choices, savings, cost of living, etc) – so please don’t ask me to tell you if your XYZ salary is good enough to live here… I know from personal experience, we have been able to live off one salary, but that was not without its sacrifices, and I don’t think we would have managed to be able to do that indefinitely – just because we like to travel, and well now that we have a baby on the way – two salaries are better than one.

Helpful Links

6. What kind of life would you have if you did take the job in Ireland?

People often focus on the weather in Ireland – yes, it does rain here, but that hasn’t really stopped us from being outdoors. The weather is only a small part to living here, a lot of people say that the although the winters are mild, so are the summers and that is probably an accurate description. What I love about the Irish is that, a little rain or overcast day doesn’t really stop them from getting out and doing things – back home, people would cancel a trip to the beach if there was one cloud in the sky (slight exaggeration but you get my point) – don’t let the weather stop you. Yes it gets dark early in winter (around 4pm) but in summer the sun sets close to 10pm! We had one unusually warm summer (summer of 2018) but mostly, its a few warm days, a few days with rain, and a lot of days that are overcast, but not too cold – kind of lukewarm.

Enough about the weather, what about making friends in Ireland? Truthfully, this has taken us a while – we have found Irish to be really similar to South Africans – same sense of humour, enjoy sports, enjoy a few pints – but they are also very family oriented – and it can be tricky to get invited into their social circles. However, having said that, the few irish friends we have made have been amazing – the most caring and giving kinds of people – they have honestly welcomed us into their homes and hearts and we are forever grateful to have met these friends, who have become like our family away from home. I think making friends in a foreign country is always going to be hard, especially if you work and are a bit older. But strangely, that is where we have made most of our friends, through work and through our neighbourhood/community. Being an expat, requires you to push yourself out of your comfort zone – you have to go out there and look for friends, they won’t always come straight to you. You could also do what I did which was search social media groups for expats, or people we would have things in common with. One of our main goals was to not only stick with fellow South Africans (because trust me, there are load of them here!) – we didn’t move all the way over here to be friends with only people from back home and reminisce about the ‘good old days’. Also, in some ways we are different to a lot of the South Africans we have met here (we tend to avoid talking negatively about back home) so we are a bit more selective with the kinds of friends we do keep here. Here is a blog post I wrote about how to make friends abroad.

What is there to do in Ireland? We have found that there are loads of things to do that involve being outdoors – parks, forests, hikes, walks along the canal – you name it – all free to explore, and pet friendly which means we get to go out as a whole family! There are also loads of festivals and markets that you can wander around without having to pay anything for. When we first arrived we got really creative with things to do that wouldn’t cost us heaps of cash, and we were surprised to find that there is quite a lot you can do that is free! Check out the links below to some of our fave tried and tested things to see and do in Dublin that won’t cost the earth. Then if you are someone who likes to eat and drink out (this can start getting very expensive) – there are loads of places to do that too!

Helpful Links:

7. Can you travel around easily?

Ireland does have a bit of a public transport network – better than South Africa, but not as great as London… Public transport here in Ireland is predominantly train, bus, tram – you will find it pretty good in major cities (Dublin, Galway, Cork etc) but the ways that connect to the smaller towns and villages tends to thin out pretty quickly. In most cases, there might be a bus that goes through to the smaller towns, and in some cases you might even get a train – but this is a bit of a hit and miss.

When we first moved over, we lived in the city and for the first 2,5 years we lived without a car – and solely used public transport or rental cars (for when we wanted to get out of town). I honestly think the public transport is pretty good – it gets you from A to B, and if you planning a weekend away, you can book in advance and the tickets are a bit cheaper. Speaking with friends from other countries though, they reckon Dublin public transport is pretty shit… again, I think its what you make of it. Yes, its probably not going to be super accurate, it might take a while, and in some cases, it might not be cheap – but it will get you there… eventually 🙂

We recently bought a car, and to be honest, if we weren’t having a kid – I am not sure we would have gotten a car. Yes it has made my commute to work very easy, and now when we want to get away for the day or the weekend – we just hop in the car and go.. But cars are expensive things, and actually don’t think renting a car is all that bad in Ireland (plus don’t get me started on car insurance here!!). Ireland is a lot smaller than back home, and I dont think there needs to be this heavy reliance on every adult in the household owns a car – yes, we own one car, but I doubt we will ever be a two car household… at least we will try avoid this for as long as possible.

Another thing about travel in Ireland, is flights out of the country. You can be in the UK in under an hour flight, on a cheap RyanAir flight for under €60. Likewise, you can pretty get to most places in Europe for pretty cheap. Yes, as South Africans you will need to get visas to visit UK or Europe – but just the flexibility of booking a weekend away to another country is pretty novel idea – since South Africa is so far away from Europe, we would never really look at going over for under 2 weeks.

Helpful Links:

8. Can your family visit you in Ireland?

The last thing we looked at when deciding about moving over, was how easy it would be for our families to come and visit us. The great thing about Ireland is that it is not too far away from home (around 14 hour flight if you lucky!). But also, South Africans can visit Ireland without getting a visa to enter in advance. Yes, you do need to show where you are staying, and what you plan to do here (usually an invitation letter from us), but then our families have been allowed into Ireland and can visit for up to 90 days a year.

Helpful Links:

I hope this post is helpful to anyone looking at Ireland as a place to move over to and live. The reality is, it is not always as easy as it looks – but with a bit of research, a bucket load of patience, along with a positive attitude – everything is possible.

DID I MISS ANYTHING? WHAT OTHER QUESTIONS TO YOU HAVE ABOUT MOVING TO IRELAND?

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

p.p.s. I try post varied content once or twice a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

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Should you immigrate to Ireland? 8 questions to help you decide if Ireland is the best place for you to move to.

How to pay off your credit card and get out of debt

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How to get out of credit card debt

Before we moved over to Ireland, we were living paycheck to paycheck and both of us had massive credit card debt. It’s not like we had an extravagant lifestyle in South Africa, we were both earning good salaries – we were just terrible at budgeting how to spend what we earned each month.

We both come from fairly conservative, budget conscious families so I am not really sure why we were so bad at managing money. I can only put it down to the fact that we just ignored the issue, and thought about living in the now, without much consequence for the future. But the truth is, the lack of a good budget and the fact that the last week of the month was always the hardest – it really did worry us. We spoke about it a lot in private, we lay awake at nights plotting how we could get out of debt. Looking back, we never really made the necessary sacrifices to budget properly and we never honest with ourselves about how we were spending money.

How we got into debt

A couple of things happened which I think caused the debt to spiral out of control, the biggest being that we bought a house. We used our credit cards to finance some of the hidden costs that come with buying a home (transfer fees and legal fees etc). Being in so much debt, especially credit card debt, was a hard lesson to learn. I don’t regret buying our first home together, but I do think I would do it differently if I could do it all over.

We both can be people pleasing, so often when people invited us out for dinner or to go away for the weekend – we said yes, even though we knew we couldn’t really afford it. We wanted to have a certain lifestyle, one were we went to great restaurants, bought things for the house and ourselves, and went away on nice holidays. Before we sold all our belongings, and packed up to come to Ireland, we had both maxed out our credit cards. The money we were paying into our credit card each month was basically paying off the interest only, and by the time the end of the month rolled around, we had maxed our credit cards again.

How we got out of debt

Fast forward to the decision to move to Ireland. Although we didn’t realise at the time, this was the second chance we had been waiting for. Selling all our belongings, including our cars, helped us pay off some of the debt.

We came over with 2 suitcases each, 3 boxes that we shipped over (which we probably didn’t need), and some savings that we got through our last paychecks, paid out leave, and selling our belongings. This fresh start meant that we had to do things differently. We both agreed that once over in Ireland – things would be different. We didn’t know it at the time, but we ended up living on one salary for a year – and yet we still managed to pay off the outstanding credit card debt and start saving properly. This is how we paid off our credit card and got our of debt:

Stop using your credit card

We started with our credit card debt first because that was the biggest, most obvious debt we knew we could tackle. It was an obvious move, but we stopped using our credit cards – we took them out of our wallets and put them safely away in a cupboard at home. This meant that when we were out, we didn’t have the convenience of using them.

Pay off debt each month

Each month we paid back our credit card debt, and at the end of our first year in Ireland we paid our last lump sum to the credit card on Black Friday of all days. I guess that shows you how our mindset changed over that first year abroad. We saw paying off the debt as more important than buying something new.

Know where your money is going

We both have credit cards here in Ireland. I actually haven’t used mine at all – it is still in the envelope it arrived in. We use Rob’s credit card only to rent cars, but we pay off the car rental costs as soon as we book a car. The credit card is now only used to hold deposits, or to buy something we intend on paying for in full at the end of the month. We prefer to stick to our budget each month, and have carefully consider all the things we spend money on each month – everything is accounted for. From obvious bills and food costs, to getting my nails done and paying a small fee for my blog maintenance. Every euro we spend is accounted for. At any given point in the month, we know how much we have left for groceries (we do a weekly shop now) or our entertainment budget – yes, we now have an entertainment budget. We also have a travel savings pocket that we use to save up for holidays we plan to do. Once you get used to sticking to a budget, it becomes habit.

Prioritise how you spend your money

Living on one salary forces you to prioritise. You quickly discard the things that are not essential – like eating out, coffees, even things like hair appointments, and a big one for me was that I stopped buying clothes. I started realising that we were trying to buy our happiness, but that being in debt made us unhappy – so we learnt to say no to things we couldn’t afford and through that – we started to pay off our credit card debt. We used bonuses and tax refunds to further pay off our debt. In the past that money would have been spent on some big thing we really wanted – but what we really wanted now was to get out of debt.

Stick to the Budget

I am not saying that sticking to a budget is easy. It is still really hard. In the early months of getting out of debt, we struggled saying no to things. We missed important weddings, skipped out on meeting friends for dinner, said no to concerts and events others were going to. It was really hard to say no to all of it, but we knew we didn’t want to go back to the way we were living back in SA. We figured in the bigger picture, if we stick to the budget, we can do the things we really want to do later. Not everything has to be immediate.

Have a rainy day fund

Once we paid off our debt, we took the money we put into our credit cards and started putting that all into savings. The reality is there might be unexpected costs that crop up during the month that your budget hasn’t planned for. Like one of us could lose our job and we could go back to living on one salary. We now have a nice rainy day fund set up – its not where we want it to be, but we are getting there slowly.

Now that we don’t have credit card debt, and we have a budget we stick to – we don’t live paycheck to paycheck any more. January is not a hard month for us. We have learnt our limits, and we have learnt to focus on the future, by saying no to things right now, or holding off on big expenses until we can actually afford it. Slowly managing our money has gotten easier. I didn’t realise at the time, but getting out of debt was not the end goal – staying out of debt is.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS YOU STAY OUT OF DEBT?

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

p.s. If social media is your thing (snap! It’s my fave too!), you should totally follow me on Instagram.

p.p.s. I try post varied content once or twice a month, to be sure you don’t miss out on the new post you should sign up and get all the news straight in your inbox – Sign up now!

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How to pay off your credit card and get out of debt

The Ultimate Checklist to Move Overseas

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The Ultimate Checklist of things you need to do before you can move overseas!

The Ultimate Checklist to Move overseas

I decided to write this ultimate checklist to move overseas to help you identify things you need to do before you move abroad. Is this the year you are moving overseas? It can be overwhelming when you think of all the things you need to do before you move over. Creating a checklist is something we did before we moved, but I have added some tips that we learnt along the way. Truthfully in hindsight there were a lot of things we would do differently if we had the chance to do it all again. We learnt the hard way through trial and error, but hopefully with this checklist to move abroad in hand, things will be easier for you and your family.

BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO MOVE OVERSEAS

Before you start the moving abroad process there are some things you should consider and research. This is a key step and it should not be skipped over. Moving overseas is a big step, it should not be decided on lightly. There will be lots of things you will need to weigh up and decide, and it’s important to get all these areas covered and figured out before you take the giant step forward into becoming an expat and living overseas.

  • Research the new country. I have spoken about this in previous blog posts, on why we chose to move to Ireland. For us, Ireland ticked a lot of boxes for us. For starters, my husband got a job offer and work permit sorted out before we leave our home country. Secondly, we found out that I would be able to apply for my own work permit, and find a job too. Third, we knew our dog would be able to make the move with us.
  • Have a job offer before you leave. The reality is looking for a good job takes time, and if you leave it till you are in the new country to find a job you could land yourself in trouble. If you are looking to move to Ireland, then I suggest you figure out if you need a work permit, and research job opportunities in your field. 
  • Get an idea on cost of living. If you managed to find a job then before you accept the job offer, figure out if you will be able to afford to live on the salary they are offering you. Cost of living in Ireland is at an all-time high – rent is scarce and expensive, and cost of living is generally quite high here. I written two posts on cost of living in Ireland; one blog post compares costs between Dublin and Johannesburg which I wrote when we first arrived. More recently, I wrote a post about how to figure out how much you need to earn to live in Dublin.
  • Save as much as you can. As much as your new job will keep money coming in, there are some unexpected costs to moving overseas. When we first moved over we never fully realised how long it would take for me to find a job and get my work permit sorted out. So we were left with over a year on living on one salary. Thankfully we managed to cut our grocery costs, and we had a small savings to fall back on when times got tough. People often ask how much should they save, and the answer is never going to be a rounded figure – the answer is: save as much as you can, then try save even more than that. We also knew that moving over, our lifestyle would have to change. There will be sacrifices you might need to make when you first over, and we learnt a few tips on how to save money when you first move overseas, maybe these tips will help you too.
  • Get your important documents updated and filed. Before we moved over we made certified copies of everything. Things like marriage certificates, insurance policies, wills are important to keep and file copies separately. Later on in this post I will suggest a few other documents that are important to get in order before you move overseas.
  • Update your passport before you leave the country. If your passport is expiring in a year then it’s worth updating it before you leave the country. Rob is in the process of updating his South African passport through the embassy here in Ireland and he has been told it takes 6-7 months to process!! Besides if you want to travel, you will need at least 6 months left of your current passport to be able to visit most countries. Another thing to consider is that if you decide to move to Ireland and you require an Immigration Residence Permit (IRP; formerly called GNIB), you will need to get this yearly, and they will make it valid for as long as your passport is valid. So if you move over with less than a year in your current passport, then your IRP card will be valid for the same time. Save the stress, get your passport updated.
  • Get your driver’s license updated. The same goes for your driver’s license. Ireland allows certain countries the option to swop out their existing driver’s license for an Irish one. This option is available for South African driver’s license holders. However, if you arrive with an expired driver’s license then you will not be able to swop out your driver’s license. So make your life easier and get it updated before you leave.
  • Do you own a house? You will need to decide if you will sell your house or put it up for rent. Since we only recently bought our house before we left, and for the fact that we were not sure how long we would be overseas; we decided to rent our home out. We went through a company called Just Letting in South Africa. In all honesty, they are a pretty shit company to work with. But they do make it easier to live here, knowing that there is someone managing our tenant and home back home. I think the reason I get so frustrated with them would be the same with most companies you decide to use – not proactive, slow to respond, plus they were slow to find tenants even though when we first spoke to them they told us that we would have no problems renting out the place. They were filled with lots of promises at how easy the process would be, but in truth it was a long and trying road to finding a tenant. 

Right so all of the above took us about a year to research and find jobs etc., we had been planning and talking about the move for a year prior to actually starting the process too. This work can’t be rushed, take your time doing your research and making sure that a move overseas is best for you and your family. 

Once you have decided on the move, and you have a job offer and work permit is being processed… then the checklist to move overseas really kicks into full planning and doing all the things mode! Take a deep breath, and let’s dive in.

3 MONTHS BEFORE YOUR MOVE

  • Book hotels or flights that you might need. If you know when you start date is, then try to arrive a bit before you start work, because you may need some time to find a place to rent. In our case, my husband got a relocation package with his job, which meant that the company paid for him to stay in corporate accommodation for a short time while we looked for a place to rent in Ireland. Not all companies offer this to new employees coming from overseas but it is worth asking about. If that is not something that is available, then you will need to book into a hotel, hostel, or Airbnb when you first move over. Perhaps you have some family or friends you could stay with until you are on your feet. Some people are lucky enough to secure a rental before they arrive overseas but I have found that in Dublin, it is better to be in the country and with a letter from your employer before you start looking for a place to rent.
  • Check your pet relocation requirements. Although there are no quarantine requirements in Ireland, you do need a blood test and certificate that your pet has no rabies. You can only leave 90 days after this blood has been taken, as well as your pet needs to move over with you (either 5 days before or after you arrive). I have heard of people bringing their pets in later once they are settled but I believe there is a different process if you send your pet over at a later date. I wrote a post about how we moved our pet over to Ireland which covers off some other points you will need to consider.
  • Find a moving company you like the look of and ask for quotes. And organise a moving date. If you plan to ship over your belongings then you will need to get an idea on what furniture and number of boxes you think you might send over. We sent over 3 boxes and then just 2 suitcases each when we flew over. The 3 boxes we shipped using a company called Seven Seas. They were the most affordable company we could find at the time, and our stuff arrived in perfect condition, barring a plate I didn’t bubble wrap properly. Just a note that we opted for the boxes to be delivered in 3 months (it worked out cheaper) and another thing to consider is that there will be a customs fee you will need to pay when it arrives in your new country (over and above the fee you pay the couriers. Seven Seas did give us an estimate on what this would be so we weren’t surprised 3 months later). Another point I would like to make about sending over belongings, in hindsight we probably didn’t need to ship those 3 boxes. The stuff we shipped ended up not being so essential when it arrived 3 months later and we hadn’t really missed too much of it. Also most rentals here in Ireland come furnished already, and houses here are a little different in terms of size compared to back home – so your furniture might be costly to send over only to find it doesn’t fit in your new home.
  • Label and pack boxes up with things you won’t need to use until you move. I started this process very eager to pack everything and get rid of the rest; we ended up the last few weeks living with only our camping chairs as seats! Just make sure what you pack away or get rid of, is everything that you won’t actually need for a while. Another good tip is to make a checklist of all packing boxes and what will go in each one. This would have been handy to have on the other side, because when our boxes did arrive, I had forgotten what we had actually sent over!
  • Put your house on the market if you’re selling it or start finding a tenant. We only started looking for tenants a month before we left and we really left it late because we ended up with an empty house for a few months which was less than ideal.

2 MONTHS BEFORE YOUR MOVE

  • Depending on your existing work contract, you will need to choose the right time to resign. For us, we wanted to give our employers enough notice that we were leaving, and in the end this notice period worked in our favour because my company asked me to stay on working remotely for a few months which was helpful to keep me busy while we moved over and looked for a job overseas.
  • Cancel subscriptions and direct debits you won’t carry over with you. If you are leaving the country it is best to cancel these subscriptions while you are still in the country. I had a phone contract that would have costed a lot to cancel, so I just notified them that I want to cancel at the end of the subscription period. We still have our bank accounts open in South Africa, but since we don’t have many debit orders still left (just house stuff), it was easy to see if there was any debit order we forgot to take care of. If you close your accounts, you will need to make sure all your contracts are cancelled beforehand.
  • Sell or give away items you don’t want to take with you. We sold, donated and threw out most of our stuff. We used it as a great way to declutter and let go of all the stuff that served no purpose for us anymore. We sold most of our stuff online too, which was very easy to do.
  • Sell your car. We decided to sell our cars online, you can choose to sell it privately yourself. We just found it easier and less hassle to sell it through an agent who handled all the paperwork for us. We used webuycars.co.za and they even arranged for our cars to be picked up as close to our move date which was convenient for us. Another benefit of using webuycars is that they paid the outstanding cash for our car loan direct to the bank, so we didn’t have to stress about transferring that ourselves.
  • Arrange travel and health insurance for your move. You never know if you might need emergency care when you first arrive, so rather be safe than sorry.
  • Visit the doctor for a final check-up and arrange for vaccinations if you need them. We didn’t need any vaccinations to move to Ireland, but we went to the dentist, doctor, gynae and Rob got his eyes checked. It’s helpful to get these down before you leave because it will take a while to settle and time to find doctors over in your new country.
  • Get copies of your medical records for yourselves, children, as well as your pets. This is especially important if you are on any existing medication, so as to show your new doctor overseas.
  • Get a stock of your prescription medication. Find out what the local names and equivalents are for any prescription medication you or your family are on. Make sure that it will be available in your destination country. If not you will need to arrange to take a supply with you, together with proof of your need for the medication in case you are stopped at customs. I carried 6 months of my own medication with me, together with my script and letter from my doctor. I wasn’t stopped at customs, and just went through without any problems.

1 MONTH BEFORE YOUR MOVE

  • Begin packing up your home. Normal people can wait till one month before to pack their home, I guess I am not like most people because like I said I started this as soon as we decided we were moving – absolutely zero chill! But really, one month is more than enough time. Especially considering you hopefully won’t need to send over too much stuff. 
  • Make sure your house insurance is due to be cancelled on moving day. This is something some people forget to cancel, or cancel too soon – but if you have household insurance, remember to cancel it on the same day everything is getting picked up to be shipped off.
  • Contact utility companies and cancel. Or you can change the names on the bill if you’re renting out. We actually kept it in our name, as it is through the body corporate of the complex we lived in. It just made it easier for us to manage this direct with body corporate as we still handle levies etc. with them. These are accounts that you don’t necessarily think about, but it’s good to cancel/ settle before you leave the country.
  • Pay any bills you have outstanding. The last month before you leave is when we really felt like money was coming off left right and center. We settled all our outstanding bills; we also treated ourselves to dinners out at our favourite restaurants, and met up with friends for last drinks etc… This month really flew by.

1-2 WEEKS BEFORE YOUR MOVE

  • Get currency for your new country. Because we didn’t close our bank accounts we didn’t have to worry about getting Euros before we left. We took a few over but not too much, the rest we used our SA bank cards in Ireland when we first arrived. It was quick for Rob to open up a bank account in Ireland, because he had a job and needed a place for his salary to be paid into. For me, it took a while longer, so I used my SA card a lot more.
  • Start packing suitcases. Make sure you have the essentials in your suitcase. You will be living out of these cases for the immediate future until your shipment arrives. I packed extra toiletries and make up etc. as I knew money would be tight when we first got over there, so I made sure I went with a stock to keep me going. 
  • Empty your fridge/freezer. Since we lived with family in the last weeks before we left, empty the fridge/freezer happened earlier for us. However this was still a sensitive point for us. About a month or two before we decided to move over to Ireland, our old fridge died. So we went out and splurged on a nice big fancy fridge and then a month later had to put it up for sale – ouch! That really hurt as you never really make your money back on reselling purchases like that. 
  • Moving Day. If you are shipping over some items, confirm the date they will come collect the boxes. We scheduled this for 3 weeks before my husband left, just because we wanted to stay with family and make the most of our time left in South Africa. Make sure you keep an inventory list for yourself of items you intend to ship over. Also, now is a good time to confirm when you expect items to arrive in your new country.

ON THE DAY OF YOUR MOVE

  • Triple check the house to ensure nothing is left over. This was a surreal experience for me, walking through our empty home, not knowing what our new home would look like. 
  • Keep your jewellery and important documents with you. We carried these on us in our carry on. Rob had a set, and I had another set of copies as we were flying at different times. If you are the spouse of someone who has a work permit and you are arriving after them, then it’s best to keep the following documentation on you for when you go through passport control: copy of your Spouses work permit, letter from their employer, your marriage certificate. 
  • Say goodbye to everybody. Tears, all the tears when we were at the airport saying our goodbyes to our family. It’s important to remember to take your time and be kind to yourself today. It’s a big deal; there will be a lot of emotions!

AND THAT’S IT, THE ULTIMATE CHECKLIST TO MOVE OVERSEAS! I HOPE THIS MAKES THE MOVE EASIER FOR YOU!

Live Simply & Travel Slow,

~Meg~

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The Ultimate Checklist of things you need to do before you can move overseas!
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