Your Expat Checklist

Check with a lawyer to ensure that your legal relationship status (marriage, civil union, civil partnership, etc.) is recognized in the country to where you will be moving.

If you are a dependent on your spouse’s/partner’s visa, and you may wish to remain in the new country after your relationship dissolves, seek out legal advice from an immigration lawyer in that country to determine how you can remain there legally and independently of your spouse/partner.

Know the Rules for whether you can work in the other country, or whether you must remain financially dependent on your spouse/partner. This may impact your future financial situation if your relationship dissolves.

Understand the rules in the other country for when you can leave (with or without your spouse/partner’s permission) and when you can stay. You will want to know this whether your travel is for short periods of time, like vacations, or for permanent relocations home or to another country.

If you signed any agreement before or proximate to your marriage (or civil union, partnership, or other relationship), look into whether you need to update it, and whether it will be legally recognized in the other country (if you must dissolve your relationship there). Also, ask whether the other country will uphold all the agreement’s terms as they are written, or whether a court in that country may deviate from the terms.

Have a conversation with your spouse/partner about the circumstances under which you can return home with your child (presumably without the spouse/partner), and understand whether that needs to be memorialized as part of a written document or agreement to protect you, and avoid future accusations of child abduction.

Understand whether you are entitled to financial support for you or your child in the other country, and whether any financial support obligation will be recognized in the country where your spouse/partner is living, working, or has money.

Understand where you can go to start family proceedings, including whether you can return home to do it, whether you must go to the other country’s courts, or somewhere else entirely.

Confirm your understanding of the legal system in the other country, for example, whether you might need to participate in legal proceedings in a religious court, whether you may be required to attempt some type of reconciliation process, whether you can find a capable lawyer if you need one, and even how long and how costly legal proceedings are in that country.

Look into the rules for traveling into and out of the other country and your home country, including whether you need to complete any paperwork or get your partner/spouse’s permission to let you or your child exit the country.

Confirm whether you or your spouse/partner have the legal authority to prevent your child from leaving the country, when, and under what circumstances.

With children born to unmarried couples, or born through surrogacy, or adopted, know whether your rights as a legal parent to your child in your home country are mirrored in the laws of the new country where you will live. If not, know how to ensure your legal parentage is established and recognized in the new country to ensure your rights.

Understand your own finances, including whether you are legally permitted to open a financial/bank account in the other country, and whether you can establish your own financial security and credit history.

Know your rights to information from your spouse/partner’s employer, and, if the employer is the reason why you are in the other country, then the rules and guidelines for them supporting the family as you remain in that country. Ask whether you have access to your spouse/partner’s employment benefits statements, wage statements, insurance policies, and other financial documents.

Consider whether to maintain certain connections to your home country, including whether to keep your house, maintain contacts with your former employer, and keep contact with your network and family. Know whether to keep your driver’s license, pay taxes, and vote in your home country. These connections can form the basis of legal arguments in the future, and may provide a safety net if you return home.

Have a conversation with your spouse/partner about your own family’s finances, and reach an agreement on your access to the family’s financial and tax documents and accounts.

Have a plan for maintaining your and your child’s travel documents, including passports, visas, and any written travel forms or authorizations. Consider having a lawyer review any document to ensure it does not create a future problem, and make a plan for where to keep these travel documents in your house, who has access to them, and when you will renew them.

Familiarize yourself with the resources in the other country, including the local police station, courthouse, and even a referral to social services, expat or other support groups, so you can seek out help if your situation changes.