Expat Checklist – First 3 Days – Honest. Healthy. HR.

Expat Checklist – First 3 Days

Part 1 of 3

When you have a visa approved, and a temporary accommodation to stay-in; let’s get you ready to navigate around your new city!

Here’s a quick checklist for your First 3 Days upon arriving in your new city.

Checklist: First 3 Days of Moving Overseas

Complete your Local Registration

- Immigration
- Residence
- Local ID
- Tax ID
- Driver’s License
- Social Security (your employer might do this for you)
- Pension (your employer might do this for you)

Get a local mobile number

- Ask your colleagues if your company has a corporate discount from any of the mobile service providers.
- Ask your colleagues what mobile service provider they use and recommend

Open a Bank Account

- Savings
  Consider multi-currency savings accounts.
- Credit Card
  Ask if there’s a package deal with your Savings Account, for a one-time application submission.

Area Orientation – familiarize yourself with your immediate environment

- Mall
- Convenience Store
- Gym

Learn the Ways of Getting Around

- Train
- Taxi
- Bus lines

Tip #1: Ask a Local

Don’t be shy.

Locals know best about how to get set-up and how to get around.

Ask a colleague, your boss, or an acquaintance for their personal recommendations.

For example, mobile network signal and pricing can vary significantly.

There may be free cost or more time-efficient transportation options to get to the office that Google is not aware of.

Go ahead and ask.

They’ll appreciate the opportunity to help 🙂

Tip #2: International Banks

International banks (Citibank, HSBC, Standard Chartered, etc) have more products and services that cater to expats.

The application requirements for new bank account opening may be frustrating when you’re being asked for documents you can’t possibly have yet.

For example, local banks may require a copy of utilities bill, which is not yet available to you this early.

Another benefit of international banks is that if you have accounts in multiple branch locations (of the same bank), then they could possibly connect these for you.

Tip #3: Plan Ahead for Security Deposit

If you have to rent a place to stay in your new city, check what is the market norm for security deposit.

It could be difficult to move large sums of money, so planning is key.

I personally use Wise for international money transfer, but if it’s not available in your location, there are lots of other providers out there.

Expat Checklist – First 3 Days