Relocation for Work
Today I would like to talk about relocation for work. I myself have done it twice, going from Canada to the USA, and then from the USA to the UK. At least those were my two successful moves so far. we also had one failed attempt to relocate from Montreal to Whistler.
Along the way we have learned some lessons on what to do and what NOT to do. One thing I would strongly suggest is to take a visit to any place that you are thinking about moving to, as it can be a rude awakening to find out after you get there that things aren’t what you expected. That was one of the mistakes we made with our first attempt to whistler. We were also a lot younger, I was in my early 20′s and thought it would be cool, I had received a job offer after interviewing completely over the phone, never having a face to face and actually seeing the company. that would be one thing I would suggest before you ever accept an offer, is get them to give you a trip out there before, most reputable companies will do this for you. I actually flew out on both occasions and met with the local staff and saw the office, at least on my most recent move, even though I already worked for them.
With that said the other thing would be to make sure you negotiate your offer properly to include a trip to secure housing, unless of course the company you are dealing with takes care of this for you as part of your move, some companies do provide temporary housing arrangements for you until you can secure housing of your own. All depends on the company and your negotiation skills and the position your going for. If your an entry level usually won’t apply, if your upper management or extremely senior position you would probably get this kind of treatment.
With that said you should probably put yourself in contact with local Realtors or estate agents, as depending on where you are moving to, different terms are used for the same service, the idea being to find yourself a place to live. I would suggest you try and secure several possibilities to look at for when you schedule a trip to your new location. depending on the markets in the area that may be difficult as demand may cause properties to be secured within days or hours, all depends on where your moving to.
Also be prepared to bring with you a deposit to secure something if you do find something you like, especially if your on tight time line this will be critical. Depending on where you are from and where you are going you may need to set up a bank account in the new location, or show proof of employment. Every location is different and I would suggest you ask those questions before you make a trip out so you don’t waste your time and money.
Lastly you need to look into Visa requirements if there are any for where you are going, usually most companies will take care of this, usually through an immigration lawyer or a company that specializes in this type of work. Here is where things can get tricky or get really simple. For example in my situation I already worked for the company, and as a result things were a little simpler as there is an L1 visa for the US that allows for intra-company transfers as long as you meet certain requirements. that was the route I went for going into the US. As for the UK, it was a bit simpler, I had to apply for a work permit which took about a week total as you have to complete a questionnaire online and then submit fingerprints, once that is done you send off the confirmation to the consulate, and then about 2 days later you get a confirmation if all goes well and you get your passport with a work permit in it good for 10 years if I am not mistaken.
I would love to hear if you have any suggestions or comments?
