Moving abroad checklist for Americans

Get the visa first, keep your US bank and phone working, and decide about the house before you book the movers. The rest is just a long to-do list.

The short version

Visa first. Nothing else is safe to commit to until your residence permit or visa is approved.
Keep US banking alive. Tell your banks before you go, keep a US address on file, and expect to file an FBAR once your foreign accounts pass USD 10,000 [2].
Taxes don't stop. Uncle Sam still wants a return every year; living abroad gets you an automatic extension to June 15 [1].
Keep your US phone number. Banks and the IRS use it for verification codes.
Decide on your US home early. Selling, renting and keeping it empty each have tax and insurance consequences.

Six to twelve months out: the visa and the big decisions

1. Secure the right to live there

Your visa or residence permit calls the shots on everything else: your move date, whether you can work, whether you can bring a spouse, and which public health system you join. Apply through the destination country's consulate or immigration office, not through a third party you can't verify. Many countries want police checks, apostilled birth and marriage certificates and proof of income. Ordering apostilles from your birth state can take weeks, so get the ball rolling now.

Check your passport too. Many countries want at least six months of validity beyond your entry date, and some want two blank pages. Renewing a US passport is far easier stateside than from a consulate overseas.

2. Understand where you'll be a tax resident

The US taxes its citizens wherever they live. Your new country will probably tax you too once you become a resident, often after 183 days or as soon as you set up a home there. Rules on when you become a resident differ a lot, so look at the host tax office's pages or ask a local adviser.

On the US side, two main tools stop double taxation: the foreign earned income exclusion and the foreign tax credit. To claim the exclusion you need a foreign tax home and must pass either the bona fide residence test or the physical presence test of 330 full days abroad in a 12-month period [3]. If you won't pass a test until after your first return is due, you can ask for more time with Form 2350 [3]. A US expat tax preparer can check your situation before you move. That's when the advice is worth the most, not in a panic the following April.

3. Decide what happens to your US home

Option	Upside	Watch out for
Sell before you go	Cash, no landlord duties	The home-sale exclusion depends on having lived there 2 of the last 5 years, so the clock starts once you leave
Rent it out	Income, keeps a foot in the market	Rental income is taxable in the US; you'll need landlord insurance and a property manager
Keep it empty	A place to come back to	Many homeowner policies limit cover for vacant homes; tell your insurer
Let family live there	Someone keeps an eye on it	Rent below market has tax effects; put the deal in writing

There's a detailed comparison in our guide to keeping or renting out your US home.

4. Check your state

Some states keep taxing you after you leave unless you clearly cut ties, and a few are famously reluctant to let go. Note which ties you'll keep: a driver's license, voter registration, a home or a bank address. Your voting address can matter here.

Three months out: money, mail and phone

5. Set up your banking for life abroad

Tell your US banks you're moving and ask how they treat customers with a foreign address. Some close accounts once you report one. Our guide to keeping a US bank account and US address covers this.
Get a card with no foreign transaction fees and a bank that lets you send international wires online.
Open a local account soon after arrival. Many foreign banks ask Americans for a Form W-9 because of FATCA. That's normal.
Know the reporting rules. If your foreign accounts total more than USD 10,000 at any time in a year, you file FinCEN Form 114 (the FBAR) by April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15 [2]. Form 8938 is a separate test. For people living abroad, it applies when foreign assets exceed USD 200,000 at year end or USD 300,000 at any time if single, and USD 400,000 or USD 600,000 if married filing jointly [2].

6. Choose a US mailing address

You need a US address, with a real ZIP code, for banks, brokers, the IRS and your state. The two usual options are a trusted family member or a mail-scanning service. Pick one, then change everything to it before you leave. Ask whoever handles it to scan anything from the IRS, a court, the SSA or your state DMV the day it arrives.

7. Keep your US phone number

Your bank, brokerage, credit cards and IRS online account send codes by text. Cancel your US number and you can get locked out of your own accounts, which is no fun from 5,000 miles (8,000 km) away. Port it to a low-cost plan or an internet phone service that still receives texts from US short codes, and test it before you fly.

8. Sort powers of attorney

Give someone you trust a durable power of attorney for US matters, and get it signed and notarized while you're still in the US. Notarizing from abroad is possible, but it's slower and usually means a trip to the consulate.

One month out: health, voting and paperwork

9. Plan health insurance with no gap

Most US health plans stop covering you once you live abroad. Original Medicare generally doesn't pay for care outside the US. Line up coverage for the day you land. That can be your employer's international plan, a private expat plan, or the host country's public system if your visa gives you access.

If you're 65 or close to it, think carefully before dropping Medicare Part B. The late enrollment penalty is an extra 10% for each full year you could have had Part B but didn't, and it lasts for life [4]. Our guide to Medicare abroad weighs keeping it against dropping it.

10. Register to vote from abroad

You keep the right to vote in federal elections. You'll vote from your last US address, using the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). Send a new FPCA each January and whenever you move, so your ballot follows you in time for November. FVAP.gov has the form and state rules.

11. Register your sons with Selective Service

Men who are US citizens aged 18 through 25 must register, even if they live abroad. They can do it online or at a US embassy or consulate [5].

12. Pack the documents you can't easily replace

Carry originals of these in your carry-on, not in the shipping container:

Passports and the visa or residence approval
Birth and marriage certificates, with apostilles
Driver's licenses and an International Driving Permit if you'll drive
Diplomas and transcripts
Vaccination records for you and your pets
The last three years of tax returns
Prescriptions, in generic drug names

13. Book your pets and shipment

Pets often take the longest, so don't leave Fido for last. Some countries need tests or treatments months before travel, and a USDA-endorsed health certificate from an accredited vet [6]. Start that the day you know your destination.

Your first month abroad

14. Register locally

Most countries want you to register your address with the town hall or police within days or weeks. Think of it as the DMV's cousin. You'll often need that registration to open a bank account, get a tax number or sign up for health care.

15. Enroll in STEP

The State Department's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program lets the embassy reach you in an emergency. Note the address and hours of American Citizen Services at your nearest embassy or consulate.

16. Check your driver's license deadline

Your US license may only be valid for a few months after you become a resident. Some countries swap it for a local one; many make you take a test [7]. Find out early, before the deadline sneaks up on you during your first busy winter.

17. Put your first US filing on the calendar

Your first return as an expat is the hardest. Put these dates in your calendar:

Date	What's due
April 15	Tax payment due; FBAR due (automatic extension to October 15) [1][2]
June 15	Automatic extended filing date for Americans living abroad [1]
October 15	Extended deadline with Form 4868 [1]

Remember that interest runs from April 15 on any unpaid tax, even with the extension [1].

What feels different from life in the US

Paperwork moves slower and often needs originals, stamps and translations.
Your US credit history doesn't follow you. Expect deposits and prepaid phone plans at first, a little like being 19 again.
Banks may ask about your US citizenship before opening an account.
You'll carry two tax systems in your head for as long as you're abroad.
The Costco runs are over. Shopping is smaller, more frequent and often on foot.

People who've just made the move know which registration office has the shortest lines and which bank branches open accounts for Americans. Our community groups for Americans abroad are a good place to ask.

Moving abroad checklist: what Americans should do, and in what order