Moving to the Dominican Republic as an expat or retiree is exciting, but it requires meticulous planning and preparation to ensure a smooth transition. You must consider all aspects of your relocation, from what to do about your residency in your home country to how you will handle your vehicle and personal belongings. One of the most important things that aspiring expats and retirees overlook is organizing and updating their documentation, records and personal affairs; basically, administrative issues.
Here are three (3) personal management things you should do before moving to the Dominican Republic.
Before you leave, you should gather all essential documents (physical and paper copies should be scanned or digitized) and save them in a secure, easily accessible file on a secure cloud storage platform such as Google Drive and a USB. Additionally, you should retain hard copies of these documents as backup.
The file must include:
It’s also a good idea to give a close, trusted family member access to these files with instructions on what to do if something happens to you.
You should ensure that your ID, driver’s license, passport, debit and credit cards are still valid or are not close to their expiration date.
Make sure your driver’s license and debit and credit cards are valid long after your move. Renewing them from abroad is cumbersome, especially when you are still settling in.