There are so many reasons as to why people opt to seek residence in other countries. Employment, healthcare, leisure travel, business, marriage, and seeking asylum are some of the most common reasons people migrate to other countries. Nevertheless, before doing so, it’s always important to ensure that you have your papers in order before waving goodbye.
For starters, when you move into a new country, you become an immigrant there. In most cases, migrating means that you’ll be residing either temporarily or permanently in your destination country. In most countries, there are certain immigration laws to abide by, from the time you leave your home country to the time you get to your destination country and start residing there. Certain legal documents are also required to show that you are a legal immigrant. In a nutshell, all this falls under what is usually termed as immigration law. If you feel a bit cornered or in the dark about this matter, this piece is definitely for you.
Here are some important legal procedures you should know about before migrating to another country.
1. Residency Application
While some countries will not require you to have a passport to visit depending on where you’re from, it will still be a requirement that you apply for a residency permit in case you intend to reside there. There are those legal issues you’d want to deal with before leaving into your country of destination. These are the issues in your home country that may prevent you from enjoying your privileges like the rest. Some of these may include previous criminal records, lawsuits, outstanding debts, and tax evasion issues, among others.
In this case, you may need both legal counsel and legal representation in trying to secure yourself foreign citizenship. There are those countries that aren’t that particular about residency issues, while others are quite particular. For instance, getting a US citizenship will require you to sign a lot of paperwork, which of course is important. If you’re migrating to Canada, you may want to check out http://www.preszlerimmigrationlawyers.com/ for professional legal counsel on issues to do with Canadian citizenship, permanent residency, temporary permits, immigration appeals and much more.
2. Notifying Companies
Before you move into another country, it’s a legal requirement that you notify the relevant institutions of this decision. In most places, you have the legal obligation to notify your insurance company, your bank, and any other relevant financial institution you may have had relations with, in your home country before emigrating. It’s important that these institutions have addresses in their files in case the need to contact you arises. Failure to do so may result in some serious legal implications that could jeopardize your migration to or stay in a foreign country. For these reasons, it’s important to always take the necessary legal precautions to ensure that your move is a success.
3. Marital Affairs
Before you leave, it’s important to consult with your immediate legal advisors to check if you can reside in your destination country independently from your spouse. On the same note, even after divorce, you may still be required to have the consent of your spouse before you decide to move your children into another country. There is also the case where your spouse could have control over your immigration status. You, therefore, need to take care of all your marital affairs seriously before you leave. It’s one of the legal factors that affect your immigration status in addition to your financial background, home country, age, health, and employment.
4. Business
You may also need to ensure that you understand the legal requirements as pertaining to the business environment in the destination country before departing. From a legal perspective, there is a variation of requirements, rights, and obligations that affect business from one country to the other. After all, every country has its own unique business laws. This makes it important to ensure that you understand these requirements before making your departure or arranging your migration in case you intend to do business in the destination country.
Additionally, you may have considered moving your company abroad to the foreign country that you’re migrating to. Depending on the type of business, you may need to dissolve it and start it afresh or continue with the same brand name, registration, and trademark. In both cases, you will want to liaise with the relevant authorities from the two countries (or the immigration departments) to find out what the legal requirements to do so are.
There are always the government, public, and private regulations and red tapes both in your resident country and in your country of destination that can be tantamount to your immigration status. You may need to have a solicitor to work on your behalf in taking care of the most important legal procedures. This is especially the case since the procedural standards may vary from one country to the other.
