Relocating can be a complex matter, not least because legally, as well as literally, you have to move your personal and corporate affairs to another country. It’s both a physically and mentally draining process.
There’s an array of things that need to be taken care of with all the paperwork, confirmations to the new local authorities of one’s income, or measuring out the investment required in the case of golden visas (often both cash and property). There’s also the physical coordination of the move, property rental and purchase and packing everything up, plus ensuring the dog’s passport is up to date!
Much of the pain of a move can be taken away by using a relocation specialist. They will discuss with you what you would like to achieve by relocating, geographically where you’d like to be and the investments needed to make this happen. They will do much of the paperwork and help you with the raft of questions you may have. However, there’s another person who can be key to helping turn a good move into a great one.
Enter your trusted adviser, or private office representative. They can help guide and support you with the move, work with the relocation specialist and professional advisers to form team that can make your move a positive experience. Your private office will help you to gather an overview of your assets, can coordinate external tax advice, pensions and investments and help to update your succession plan in accordance with the rules of your new country of residency. They will manage all of this and help implement a strategic plan, saving you time and supporting you long after you have settled in your new home jurisdiction.
Many factors involved in a person’s decision to relocate are tangible and fact based, but importantly there is an emotive side to relocating that a lot of people don’t realize. A trusted adviser who understands you and your motives, and who is empathetic to the huge change you are experiencing, will act as the support crutch you need when stress levels are at their highest.
At JTC Private Office, every member of our team has themselves relocated from one country to another (some more than once) and as a result they have an intrinsic understanding of what it means to move, whether as an individual or a family.
Your private office can take care of coordinating all of the paperwork and information needed as part of the move. They will work closely with the relocation specialist. There may be paperwork outside of the relocation specialist’s remit e.g. for your corporate entities that your private office can take care of as well as very personal details that require attention.
For many people, having someone who is in touch with the practical as well as the emotional side of moving to a new community is invaluable. For example they can help support you as you enter a new school network (because this can be a daunting time for both children and their parents) plus they can help navigate a new business forum introducing you to contacts and quickly building you a new network. This support can be the difference between night and day.
Having a contact that can help you break through language, cultural and logistical barriers quickly and efficiently can make you settle more easily and make a place ‘home’ in half the time and they can save you from making an innocent mistake that could inadvertently cause you severe penalties, reputational damage, and in extreme cases, revocation of your visa or permit. For example in some countries there are a number of local taxes as the proprietor that in one’s native country may not exist. So you pay the property tax but unwittingly you don’t settle your village /communal taxes or even the minute tax for buildable land as they are often levied by different departments.
Another example might be the wealthy family that brings their nanny or housekeeper with them and forgets to pay the relevant social security contributions. Her employer, the CEO of a multi-national company, now makes the press for an oversight that puts his unrelated multi-million dollar business at risk. Small things can have big unintended consequences.
This is when having that trusted adviser that you interact with regularly can be vital. By simply talking with them, these small matters can be discussed early and measures put in place so these innocent mistakes don’t get made in the first place. You should feel confident to use your trusted adviser as a sounding board. People value having a ‘go to’ person that really ‘get’s it’. Because no matter how much you plan, every move provides some challenges and it’s reassuring to be able to pick up the phone to someone who understands, who can listen and knows exactly how to help you.
A case study on JTC Private Office’s relocation services can be found HERE.