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Preparing to go abroad includes securing important documents, making copies, and a lot of planning. It is vital to make copies of everything and keep it in a separate secure space. It is a great idea to take 3 copies of your passport, visas, and other paperwork that is facilitating your move. Keep one with you, one in an accessible, but safe place (ie safe deposit box), and one that is with a trusted relative of friend that can give you the information if something were to happen to you or the other copies.

A checklist of other things to consider:
1. Passports: check expiration- must not expire within 6 months of your arrival. Make at least 2 copies and keep one in a safe place separate from your original passport.
2. Secure medical insurance and possibly travel insurance to prevent unmanageable medical bills and enable entry into other countries.
3. Research and apply for a Visa. This can take several months to obtain before you leave.
4. Save enough money to support your cost of living and lifestyle plus travel costs with enough of a buffer to be prepared for the unexpected.
5. Bring things to facilitate transition like a universal electric plug adaptor, any medications you take, or anything else to make you comfortable during the transition.

Pets

If you are bringing pets with you, documentation is required and you will need to plan in advance. Taiwan is a rabies-free country which means the import of animals is tightly controlled. A strict dog/cat importation quarantine is enforced. Animals should be vaccinated prior to being imported.

An animal owner or the authorized representative who intends to import dogs / cats (pets) should present the following documents two weeks prior to the date of transport:
• An application form (identifying the scheduled date of import, the applicant and local contact person’s name, address, telephone number, etc.)
• A copy of veterinary (quarantine / health) certificate issued by an official veterinarian of the exporting country with the following information:
  
• 1. The pet’s breed, sex, age (or date of birth), fur color, physical characteristics
• 2. Date of rabies vaccination and the type of vaccine administered. animals should have a primary vaccination at the age of at least 90 days old, and the period between the day of vaccination and the day of shipment shall be no less than 180 days and no more than one year. A booster vaccination may also be necessary at no more than one year prior to shipment.
• Proof of Microchip
• 3. Four ‘4x6”’ photographs of the pet in full body
• A copy of the applicant’s passport or ID

This information is needed to receive a import permit document. This permit, along with the proof of vaccination, should be submitted upon entering the country and the animal entering quarantine. Quarantine usually lasts 21 days and the animal may be sampled and tested again for rabies antibody. If the rabies antibody is under 0.5 IU/ml, the dog or cat shall be re-vaccinate with inactivate rabies vaccine.

It is strongly advised that pets arrive in Taiwan on a weekday morning as pet customs is only open during business hours. If your pet arrives in the evening or on the weekend, you will have to wait until 9:00 AM the next business day to clear customs. If your pet is held at the airport, only you, the owner, will have access to the pet, and you will be responsible for providing food and water.

For more on official regulations, go to NTU Quarantine website.

Financial

On the home front, make sure all bills are paid or have a means of being paid. If you are retaining a residence while abroad, make sure the rent/mortgage is taken care of and that utilities are being paid while you are away. Insure that important institutions like your bank are able to reach you.

If you are retaining a bank in your home country, ask about fees for overseas transactions. If you have a credit card, find out if there are additional fees or any changes you need to make with your account. Inform banking industries that you will abroad so as to not arouse suspicious activity on your account as anti-theft systems can see this activity and put a most inconvenient hold on your account.

Tax

It is best to inform tax offices of any change in residency. Some countries have reciprocal tax agreements, and others may require you to pay some form of taxes both in your home country and aboard. Most National Tax Administrations are an excellent resource for exactly what steps to take when moving away. For more information, refer to our section on taxes.

For example, UK nationals should refer to the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for details of managing their taxation payments and National Insurance contributions in the UK if they are living and working in Taiwan.

Health

Standards of health are generally high and compare favourably with those in other countries.

All water should be regarded as being potentially contaminated.

For concerns about your health when abroad, the World Health Organization (WHO) publishes International Travel and Health which is revised annually and is available free online. Another excellent resource is MD Travel Health. It provides free, complete travel-health recommendations for every country and is updated daily.