Cost of emigration

[TehStranger]

So I've been discussing this with a few friends and would like to hear your thoughts on the cost of emigration.

To those who have done it, what were the rough costs associated with leaving here and ending up there?

What were your circumstances? (Single, married with kids, pets that you took with you etc.)

How many unexpected costs did you face, and what were they?

Were there any factors that made things easier? (EU passport, company helped pay for your emigration etc.)

Were there any factors that made things harder? (Struggling to sell your house/other assets etc.)

Also other details like when you left, where you went, whether you've come back and anything else I haven't mentioned are appreciated.

 

[Skandalis]

/subscribed

We're starting our move to NZ soon:

Wife
2x Cats
1x Large Breed Dog

Animals will probably end up costing us R60 000 -R70 000 to move. No one wants to adopt the wife :twisted:

Getting rid of most of our large items/furniture & only need about a third of a 20ft container. Best quote so far: R30 000 excl insurance.

Buying out cellphone contracts, medical clearances (R2 000 a pop), flights, immigration agents (R30 000) to name a few of the sundries.

Good times ahead.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Country: Sweden

Basic costs:
Visa application for temporary residency - 1,500 SEK (R2,500±).
Flight to Johannesburg (OR Tambo) from George for interview at the embassy - R1,000± one-way.
Flight to Copenhagen Airport from OR Tambo - R10,000± one-way.
Application for permanent residency - 1,500 SEK (R2,500±).
Application for citizenship - 1,500 SEK (R2,500±).


Additional costs:
Transporting a couple of boxes of personal belongings across via EMS - R10,000±.

Reason:
Love. Got married. It was an option, put some thought into what we wanted to do and did it.

I either sold, donated or left the items that weren't worth bringing through with my parents (cutlery, crockery, furniture, etc) and bought replacements again here.

I paid off my cellphone contract (had around 6-months left on it) but I can't remember what the cost for that was, too long ago, but around R1,000, I guess.

My driver's licence couldn't be exchanged here, so going through driver's exams again was a pain in the arse. You need to do a sort of mandatory advanced driving course which costs 2,000kr (R3,300±) as well as a mandatory course on drugs, alcohol, exhaustion, etc for 750kr (R1,200±) before you can even apply for the exams which total 1,500kr (R2,500±).

Beyond that, there's the obvious cost of house and home which would obviously depend on where you stay. But you're looking at around 7,000kr (R12,000±) per month for a good two-bedroom place here via the municipality (rent-controlled), which requires you being part of a housing queue that could take months or years; alternatively you can rent from a normal landlord for anything in excess of 10,000kr (R16,000±), depending on where you're looking for.

It's also all but completely vital to have a Swedish identity card, which you'll need to do pretty much anything from picking up your packages from the nearly post outlet, to (conveniently) depositing money at the bank, to simply buying some alcohol. That's 400kr per card (R650±).

I think that's essentially it for the costs that were involved for me. Obviously if you had to buy a car, you'd have to chuck that in there too

 

[bwana]

It's scary to think but when I moved to SA I had a boombox and a suitcase. Sixteen years later I'm looking down the barrel of a shipping container as well as two large breed dogs… plus a family.

 

[HavocXphere]

Eyeballing it at the moment & thus watching friends and family carefully.

Financial doesn't seem to be the issue - I know people that went to GB on a shoestring budget. Instead:
1) Work permit
2) Getting a job, esp if its husband & wife...often one battles
3) Language barriers (i.e. fitting in)

Thats also why an EU passport is helpful...solves 1 and helps for 2 & 3 since you can pick a country.

...

Damn thats expensive.

 

[skierenw]

The issue moving from south africa - Exchange rate is so bad, and everything is alot more expensive overseas.

 

[Ocali]

subscribed as well, i need to move out at some stage as well......

 

[Lycanthrope]

It's scary to think but when I moved to SA I had a boombox and a suitcase. Sixteen years later I'm looking down the barrel of a shipping container as well as two large breed dogs… plus a family.

haha... That's what worries me about ever heading back to South Africa. I'm rather fond of the crap I've accrued here

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Great idea for a thread, thanks OP.

@ Lycan - How did you get a job over there? Start looking over here already or were you able to bum around a bit there before getting one?

 

[cguy]

USA: h1b visa
Cost: -$7k (i.e. I was given some money for minor expenses)
Married, no kids or pets (family took pets (who knew them well))

Company paid for everything (movers, visas, flights, vehicle rental, corporate housing for a few months, etc.). I kept my house in SA. Never spent a rand, except for a few dollars to get the cab from the airport, and a cab to the bank to deposit the check and open an account. I have still never taken money out of SA.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Great idea for a thread, thanks OP.

@ Lycan - How did you get a job over there? Start looking over here already or were you able to bum around a bit there before getting one?

I'm here under family reunification (see: husband person) and I'm lucky enough to not need to work.

However, for folks of non-leisure, Sweden has Arbetsförmedlingen, which helps people to find work free of charge.

There are also SFI (svenska för invandrare/Swedish for Immigrants) classes, which is a free service to help people learn the language. It can also lead to adult education and, all education here is free (and citizens even get paid while they study).

Arbetsförmedlingen also pays out support for folks who are actively searching for work and simultaneously doing SFI. The system is unfortunately open to abuse, but it's a pretty decent system that goes a long way to helping people establish their lives here.

Though unless you have someone here (married or in a provable relationship), you'll obviously need to get in via a work permit. The above options remain open and people here on work permits can take evening SFI/adult education classes.

Sweden pretty much does everything it can to help people integrate themselves.

If you need help finding a job, should you want to live here, there are a couple of sites to help out:

http://work.sweden.se/
http://www.stepstone.se/en
http://www.thelocal.se/jobs/
https://ec.europa.eu/eures/page/homepage?lang=en

 

[OrbitalDawn]

I'm here under family reunification (see: husband person) and I'm lucky enough to not need to work.

However, for folks of non-leisure, Sweden has Arbetsförmedlingen, which helps people to find work free of charge.

There are also SFI (svenska för invandrare/Swedish for Immigrants) classes, which is a free service to help people learn the language. It can also lead to adult education and, all education here is free (and citizens even get paid while they study).

Arbetsförmedlingen also pays out support for folks who are actively searching for work and simultaneously doing SFI. The system is unfortunately open to abuse, but it's a pretty decent system that goes a long way to helping people establish their lives here.

Though unless you have someone here (married or in a provable relationship), you'll obviously need to get in via a work permit. The above options remain open and people here on work permits can take evening SFI/adult education classes.

Sweden pretty much does everything it can to help people integrate themselves.

If you need help finding a job, should you want to live here, there are a couple of sites to help out:

http://work.sweden.se/
http://www.stepstone.se/en
http://www.thelocal.se/jobs/
https://ec.europa.eu/eures/page/homepage?lang=en

That's really great.

Thanks for the info.

I'm only starting thinking about it. Scandinavia would be a first prize, but I'm cautious of the language barrier, although you seem to have figured it out easily enough.

Canada (specifically Western Canada) has piqued my attention.

 

[Lycanthrope]

That's really great.

Thanks for the info.

I'm only starting thinking about it. Scandinavia would be a first prize, but I'm cautious of the language barrier, although you seem to have figured it out easily enough.

Canada (specifically Western Canada) has piqued my attention.

You're quite welcome

I'm very fond of it here. The language barrier isn't really a problem since English is a mandatory language taught in the schools--you really can get by just by speaking English although, obviously, the language plays a huge role in fitting in and integrating yourself into the culture and community.

The only times you'd ever really have an issue is if you come across non-European immigrants, since they almost certainly don't understand a lick of English.

But Swedish isn't a very difficult language to learn once you get the hang of it. My Swedish is still fairly terrible, but I can communicate and read it, at least, and it's a lovely language to be surrounded by.

Canada is a good choice--it's a beautiful country I'd like to see it one day. There's at least one immigrant from Canada living in my town

 

[loc]

Good thread - in 3 years I want to sell my house and either move to another area or another country all together

 

[Mila]

I didn't want to start a new thread, tell me if I should.

What will it cost in terms of education for kids and how many years will it set a kid back in a school and what will they have too do to catch up?

I'm asking in light of the following events, a friend of mine's ex husband is leaving the country too go to the Netherlands.
He asked his two kids if they would be interested in going with,they are currently residing with mom. Now no one has a issue with them going as it is a great opportunity. But after investigating, it turns out that if they are lucky they will have to redo two years.
Telling a 15 year old he will be going to class with 12and 13 year olds didn't go down well. Which I'm sure we all can understand.
(He has two kids in high school)

My question is, are we really that behind?

I know Mr Mila's brother's kids had to redo one year in the USA but that was purely to catch up in English. And they were only starting school.

Is it maybe just the location as there might not be a school that is primarily English in the region or is it our education.
How much will you have to spend to get them up to standard with kids their own age?
Who here has done it?

Seems like a missed opportunity.

Tx.

 

[maumau]

Not to be too personal Lycanthrope but how come you don't have to work? You're not old enough to have retired.

 

[HavocXphere]

My question is, are we really that behind?

SA private schools are on par with the EU schools (1st hand experience). Can't say as to public schools - presumably not far behind.

Its likely more due to the lang barrier. Remember *all* the subjects will be taught in Dutch & the tempo will not slow down to accommodate them so maybe a year or 2 isn't a bad plan.

I'd suggest that they go - its likely their last chance for a while. Either the kids piggy-back on the parents emigration or they need to wait till their own application sticks...which means at least another 10 years (school, uni, bit of job experience). Plus they'd be forced to select a varsity course that is "popular" emigration wise. Friends of mine opted to piggy-back and were glad they did so later...

 

[bwana]

We're probably looking at out kids being left back at least one school year when we head back to the UK.

 

[KleinBoontjie]

Following this thread definitely. Attended a few workshops in Cape Town during the last 7 years and prices is definitely not getting better.

Can someone also state what they needed for the immigration to be successful, for example: I heard that an abridged marriage certificate is a must.

 

[Segg]

Following this thread definitely. Attended a few workshops in Cape Town during the last 7 years and prices is definitely not getting better.

Can someone also state what they needed for the immigration to be successful, for example: I heard that an abridged marriage certificate is a must.

Abridged marriage and birth certificates are a must, aswell as a police clearance certificate WRT the US, also all original qualification paperwork, no copies