Scouting Checklist #1: What To Bring With You

• A color copy of your passport (every page). You’ll likely be asked to produce this (by the banker you meet with, by the attorney perhaps). If you bring a color copy, you can leave the original in your hotel safe…

• Note that, if your passport has less than a year remaining until expiration, you should renew it in advance of your trip. Once you begin your residency visa application process, you’re going to receive stamps that will be a big pain in the neck to replace if your passport expires before your visa process concludes…

• Very recent passport-size photos (as many as eight). You may not need these, but it’s easier to bring them with you than to waste time in the country finding someplace to have them taken…

• A recent (within the past three months) copy of a utility bill (electricity bill, telephone, etc.). You’ll need this to open a bank account…

• Two banking (or financial) reference letters. If you don’t currently have two banks, request a second letter from another financial institution where you have an account (Schwab, for example, or Fidelity) or from one of your credit card companies. The letter should say, “So-and-so has had an account with this institution for so-many years. This account is currently in good standing.”…

• An FBI (or comparable if you’re not an American) criminal background check (hopefully showing that you have no criminal background). This will be required for your residency visa processing. Note that this report is valid for six months only, so, once you obtain it, you should use it…

• Phrasebook (if the local language isn’t English)…

• Guidebook (remember, part of this expedition is about being a tourist)…

• Road map. If you still like to have a physical map to unfold, these can be difficult (or impossible) to source locally. A good online source for a road map of almost anywhere you can name is www.maps2anywhere.com… Of course, though, these days, it’s much easier to use Google Maps. Google may not have mapped every corner of every country I’ve talked about in this course, but at least major cities will be available. Waze is another popular mapping app that is more reliable than Google in some parts of the world.

• Your laptop (if you have one)…

As an addendum to this, here’s a checklist of things not to bring with you…

• A lot of cash. Remember, you can’t cross any international border with more than US$10,000 (or the equivalent) without declaring it. I don’t recommend that you do it, even if you disclose the fact to customs (as you must). Nowhere on my recommended list of destinations would you have to travel far to find an ATM. If your destination is super-remote, the local economy is probably cash-based… so you’ll need ready cash and, at the same time, you might not have ready access to a source for it. Still, I can’t imagine anywhere you’d go for two weeks where you’d need more than US$10,000 cash. Likely, you should carry much less…

• Traveler’s checks. Again, your best option for accessing the cash you need while on the road is an ATM. Furthermore, in most of the world, it’s difficult to exchange traveler’s checks.

• Don’t exchange a lot of cash into the local currency in advance of the trip unless the local currency is appreciating rapidly against your base currency. You’ll likely get a better exchange rate in country than from your local bank back home. If you do decide to change money before you get on the plane, you’ll have to plan for it. Your bank likely will have to request the foreign cash, which could take a few days.

• If you intend to start your residency visa application process while in the country, you’ll need a health certificate. Don’t bring this with you. Ask the attorney helping with your visa application process to recommend a doctor in the country and to schedule an appointment for you. A local doctor experienced issuing these certificates will understand what they should (and shouldn’t) say to expedite the visa process.