What's it like to leave a country?

Moving to a new country can be a nerve wracking experience. Leaving behind all your friends and family, the place you grew up in and, well, basically everything that's familiar to you! Which as creatures of habit/routines is difficult. Well, what about leaving that country for another new one?

There's maybe as many, if not, even more things to think about and research than there was to move there. This is because you need to find out all the nuances of the procedure of leaving that country AND research the new country you're moving to......not to mention finishing work and completing a handover.

When it's time to move countries what do you need to think about?

The basic things you need to think about based on my experiences of leaving Dubai are:

• Bank accounts - what you need to do to close them, e.g. how many days notice
• Credit cards - how long these take to cancel and transferring any regular payments to a different card
• Utilities - water, electricity; in Dubai's case all handled by DEWA
• Rental contract termination - handing in your notice, how many days, any penalties etc.
• Phone and internet/TV subscriptions - are you on a rolling monthly contract or a fixed term with penalties for leaving early
• Selling your car - private, through a dealer and transfer of ownership with RTA
• HR procedures with your company - clearance forms and visa cancellation
• End of service payment - how it's paid
• To ship or not to ship!

Banking

          To close a bank account in Dubai only generally takes 3-4 working days so this can be done the week before you leave and is very simple to do. Two options regarding any money you have in there; either you can be given it when you go to close accounts but given to unpredictable nature of banking in Dubai I went with the option to transfer it all out (combo of to my home country account and some cash to take a to a currency exchange place to get local currency for my new country, more on this in the next blog) and then close my account with zero balance. 

With credit cards it says officially you need 45 days to cancel cards but this can be done in 2-3 working days when the balance is zero. If you have any regular payments from your card, e.g. savings accounts, make sure to arrange these to be transferred to a different card. Handy in situations like these to have a credit card from your home country which you are able to use short term until you get one in your new country.

Utilities

           Compared to a lot of countries this is very easy in Dubai owing to the fact it all comes under DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority). They only need 2-3 days notice to cutoff your apartments service and issue a final bill (which takes another 48 hours). Best place to do this is the DEWA Al Twar centre near Dubai airport or Jebel Ali centre. Both a little drive but worth it for no queues! I went early morning when they opened on a Saturday to pay final bill and was in/out in less than 10 minutes. And don't forget to collect back your deposit you paid when opening the account.

Rental Contract Termination

             Most rental contracts will have a requirement of 2 months notice, which is the same as most notice periods for jobs also so you need to remember to put your rental notice in at a similar time. There may be 1 months rent penalty for leaving a contract early but any further amounts plus your security deposit will be returned to either a bank account of your choosing usually. It's worth paying for a few nights in a hotel or stay with a friend so you can leave your apartment and pay final DEWA bill, or spend a few days in your apartment with no electricity!

Phone and internet/TV

               If on a rolling contract then very easy to cancel. Just go to a Etisalat business centre (there's one at both Al Twar and Jebel Ali and again no queues so worth the drive) and take along your set top box, remote and cables plus internet router if they supplied you and they will close your account pretty much on the spot. If on a fixed term contract and you leave early then most likely you'll have to pay off the remainder of the contract, which could be expensive!

Selling your car

               Two choices here. Sell it privately, e.g. dubizzle or autotrader, or go to a company such as Al Futtaim Automall who will give you a price to buy the car off you. The advantage of doing it this way is they will even pay off the mortgage on the car for you so if you have a loan outstanding then you don't need to pay this off before selling privately. Definitely the most hassle free way of doing it but won't get you maximum value for your car. If selling privately then as soon as you hand your notice in get proactively advertising to sell and if need be rent a car from Hertz or similar for the duration of your stay before leaving and can had back in at the airport. If selling privately the process could take at least 2-3 weeks for the buyer to get a loan approved if they need one so bear this in mind with your timescale.

HR Procedures

               Once you've handed in your notice go to your companies HR manager or send them an email asking for details on exactly what is required of you for clearance. There will probably be a form requiring signatures showing you've handed back necessary keys, access cards, uniform etc. There may well be an exit interview process as well and all of this will need to be completed before your end of service payment can be processed. Most HR managers are extremely helpful and no the process inside out. There will most likely be a Visa person in the HR department who will handle your cancellation so liaise with them regarding when they'd like your passport to process this. If possible, get an service or employment service letter stating the dates you worked for the company and your last position. You never know when you might need this for future work visas!

End of Service Payment

                  Key thing here is knowing how it will be paid to you. Some companies will give you a cheque that you can cash using a ID (e.g. local driving licence as you won't have your passport) and some will pay in to your local bank account. Note: find this out when planning on closing accounts and any additional time you'll need to stay in the country to get this payment before proceeding.

Shipping your belongings or selling

                    You need to weigh up the cost of replacing everything versus how much it would cost to ship and how old everything is. In Dubai dubizzle is excellent for selling stuff on, things tend to go pretty fast if at the lower end of the price scale. If you're not shipping a full 20ft container then a lot of shipping companies aren't bothered as see you as too much hassle for not enough money. We only had about 20+ boxes to ship and had a great experience with APS International Movers. Don't bother getting boxes and packing yourself as the company will pack everything in their boxes, which is great. And don't forget no food or beverages can be exported from UAE so a big party is needed to use it all up!

Overall my experience of leaving Dubai was relatively painless except for selling my car, as didn't know about Al-Futtaim automall buying cars, only tried places like webuyanycar who offer extremely low prices, but all else was fine. You just need to be well prepared with a to-do list with dates of when things need to be done. Once you the above is done you can look forward to jetting off on your next adventure......

Next time we'll look at what you need to think about before you get to your new country. And I guarantee if you've not moved country before, or even if you have done, there will be a few things you probably wouldn't have thought about!

Happy moving....go grab that opportunity overseas

Ed

Ed Chapman

PGA Golf Professional at The Hong Kong Golf Club

PGA Advanced Professional member of the PGA of GB&I

Previously:

Senior Golf Academy Coach at Al Badia Golf Club by InterContinental, Dubai

PGA Golf Professional at Northamptonshire County Golf Club, England