What to watch out for with an International move - The hidden costs

Most guides on what to do when planning an International relocation, usually advise you to obtain 3 quotes, ensure you keep in a locked room your documents, keys, passports, wallets etc on packing day so they don't end up in the container like our son's shoes and wallet did, along with the key for the padlock for the side gate. They'll also tell you to make sure the bin is empty and you've washed up the plates before the packers arrive. All good advice, but it's the hidden costs you really need to look for and an honest time frame.

We've been fortunate with 3 International moves and 3 internal moves over the past 10 years that nothing has been broken, other than the odd bowl etc, however we haven't been lucky with the information given to us and the additional hidden costs. Although the company paid for 2 of the moves, it did not pay for the extras.

We've used 4 firms for International moves and 3 different firms for internal moving. The internal moves have gone to plan. You get up, dress, they pack, they deliver to the new address, they unpack and remove all the packaging.

Our first move from the UK to South Africa went wrong from failing to tell us they couldn't ship until we got our visas, AFTER they'd packed and removed everything from the house 2 months before the move and then added we needed to itemise everything they'd packed for insurance purposes.

On arrival in SA there were hidden customs (bribes) charges, our container was 'lost' until we paid the fees, we NEVER received the seal number so had no idea if our container had been opened or not. The UK side of the organisation stopped answering emails and despite the contract being with them directly, they said it was now the fault of the agents in SA.

From SA to Dubai, the move was handled by my husbands company this meant that NO-ONE would discuss any part of the move with me in either country, despite my husband not being present in either country when the packing was done and the container was delivered.

We had to apply for visa on arrival in Dubai, so we were on a tight timeline for the move and organised air cargo with bedding, TV, paperwork and some basic kitchen items. Due to their being a shortage of visas, our container sat in the dock for 2 months and our air cargo arrived 10 days AFTER the container was delivered to our new home. Costs were met by the company as they hadn't organised the visas.

For this last move, we had 2 shipments. The first was a shared container, it arrived on time and no one would speak to me, not the company in Dubai or the agents in the UK. After many phone calls and the threat of legal action and help from the shipping company in Dubai, the Bill of Lading was paid from the company to the shipping line, container released and goods delivered.....on a Sunday night at 6pm, they took 2 hours and dumped the sofa in the neighbours garage leaving me to unpack and remove the waste. The company in Dubai said as a 'gesture of good will, they'd waive the storage fees with the delay. They also failed to take out the Insurance on time and took 2 months to repay it, again with the threat of legal action.

The final saga is the current container, delivered last week, again storage fees wavered as a good will gesture. I picked a company that managed the whole move from door to door, turns out they sub contract and due to them not being available before the 21st July, there was going to be a charge of £1000 for UK port storage.

However, it wasn't customs charging me the fee, they cleared the container on the day it arrived in port and it was ready for collection at 20:20. So then they tried telling me it was the shipping company not having hauliers to move the container. I called them, they said it wasn't their container. Then it was the port charging me due to lack of hauliers, so I called them, they explained no one had applied for a VBS and once that was done the container would be ready for collection within the hour.

Then everyone stopped answering their phones and their emails, they'd already said my contact had ended up in junk, after they swore blind they'd never received anything from me, then it was claimed I never replied. I called them out on the email sent on June 29th, a week before my container arrived.

I have my container, it's all unpacked, fingers crossed I don't hear anything more from anyone and if you ever hear me saying that I'm thinking of moving, please stop me.

Things to do:

• Get contact details of agent in the country you're moving to
• Itemise your packing list and work out replacement value in country you're moving to (I worked off this list and updated it for all moves)
• Take photo of container with it's number, shipping company and seal details
• Track the ship for arrival date
• Register with wheresmycontainer.com
  
  
  
  
  
  

Don't be frightened to call customs, border control, the port, the shipping company directly, they were very helpful and informative and I was able to use the information given to prove the costs incurred were the responsibility of the removal company and not mine.

Packing: 

• Do the washing up
• Empty the bins
• Group items ready for unpacking at destination

Unpacking:

• Using the inventory packing list to decide where each box is going
• Label rooms according to unpacking
• Unpack to surface isn't always possible so when signing the job off add the number of boxes not unpacked and take a photo of the paperwork.

Week 20 - One Daily Positive, shipping and a big cat on the loose

I've had a few people ask me recently if my health issues are related to the menopause. The answer is no, although I'm probably going through it regardless. I've actually had my periods stopped to validate the iron deficiency and 2 years ago I was diagnosed with a small bleed in my small intestine caused by an intolerance to wheat.

All my medical appointments are blood test led, as in it's not me going back and forth to the Doctors, it's them calling me back and forth, a high white blood cell count led to me having a bone marrow biopsy, where several unexplained results were identified which they are still trying to work out. In the meantime, the iron infusions cause my electrolytes to malfunction and caused numbness and itching and bone pains, which are a recent, known side effect of the infusions.

We've moved out the villa this week and into an apartment in the Marina, near the beach. It's been a very stressful week, but I'm totally switched off now, despite ending the week with a migraine, but that's heat and physical work related.

We were planning to fly to the UK on June 2nd and hotel quarantine for 11 days as legally required to and we won't be allowed to fly unless we can produce proof of hotel booking, however the earliest we can now get a direct flight is June 15th, hopefully the UAE will be off the red list and we can just isolate at home instead.

Oh and we've also been keeping an eye out for an escaped black panther/jaguar in the local community this week.

135 Saturday Out for breakfast with friends, a food shop and home to watch the FA Cup Final. Found this growing in the garden, taking the form of the fence, it's a squash of some kind.

136 Sunday Started the process of closing bank accounts so we can obtain a clearance certificate prior to flying home. Headed out to old Dubai for some shopping, it does entertain me.

137 Monday Shipping company confirmed they are coming to pack on Wednesday. most of the day spent on the sofa watching movies. Saw Jaws 2, scared me all over again lol.

I've found good homes for all the plants.

138 Tuesday Super busy sorting the house ready for moving. Had to do the insurance quote which is itemising everything packed and putting a price on it for replacement value in the UK.

139 Wednesday Packers arrived, once they knew what was being packed and what was staying I took myself off for a coffee and to read my book, they'd gone by 3pm and I went out in the evening to meet a friend for coffee at a local mall.

140 Thursday All the furniture was loaded in the container. There's a lot of stuff we're not taking back with us which I started to shift outside with help from the removal men.

141 Friday Spent the day cleaning the villa and having the garden and all the waste removed, slight hiccup with the company doing the work who said they would finish tomorrow then demanded paying up front and accusing me of cheating them. All resolved now, but typical behaviour and all too common I'm afraid. 

View from JBR towards the end of the Marina from our current home.

On the blog this week:

Post Comment Love - The shipping has been shipped

Counting down to the end of our expat journey

Construction Photography - The Atlantis Hotel

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Paying agents to do a job, badly

I'm pissed off, totally, at the point of having a breakdown.

I'm pissed off because my container is delayed because the agents didn't submit the paperwork.

I'm pissed off with all the work I've had to do to our family home because the agents didn't manage the property and the tenants and submit the correct paperwork to the Deposit Protection Scheme.

I'm pissed off with paying agents/professionals to do a job that I am unqualified to do, which turns out that I am actually qualified to do as I'm the one who has to sort it out and draw on skills and intelligence I didn't know I actually had.

Let me tell you my shipping story.

It began in Dubai early September, I obtained 3 quotes, all the same price, all offering the same service. I did a google search, I asked on twitter. I made a decision.

I picked the one who said they could ship on September 10th.

The ship didn't sail till October 2nd. I spent from the day they packed until September the 22nd asking for the shipping details, until they finally said the container was loaded.

By then I was back in the UK, I googled shipping lines and discovered the ship didn't sail until October 2nd.

I also paid them nearly £500 for the shipping and breakage insurance, I filled in all the forms and sent them off and made payment on September the 9th.

I constantly chased them for the Insurance details until October 13th they informed me Insurance had been denied. I contacted the Insurance directly to be informed that the application hadn't been made until October 13th and therefore as the ship had already sailed I couldn't have insurance.

The company made out they were doing me a favour by refunding me the money. I'm still waiting for the refund.

My container was still at sea. During this time, an attempted hijack was reported off the Isle of Wight of a ship and a container fell off another ship near the coast of Weymouth.

There are many things I would be unable to replace such as photographs and the children's keepsakes, but should my container have been hijacked or fallen in the sea I wouldn't have been able to claim for loss of furniture etc.

My container arrived in Port on November 8th, with a customs clearing time of 5-12 days, after day 5 I am to be charged storage fees.

On November 6th I made yet another call to the UK agents who still hadn't responded to me to let me know the process. I explained I needed to get back to Dubai ASAP and they said they'd be in contact as soon as they were informed the container had been released. 

On November 17th I called the UK company, no response, finally they replied to my email on the 20th to say as soon as they heard they'd contact me.

On the 23rd, Monday this week. I phoned them up again, the container hadn't been released. It was now day 17, so I called the National Clearing Hub, the Port and UK Border Force who all informed me that my container had been cleared on the 17th November, so why hasn't it been collected?

I called the UAE company, no reply, I called the UK company, no reply. I sent emails and whatsapp messages and over the past 2 days I've had the UK agent tell me it's not her fault and she's working hard to resolve the issue. I contacted the shipping line to be informed the Bill of Lading, bascially the Inventory hasn't been sent to them.

Finally the UAE side replied, the agent was almost crying on the phone, I will do I promise, please let me sort this out. The receptionist sends me an email to tell me shipping company have received the Bill of Lading.

Shipping company email back this morning, they still don't have it. UK agent not answering phone or responding to emails. Call whatssapp number in Dubai, woman answers, she is agents and receptionists boss, she tells me Bill of Lading has been sent, it is the shipping lines fault, we argue, she patronises me with Lady, My Dear and Inshallah, she implies she was will sort the issue in 2 days, Inshallah, maybe a week. It's a 3 day National Holiday in Dubai next week, they're 4 hours ahead, the end of the working week is tomorrow, so to stand any chance of getting my container by Monday when I need to fly has to be resolved by 5am UK time tomorrow morning.

I tell her I have email from shipping company, all she has to do is reply to their request. She replies and copies me in. 

'We have long correspondence with your office here in Dubai asking them to submit to our agent at your end the original Bill of Lading.

For this shipment without success we even asked them during sailing of the cargo to release again sea express bill but no replies

& no action.'

She then gives the name of the person in Dubai and their contact details and asks the UK side to sort it out as she has had no luck.

I'm pissed off because the UK agent knows they should have this paperwork before they can collect the container, the shipping company because they know they have to present the paperwork to the UK side, the UAE agent for misleading me all the way through.

I'm pissed off for no one taking ownership of the problem.

I'm pissed off for people making out they're doing me a favour to resolve their mistakes.

I'm pissed off because if everything had gone to plan, my house sitters would've arrived October 22nd, the container would've been delivered and unpacked on the 48th day and I would've flown back out to Dubai to see my husband the first week of November and would no longer be stuck in the UK during Covid on my own. 

I'm pissed off but would've been less pissed off if the paperwork had been processed correctly as I would have flown back to Dubai the end of last week.

I won't have time to unpack now and I'll find out when I do in February if there is any damage and all the agents will be long gone by then and I won't be able to make any claim against them.

The only bonus is that I'm now staying with my son and his wife in Northern Ireland, that I haven't seen since February. 

UPDATE

Thursday 26th November. Shipping container cleared for collection. The Bill of Lading was finally supplied. To achieve this I enlisted the help of two random strangers from the internet who responded to my pleas for help, who worked together in both Dubai and the UK phoning my agents and the shipping line to get the matter sorted on my behalf, for which I am extremely grateful.

Friday 27th November 16.41 No response from UK agent with a delivery date. Yesterday they said delivery was booked for December 10th. Now that is a normal time frame after the container being cleared around 10-14 days. However as my container was actually ready on November 17th, it should be delivered Monday or Tuesday next week, which would be in time for me to fly back to Dubai as planned. They've said they'll do their best to get it sorted for then, but at this late stage of the day, when they're not answering my calls or reading the emails, I suspect it won't be happening.

In my opinion the agent in the UK should've realised that there was going to be an issue and not left it a week before finding out what was going on, in fact it was only because there were 13 of us calling her that eventually something was done, but it wasn't good enough. It wasn't them that sorted it, it was me and the online help i received. Basically the agents in Dubai didn't pay the seafaring bill, although they claimed they paid it on October 11th, yet on 24th November they emailed to say the shipping company hadn't invoiced them yet, a week after the ship docked in London.

I'll update further on the delivery date once I'm informed but I suspect I won't be going back to Dubai for a while yet.

Container being delivered Sunday 29th November. It arrived at 7pm and my sofa is in the neighbours garage until February when I return to the UK.

Week 36 - One Daily Positive - Packing and shipping - Our expat journey.

So a brief run down for those of you not in the know, the rest of you can just skip a paragraph or two (I'm mainly talking to you Mary)

We left the UK in January 2011 to move to South Africa, we took all our worldly goods and our two youngest children with us. On leaving South Africa the kids had left home (youngest back to boarding school in the UK) and we had inherited a cat and dog. 5 years in Dubai and most of our furniture is being shipped back to the UK next week, why? Well it's a long story, how long have you got?

Our first tenants stopped paying rent for almost a year, destroyed our house and stole anything they could. Fast forward 8 years, several good tenants and then our last lot, trashed our house again, so we decided to reoccupy it as the quickest and cheapest way to get it back. So we brought our relocation plans for Peter's retirement forward 2 years.

The plan was to relocate a year before Peter retires and for me to set up home, find a job and Peter would then join me, we might move house, change towns or just stay put. So the house was reclaimed in December 2019, the pets flew over February 2020 and then I was to be in and out of the UK/Dubai and we had arranged for Peter to downsize to an apartment and I'd ship the rest of our furniture back to the UK. Covid hit, we were apart for 4 months. I got back to Dubai and we decided to ship anyway despite Peter still remaining in the Villa till at least May next year, then we'll re look at apartments.

I've now got two weeks back in the UK to isolate and will be finishing the decorating ready for our container to arrive mid October. I then have a couple of weeks to unpack, find a home for everything then I'll be back out to Dubai for 3 months over winter to finish sorting out this end (pet sitter permitting)

243 Sunday Packers arrived, I hung around all day (bored) as I'd separated the house into piles and needed to be at hand to answer a few questions about should they pack rugs, cushions etc. I spent the day blogging and trying to keep out the way, but needed to be around to make sure they didn't pack stuff that we were leaving in Dubai. Peter worked from the bedroom and cooked our dinner.

244 Monday Off to Dubai Mall for the day, I walked 5 miles over 4 hours, all with my mask on, inside and out, taking it off only to stop for lunch in the food court and have a coffee. The child in me always chuckles when you realise how these statues are attached to the wall.

245 Tuesday The day was spent rearranging the furniture and cleaning downstairs. I picked the wrong time to food shop, so busy and the staff always rush you. Not really sure what to do with this space now.

246 Wednesday Back to not sleeping and awake at 4am, I started work on the upstairs, had to stop due to needing to use the hoover so sat outside with my breakfast around 6.30am. Humidity is much lower at the moment and it's quite pleasant with the temp at 31c already. Mid morning I visited Park n Shop they stock a lot of British products, I want to see what Gluten Free products they sell (if any) otherwise I'll just be bringing a case of food with me next trip. I can get GF foods here in Waitrose and Carrefour but it really is limited stock. I'm happy with how this area now looks.

247 Thursday We headed out for an early morning walk then Peter was in the office all day so I spent my time finishing rearranging the bedrooms, did some washing, put the slow cooker on for dinner and just chilled out watching movies and doing the ironing.

I'm more than happy with how downstairs looks now.

248 Friday It's covid test day at City Walk, ahead of my flight on Tuesday. Appointment was at 11am, we joined the queue at 10am. Took some photos of the ever changing landscape and off to Festival City for lunch and coffee. Evening spent watching movies.

This is the new canal they created since we've been here. The buildings on the far right are new also.

249 Saturday Early morning walk around the neighbourhood to take more photos. leisurely breakfast then off to Outlet centre. Evening spent with a friend at the Marina.

We were full on sprayed/sanitised entering a mall today.

On the blog this week:

My Garden in August - The UK and Dubai

Day out with my dog - A visit to Charlecote Park National Trust

My ever changing balcony view with My Sunday Photo

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Timeline for an expat move

January 2014

Visit Dubai to discuss potential move.

July 2014

Arrange replacement passports after theft

October 2014

Order online replacement documents online from the UK
Sell car
Obtain quotes for shipping, give notice on house, gym, insurance, banks, utilities, tv and licence.

November 2014

Visit UK to collect documents, get son's new passport and submit to foreign affairs
Hubby arrives in UK
Visit UAE Embassy in London for documents to be attested
Fly to Dubai to submit documents and house hunt
Return to South Africa for farewell party and supervise shipping, meeting 19 year old at airport
Obtain quotation for moving cat and dog and necessary paperwork
(1)Hubby stays in Dubai to submit work visa application

December 2014

Sort hand and checked in luggage, air freight and shipping, distribute donations
Collect 15 year old from airport
Collect hubby from airport
Air freight collected and put into storage in South Africa
Take and collect cat and dog's blood tests, arrange injections, scan all paperwork
Move into Guest House
(2)Close bank and utility accounts, cancel direct debits
Wave bye to cat and dog
Drive to airport
Arrive in Dubai with hubby and 15 year old
Move into hotel
(3)Go to rented house, discover house is not ready for moving into
Collect borrowed car
Meet cat and dog and settle them in after their flight
Take 15 year old to airport
Shipping arrives in Dubai and goes into storage
Move hotels
(4)Open bank account
Travel back and forth to house for pets and to chase builders and landlord
(5)Make arrangements for 19 year old to sleep somewhere
After a lot of shouting medical aid was issued, with a folder, contact made with company to ask for meeting re car, contents and personal cover....NO RESPONSE

January 2015

Builders and cleaners quote for repairs, work starts
Remain in hotel until work visa application is processed and residency visa applied for and in place
Leave Dubai as 30 days will be up on visitors visa and for hubby to process his
Arrange for shipping to be delivered to house and air freight to be sent from South Africa
Apply for my residency visa
Leave Dubai to process it
(6)Take 19 year old to airport



(1) Hubby was informed work visa application would be made on November 29th 2014. On our arrival in Dubai we were informed we'd hear by Christmas Day only to discover that the application made was for permission to apply for a visa and it hadn't actually been done. Expected time scale was  2-3 days for work visa to be stamped and a further 3-5 days for residency visa to be stamped, air freight to be sent and arrive by January 1st to enable 19 year old to move into property. Shipping to arrive January 1st, 3 days to clear customs and enable us to move into house 5th/6th January 2015.
Work visa ready January 13th

(2) Followed guidance from companies as in give 30 days notice to close accounts, but not informed until will closed them that it would be another 30 days before we got final statements for utilities. Bank account still open on January 3rd. TV company took another payment which they are now having to refund. Still waiting for landlord to refund deposit into company account which will then be transferred here. bank accounts closed January 7th Deposit refunded January 13th.

(3) House was rented on December 7th, agency fees paid as was a years rent upfront. Rental agent and relocation company employed to sort this on holiday until January 1st. Landlady and builders passing the buck, endless phonecalls, stress and running around. House cleaned by ourselves after cleaners have been in, ready to move into January 8th

(4) Bank account in Dubai opened, but single account in hubbies name, relocation allowance and expenses, including UK trip from November now claimed. Salary for December in South Africa and deposit from landlord can now be paid. Savings in the UK = ZERO, can't use off shore banking element till my visa is ready and joint account applied for.

(5) & (6) Money is running out, all expenses will be repaid but bank account has to be opened first, in the meantime due to no 1 & 3 above, we cannot afford to put 19 year old up in a hotel so he is sleeping at hubbies bosses house and then moving on to a mates and we have to rebook his flight to return early as we can no longer afford to fly him out to Oman to get his passport stamped to extend his visitors visa. Expenses to date from the UK, South Africa and costs to date in Dubai received on the 16th January.

Peter's residency visa and Emirate ID ready by next week. We notified the agency of his work visa on January 13th who then did the 'typing' there is a special way things have to be done round here. This morning 15th they took him to make his application, filled in forms, blood tests, chest X-rays etc. We are now waiting for his bloods to come back and the residency visa will be stamped into his passport and then the following will happen. This post was published on January 14th. It is the 22nd today and we still don't have the residency visa.

Request made for container to clear customs in Dubai on 22nd January delivered on the 27th January
Request made for air freight to leave South Africa on 30th January delivered on February 4th
Red Card applied for on 9th February
My residency visa and Emirates ID applied for on 10th February, collected on
Driving licences issued hubbies: February 8th Mine:
My bank account opened
Car purchased

What do I need to apply for work and residency visas in Dubai?

Sorry, no idea, I really can't help you with how this works and why it is like that. I can only tell you about our experiences and what worked for us and strongly recommend that unless you've had a company move before or used a relocation firm that actually helped then I'd suggest you go it alone.

There are certain documents only your company can provide such as your contract, details of salary, allowances and you will need them to provide those in the countries language of where you are moving to. 

In regards to your personal  side of things, such as removal companies, finding housing at your new destination, transporting pets, getting your personal documents together just DO IT YOURSELF and claim back where you can.

For us, our move was complicated by the fact we are British but living in South Africa on an expiring visa. Having been informed by HR that our documents needed attesting at the UAE Embassy and several requests to have this explained to us, we set off on the first part of the journey ourselves and called the UAE Embassy in Pretoria who then informed us that our documents have to be attested in our country of origin.

Next step call the UAE Embassy in London and ask how they want our documents presented, costs and timeline, who informed us all documents must be legalised by the Foreign Office. Documents to the embassy must be submitted before 9am, £30 fee (cash only) per document and collect by 4.30pm

The Foreign Office require all documents to be originals, except for driving licence and passport which must be certified by a solicitor who must be registered with the Foreign Office. Except they didn't tell us this bit until after we'd sent the documents and we were delayed by a week getting the solicitor approved. Birth and marriage certificates must be General Registered Originals GRO's meaning anything that is hand written or hand signed is not a GRO, new copies were ordered off the government website at £9.50 each and took 2 weeks to arrive. The Foreign Office charge £30 per document plus £18 for next day delivery with the post office, £4.50 for their return by courier and take 5 working days. The solicitor charged £1 per signature.

The relocation company hired have been a big let down, they were on holiday when we arrived with nothing in place in regards to the house being ready, along with HR failing to submit the work visa application when they said they would and with the christmas period, we've been pretty much left on our own.

We had to beg for the medical aid and a letter of intention so we could open a bank account, but we still don't know how the medical aid works here and there is still no sign of the relocation allowance, expenses or salary from December in South Africa.

I contacted the shipping company to inform them we were having a few issues this end and in case something were to go wrong with customs could we please have the contact details for the rep this end. They promptly phoned the relocation company here to tell them this and emailled me back suggesting I talk to my husband as the relocation people are keeping him informed. Guess what? No less than 5 minutes later the relocation company emailed hubby 'out of the blue' with all the shipping details, customs and timescales.

So what have HR and the relocation experts done?

Replied to all emails and telephone calls with 'as previously discussed' despite after every call us emailing them asking for confirmation of timescales, costs etc.

They've both informed of us what they have done for us and tried to make us feel grateful that they've done what they have done to date. My response each time.....'it is in the contract and you are being paid to do the job'

Passed the buck rather successfully from one person to another, blaming the locals for their lack of tasks not being completed despite most of the locals being foreigners like them and ourselves.

The pet relocation, now that did go smoothly, but the relocation company employed the services of 2 competent companies who incidentally were both South African both back 'home' and in Dubai.

Hubbies work visa has been processed by an agency who have been efficient and have worked within the timescale, once HR finally got round to giving them the go ahead and after an unnecessary flight to Oman on the 13th processed the work visa and are now taking hubby through the residency visa and Emirates ID which will enable us to get our container released from customs, our air freight sent and an application made for Internet, phone, post box and red card to purchase alcohol which we need desperately now.

However this is all managed by HR and the relocation firm and I have little/no faith that this will be a smooth process.

Once all that is in place my residency visa application will be made, we can open a joint bank account and once we receive moneys owed can make payments via off shore back to the UK to replenish our savings and finally start our new lives here in Dubai.

How to sort hand luggage, checked in baggage, air freight and shipping

It is a matter of preference and it all depends on where you are moving to, the ease of obtaining visas and whether it's a company or personal move.

We didn't have the option of air freight when we moved to South Africa and it was an expensive mistake.

To move from the UK to South Africa, your visa to live there has to be stamped and in your passport before you fly, therefore we could've sent the air freight in advance and we could've moved into our new home on arrival and also stayed in our own home until we flew rather than a combination of spare rooms, sofas and splitting the kids up.

Due to a delay with customs in SA and the UK companies failure to book the shipping on time, we ended up having to purchase a lot of unnecessary items that arrived 6 weeks later, namely school supplies, basic kitchen items, bedding and towels. We did however have additional checked in luggage and took 2 suit cases each.

So upon our move to Dubai from SA we were given the option of air freight or additional checked in luggage. We opted for air freight, we remained in our home for a further week after the shipping container was sent and packed minimal clothing, a few christmas decorations, cards and the last few bits and pieces left at the house to include the wifi box and phone. We also packed a few towels, an air bed and sheets.

This decision has been a mistake as we cannot apply to have the air freight sent until our residency visa is approved, our container sits in Dubai in storage as this can't clear customs either and our air freight will take between 13-12 days including customs clearance and will arrive after our shipping.

As we have our 19 year old with us, but he is not part of the relocation having left home last year, we are liable for his costs in regards to accommodation and therefore will now be purchasing additional items here so he can stay in the house with the cat and dog and reduce the demands on me to get to the house every morning to feed them both. This was not an expense we had budgeted for.

In an ideal world, based on the information we were given and advise from the relocation people and personal experience on moving to South Africa, we packed the following:

Hand Luggage
All electrical items. Laptop, chargers, plug convertors, the last paper copy of every document relating to the UK, SA and Dubai, change of clothes, to save unpacking on arrival, toiletries.

Checked in baggage
Emergency christmas decorations and cards, clothing for destination, minimum clothing from country of departure, family bibles and DVD's as they cause a problem with shipping and customs, emergency bottle of wine, telephone and internet box as you'll be using those right up until you leave, airbed and sheets for son to live in house in Dubai to look after cat and dog.
know your allowance, for us we flew with Emirates who allow 30kg per passenger and check with airline what items are forbidden.

Air Freight
Everything you need to live in your home once your shipping has been packed, ours included the following:

1st aid tin and contents, air bed pump, airbeds, bed linen, belt, binoculars, blanket,

BOWLS, cafeteria, cake cases, camping fridge, cast iron pan and lid, cat bed, cat carrier, clock radio, cutlery set of 4 settings, decorative tin, dog toy, dresses, 

dressing gown, electric razor, extension cables, extension towers, face cloth, football, frying pan, glass oven dish, GLASSES, global knives, gloves, hand bags, hat, jacket, jug, jumper, kettle, kitchen linen, mirrors, MUGS, ORION TV, pet bowl, pillow cases, plastic container, plastic files, PLATES, printer, ring binders, rucksack, sandwich toaster, saucepan, scarf, set of 2 telephones, sheets, shirts, shoes, shorts, skirt, stool, suitcase, tent poles, toiletries, tool box, torch, towels, trophy, trousers,

Tupperware, water bottle, wicker basket, christmas presents (assuming air freight arrives before your shipping and on time as promised by HR)

Some of the above stuff was left behind after shipping and/or there was room to pack it.

Shipping container
All belongings were carefully sorted and items no longer needed for country of destination were donated to various local charities. Your shipping company can make arrangements for this if needed.

EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING has to be itemised and a replacement cost given for renewal in your country of destination for insurance purposes, again the shipping company can arrange an appraisal for you, but you need to know to ask for this prior to packing.

My Sunday Photo Week 2 The Cafe on the Beach

Rather than post photos of the view from the cafe on the beach, I thought I'd post one of the cafe instead.

This is a 10 minute walk from the villas we are renting, where I've spent the morning cleaning after the cleaners have been and have one functioning, but rather dated, bathroom. The bedrooms and reception areas are clean and ready to move into, but the kitchen and bathrooms need rather a lot of work to make them useable.

Hubbies work visa has been approved and will be stamped in his passport soon and by the end of the week he should have his residency visa, which means we can then apply to customs to have our shipping released and our air freight sent from South Africa.

Fingers crossed that next weeks My Sunday Photo will be of a furnished room in our new home in Dubai.

5 weeks into an expat move and we're still living in a hotel.

The house is ready to move into. Only 1 month after the contract was signed and has involved lots of phone calls, shouting, crying, walking away, almost throwing the towel in, being ignored, listening to the relocation people, land lady and agent pass the buck and even accuse me of time wasting yesterday. It is cleaned (not 'Suzanne' clean though) and now the battle begins to get the visa's, until they are ready we cannot get our air freight sent from South Africa or our container released from customs. Nor can we get wifi, phone line, tv or postal delivery sorted.

Visa application is as follows:

After 3 weeks in the UK, preceded by applying for documents, having them signed by a solicitor, sent off to the Foreign Office then having them attested at the UAE Embassy in London, they were submitted for application in Dubai on November 29th.

HR did not inform us that this was for pre approval for permission to apply for a work visa.
It was only on Christmas eve we were informed of that, assuming that it would be ready when we arrived and we could've applied for the residency, sent for the air freight and cleared customs and moved into the house NOW.

It will be another week before the work visa is in place then 3-8 days for the residency visa to be done. I will need to leave Dubai as my 30 day visa will have expired (watch out I may come back to the UK or SA, but probably just fly to Oman and back in a day), then we can apply for my visa and move into the house around the same time.

We are now in our 5th week of living in a hotel, our allowance only covers 30 days accommodation. Packing air freight was a waste of time and our container is in storage.

How do you approach things you really don't want to do?

It's moving day, friends came round yesterday for a braai and the goodbyes were said.

The house has been sorted into 4 sections.

Donations

Suitcases

Air freight

Shipping

At the moment the house is a bloody mess. I arrived back in South Africa 5 days ago after getting all the paperwork ready in the UK and flying to Dubai to go house hunting.

Family are asking me if I'm excited, friends are saying that they marvel at my calmness and organisational skills. I'm just amazed I haven't had a major breakdown like I did when we first moved abroad in 2011.

So how have I approached this move to Dubai? This new exciting adventure I'm on?

Daily. That's all, day to day. An international move with an expiring visa is like skating on thin ice. The timescales and requirements have to be adhered to. There's no 'tomorrow' It's all about what needs doing right now and not thinking about the 'what next?'

Despite this being our second relocation abroad it doesn't mean we know what we are doing. Quite the opposite intact. Different paperwork is required, different processes, different worries and this move involves a cat and a dog.

I'm sorry i can't explain to you when you ask 'what is happening?' 'what do you have to do?' because until we complete each task and are set the next one, I honestly have NO IDEA. I can sit and worry about all the things that may go wrong, or worry about all the unknown things yet to come, but it doesn't get the house sorted, it doesn't make the move any easier.

i approach it with acceptance that we are leaving South Africa, I knew we would one day, I just didn't bank on that one being quite so soon.

Luggage allowance and airfreight for expats relocating

We are relocating from South Africa to Dubai in the next 2 months. When we came to South Africa, the company provided NO support for our move, other than hubbies work contract and visas.

This move involves a relocation firm and package which includes flights and air freight as well as shipping our household furniture.

When we moved to SA, I took the last dated document for all our paperwork in my hand luggage, we took clothes, toiletries, some basic food items so we could have a 'touch of home' for the kids, their sports gear. In the kids hand luggage they brought their laptops, chargers and xbox plus games. We had 9 suitcases between the 4 of us and some major hassle at Manchester Airport with Air France over the cost which you can read about here.

Luggage wise, we will be flying with Emirates and they have a generous 30kg allowance, however if we go over that, it is rather expensive as they charge per kilo. I'm hoping by the time we leave, hubby will have reinstated his Gold membership and we can take 2 cases each, plus hand luggage, but without his passport, which was stolen 2 months ago, his next flight is likely to be when we move to Dubai.

It will be the middle of summer when we leave SA and the middle of winter when we arrive in Dubai, but that doesn't matter, we won't be needing to pack winter clothes, maybe a cardi and a jumper but that's it.

Hand luggage will be full of electronic items as it's too risky to pack them in the cases, what with the thefts that occur at OR Tambo airport. As an expat, with the need to travel frequently, hand luggage is packed very differently than when you're a tourist and the allowance of 7kgs with most airlines really isn't sufficient, but the secret is to make it look like it is light weight and not heavy.

So I'm not sure what we should put in our air cargo that will arrive around a week later. We're not moving with the kids this time, so only our stuff needs to be packed.

I'll find out by Friday after the removal companies come round to quote, the size and weight allowance of the air cargo. I assume I should pack some extra clothes and shoes, paperwork, but what else?

The container takes 42 days to arrive, our temporary housing allowance is only for 30 days, so that leave 12 days, do we arrange to move into an empty house and hope the container arrives early? We did that on the move here and ended up having to buy basic kitchen equipment, beds, towels and bedding, plus 3 beds. The house had patio furniture we used to sit on and came with curtains in the bedrooms. Obviously we can't pack beds in the air cargo, so it looks like bedding, towels and basic kitchen equipment is a must, but do you have any other suggestions as to what we may need to take?