How I’m preparing to start my new international post

One teacher explains how he is getting ready to move his whole life across the world to Singapore, despite lockdown
5th June 2020, 10:02am

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How I’m preparing to start my new international post

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/how-im-preparing-start-my-new-international-post
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It’s only 9am and I have just finished a video call with my dad who, pre-Covid-19, barely knew how to use a phone. Later tonight, I’ll video chat with a group of my friends, something we have been doing every weekend since the UK’s stay-at-home message was introduced. 

This is not how I imagined my last two months in the UK would be before moving to Singapore. After accepting an international teaching position in December, my wife and I wrote a list of things to do before we left. This list including things like visiting friends in Wales, a tour around Scotland and revisiting Italy.

It won’t surprise you to hear that out of the 20 things on that list, we’ve managed to do two of them.

However, with under two months to go until our proposed flight (which cannot be confirmed yet due to the ongoing changes to international travel), talk of completing our list has gone out the window.

Our attention has instead been focused on getting important things in order before we leave. Based on this experience, here are seven tips to help you if you’re currently preparing for your own international departure.

 

1. Get your paperwork in order

A few months ago, we checked our passport expiry dates and found our birth and marriage certificates.

My school also wanted a copy of my degree certificates, including a breakdown of all the modules. If you don’t have this, look into obtaining a copy from your university.

2. Order the extras you need

Ensure you have a copy of your teaching qualification. If you can’t find your paper copy, you can log in to the Teacher Self-Service Portal to download a digital version. You will need your teacher reference number, which can be found on your payslip.

It will also be useful to get a set of printed passport-sized photos. This may be difficult with the current restrictions so, alternatively, you can take one at home if you have access to a plain background and lots of light.

Start collecting any documents you think you may need in a folder and ensure this folder goes in your hand luggage. I also scan each document using an app on my phone, which stores them as images or pdfs. Then you can easily email them over to your school.

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3. Pensions, unions and swapping over

As teachers, there are other specific things to consider before leaving. If you are part of the teacher pension scheme or pay into another pension, can you continue your current contributions? Or do you need to look into alternatives?

Also, consider your UK union memberships, or membership of any other organisations. It is a good idea to have a conversation with your new principal around these issues to see what they advise.

4. Logistics of moving without an address

Check if your school will contribute to your shipping costs and work out if you need to store anything before you leave.

We don’t have an address in Singapore yet, so will need to leave things with family to be shipped at a later date. We’ve already begun sorting through things, with boxes for charity and for friends and family, and boxes of things to bring with us.

5. Collate your questions 

Over the past couple of months, I have thought of many questions. Although you may want answers quickly, remember that your new school is going through an uncertain time, too.

I have tried to save up my questions for a few longer emails, rather than sending over lots of queries. Schools will be happy to answer questions where they can, but will be coping with queries from new teachers, current teachers, parents and students, particularly during the current crisis. Be patient.

6. Carrying on when you’re gone

Finally, consider the things you may need to take care of here. We are keeping our bank accounts open as we still have some outgoing payments.

It might be worth investigating setting up a Royal Mail redirect (something you can do for three, six or 12 months), and send on your post to a family member or friend so that you don’t miss out on any important post.

For subscriptions you can’t opt out of, think about gifting them to others. I’ve changed the postage address for some of my annual subscriptions so that my friends and family can enjoy them until the end of the subscription period.

Also, consider ongoing medication and prescriptions, as it will be worth having a supply while you settle into your new life.

7. Get excited for the new adventure

Even with the restrictions in place, it is still an incredibly exciting time for us. It’s an adventure of a lifetime and while the conditions are not ideal, we are still getting to live our dream.

If the restrictions continue until our moving day, we will organise an online farewell party so we can say goodbye to everyone.

As hard as moving away at such an uncertain time will be, we know we will see our friends and family again sooner or later, and lots of them are already very excited about visiting when this is all over.

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