Family documents: decide what travels with whom

One household can have several timelines

When an employee moves first and a partner or child follows, the family often prepares residence, school, insurance, and housing matters in parallel. Original marriage and birth certificates may be relevant on both sides of the journey.

Create a table showing each planned appointment, the person attending, and the exact document format listed by the responsible office. This exposes conflicts before an original disappears into checked baggage or remains in a folder abroad.

Translation and legalisation questions

Requirements depend on the issuing country, document, receiving authority, and sometimes the age of the record. Determine whether an apostille or other legalisation is required and whether the translation must be completed by a sworn translator recognised for the purpose.

Do not assume that a translation accepted for an employer will meet an authority’s standard. Conversely, do not order multiple certified sets before confirming how many are genuinely needed.

Names need deliberate attention

Transliteration, changed surnames, middle names, and different spacing can create questions. List every variation across passports and civil records. Carry evidence that explains a lawful change and ask the authority or legal adviser how a discrepancy should be addressed.

Safer handling

Keep originals in hand luggage, protected from moisture and separate from everyday papers. Store encrypted scans securely and give access only where needed. Emailing identity documents to yourself without protection may be convenient but creates a long-lived copy outside your control.

For a child, add vaccination records, school reports, custody or consent documents where applicable, and insurance records to a separate education-and-care inventory. These are not interchangeable with immigration documents, but their timeline is part of the same move.