International moving is a big step in life. You probably took everything important into consideration before making a decision to move abroad. This is especially important when moving to another continent. The matter of very different culture and completely different life should be on your mind. But, we’re sure none of you is moving internationally without thinking it over. So, after you make such a decision, you’d probably want to know the cost of international relocation. Because, as you could assume, it is not anywhere near to cheap process. But, that’s what you figured out by yourself. Hence, you’ll get our help in the calculation. Reading this article will let you know some of the most important factors when calculating the cost of international relocation. There are big differences in cost among different moving agencies. Get well the information and save your money! You’ll need it!

How to calculate the cost of international relocation

Everyone who moved ever in life knows how important it is to know the moving cost estimate. Even if you move locally, you wouldn’t like to waste your money because of not having the information about the moving cost, would you? Well, that’s why it is particularly important to know your moving cost estimate for an international relocation! Being that you could save 100$-200$ when moving locally, and that sum multiplies a lot when you’re moving abroad. This is the main reason why we decided to write the article about the cost of international relocation. Here are some factors you should consider:

• The cost of transportation- This size and the distance of your relocation determine the international shipping price.
• Price for the packing and unpacking- If requiring help for this activity, you’ll need to pay for it.
• Possible storage costs- In case the need arises, calculate the cost for the storage.
• International moving insurance– Part of the cost of international relocation you shouldn’t avoid!
• Customs charge and the taxes- Inevitable cost when moving abroad.
• Other costs- Such as the lawyer, the housing, potential visa required etc.

Transportation cost of international relocation

As we said, the price for the transportation depends on how many items you’re moving with yourself as well as how far are you moving. The longer the distance and the more items you bring, the more money you’ll need to pay. Hence, we suggest you consider this matter even when thinking on where to relocate. Being that long distance relocations can cost dozens of thousands of dollars.

And you don’t want to splash all of your savings on the cost of international relocation. You need money for the beginning there until you get settled. Have that in mind! In addition, you can compare the price of using different kinds of transportation, and pick the most affordable.Besides that, the route is what also matters. Sometimes, choosing the longer route can mean lower costs. 

Packing/unpacking costs

There are some cases when we suggest you pack your items by yourself. If you don’t bring too much stuff. Or if there are no items requiring special abilities to pack. In those cases, choosing to pack by yourself saves your money. Without having problems during the relocation day. But if this is not the case, and you’re bringing almost all of your belongings, of which some are very problematic to pack, we recommend getting professional assistance. Hire packers and movers to do the packing and unpacking instead of you.

You’re moving long distance. Having your items clumsy packed will bring a lot of troubles during your moving day/s. First, they could be damaged or ruined. Or they could hurt somebody. Given that you and your belongings will be traveling a lot, the possibility for this to take place rises with every mile you take. So spend several hundreds of dollars more and release the stress out of your moving! The matter of fact is that you’ll be forced to hire professional assistance with the packing when moving to certain countries. Because some countries customs require professional movers to guarantee for the items they are transporting. Making sure there is nothing illegal being transported.

The cost of the storage

Sometimes you’ll need to pay for storing your items. The reasons for this may be different. Your belongings could reach the destination before you do. And hence they need to be stored in the safe place. Or you could choose the flexible date for shipping your belongings. That’s when the shipping costs you less. Because the shipping company chooses when to transport it. And while your items are waiting for the transportation, they must be in the storage. Hence, if you’re moving overseas, you should take the storage expense into the calculation. At least if you want the as accurate as possible estimate of the moving cost for your international relocation.

Moving insurance cost

There are different observation points for the moving insurance. Some say it’s essential, while others claim the possibility of something happening is no worth investing in the insurance. Well, we shall only say one thing. What if something happens? And you end up with your belongings seriously damaged. And it’s nobody’s fault. It just happens. Wouldn’t it be smarter to pay for the insurance and have that kind of headaches prevented? Besides, the most of the shippers demand you to pay for the insurance, because they don’t want to take that big responsibility.

Customs costs and the taxes

This isn’t the fixed payment. In some countries, you won’t pay anything. While in others those costs can be significant and influence your moving costs to grow very much. What is the most common is that you’re charged based on the value of your belongings? That’s why you must find out the demanding of each country, wherever you might be moving, before the relocation. That way, you could calculate that kind of expense and be prepared for such a payment. 

Other components of the cost of international relocation

There are so many places where you could pay some duties. We’ll mention several more, not directly connected to the moving day, but still influencing the overall cost of your relocation:

• Visa(s) cost- Moving to some countries, there could be a need of owning a visa/s. Find out if that’s the case with your relocation and calculate it in the cost of your migration.
• Fees for the lawyer- If you don’t want to bother with all the paperwork, or you want to be sure you collected all the documentation you need for the relocation, you could hire a lawyer. So if you plan on doing that, calculate the fees for the lawyer in your long distance relocation costs.
• Costs for your new home- It doesn’t matter if you’re gonna buy your new home or only rent it, calculate the cost for it. You want to have money prepared for the beginning of your life after the international relocation. So have a stash to cover at least several months costs. 
• …

We mentioned the most important components of international moving costs. Still, this is not an ideal model for calculation you want to rely on. We suggest visiting an embassy of the country you’re moving to. Ask there everything you might be interested in. Also, talk to the moving experts you’re about to hire. Ask them to suggest you what additional expenses you might have. In case you have any question regarding this article, or regarding anything connected to moving costs calculation, contact us! We’ll be more than happy to provide you with the answer, or at least with advice where you can find any information you could need.