What paperwork to take with you?

You've decided to leave, that's it! Since you are not supposed to return to your country of departure for a while, it would be silly to have forgotten a document which you did not think of and which may be requested from you later. Here is a list of the essentials.

Tips 1: Scan and keep everything in a cloud on the internet!

I ask the new generation who must say "but it's obvious!!" please pass the info on to our elders! The risk of your cloud being hacked is infinitely less than the loss/theft of a USB key or photocopies.

The advantage of the cloud, in addition to its accessibility anywhere, lies in the quality of prints and copies. A detail that may be important because the photocopiers on site are sometimes from another age.

- If you have a Google email address, you have free access to the Drive cloud .

- If you have an Outlook email address, you have free access to the OneDrive cloud .

Neither ? The Dropbox cloud is also free.

List of documents:

• Birth certificate of your parents, if they were born in GB.

• Your birth certificate

• Identity documents (ID cards, Driving license) yours but also those of your parents

• Medical file (Last analyses, recent prescriptions, health record, vaccinations, pacemaker or IUD cards and any other document that can help a doctor understand your state of health).

• Diplomas (Original and translated/authenticated) and Report card (Yes yes!).

• Tax sheets (if you keep tax ties for the first few years).

• Professional documents (Resume, Motivation letter, references and recommendations...)

• Criminal record extract. This is in case it is accepted that you provide this copy instead of the local Registo criminal which is done at the Ministry of Justice.

Tips 2: Mobile Scanning

When you'll be there, I advise you to use a photo scanner application to allow you to scan important papers that you will receive. I personally use the Office Lens mobile application, I appreciate it's automatic framing. Linked to an automatic backup service (Google Photos or other), this allows you to take a picture and automatically save a copy on the drive without worrying about a possible problem with the phone's memory.

It is a Microsoft app therefore intuitively linked to Outlook and therefore to OneDrive for those to whom it suits.

E-books (!)

I add it for those who like to read. It's a considerable weight gain in the suitcases and as we can sometimes get bored, having more than one or two books can save evenings or empty weekends. I chose the 2 leading competitors and at the same price (about 130€). The rest is a matter of affinity.

To buy a Kobo reader (FNAC Library): https://amzn.to/2O8daOk

To purchase a Kindle e-reader (Amazon Library): https://amzn.to/2O8eT5Y

Tell me in the comments if I forgot an important document and if you are already a user of an e-reader or a mobile scan.