Have you ever found yourself dreaming about moving abroad with children? Perhaps it’s the thought of a slower pace of life, more sunshine, new experiences or simply the opportunity to give your children a different perspective on the world. For many families, the idea of swapping familiar routines for a new life overseas is an exciting one, but it’s also a decision that comes with plenty to think about.

Moving abroad with children is about much more than choosing a destination and packing your bags. From finding the right schools and navigating healthcare to making new friends, settling into a different culture and helping children adjust to a new way of life, there are lots of practical and emotional considerations along the way. But with careful planning, an open mind and a little flexibility, relocating overseas can be an incredibly rewarding adventure for the whole family. Here’s what to consider before taking the plunge. 

One caveat before any of it: visa rules, tax treatment and school systems vary enormously by country and change regularly. Treat everything below as a starting point for your own research rather than as advice, and check the official sources for wherever you’re going. 

Moving abroad with children – Start with the visa, because everything hangs off it 

Nothing else can be properly planned until you know what you’re entitled to and when. Processing times range from a few weeks to the better part of a year, and some routes require a job offer, a minimum income, proof of savings or a property before they’ll consider you. Others cap numbers annually, so missing a window means waiting for the next one. 

Work out which route applies to your family, what it requires, and how long it currently takes. Then work backwards from the date you want to be there. 

This is also the point to check what your partner and children are entitled to. Dependant visas are not automatic, work rights for spouses vary wildly, and in some countries your partner can accompany you but not take a job. 

Schools – planning ahead is essential 

The mistake is assuming schools come after the move. In practice they often determine where in a country you can live. 

International schools are the usual choice for families expecting to return to the UK, because the curriculum travels. They’re also expensive – fees commonly run to five figures a year per child, plus registration, uniform, buses and capital levies that aren’t in the headline figure. Ask for the total annual cost in writing, not the tuition fee. 

Local state schools are free or near-free, better for genuine integration, and much harder for children arriving without the language. Plenty of families do it successfully, particularly with younger children, and plenty underestimate the first year. 

Either way, apply earlier than feels sensible. Good international schools in popular cities have waiting lists measured in years, not terms, and places in a specific year group are the constraint rather than places in general.  If your employer is relocating you, ask whether school fees are part of the package before you negotiate anything else. It’s frequently the largest single item. 

What to do with the house 

This is where families stall, and the honest answer is that there are only three options. 

Keep it empty. Rarely sensible. Most insurers restrict or withdraw cover beyond around thirty days unoccupied, the mortgage and council tax continue, and nobody is there to notice a leak. 

Rent it out. The obvious choice if you expect to come back, and it keeps a foothold in the UK market. You’ll need consent to let from your lender, a valid EPC, gas and electrical safety certificates and proper deposit protection. Factor in agent fees and void periods, and be aware that if you’re out of the UK for six months or more, HMRC’s non-resident landlord rules may apply to the rental income. 

Being a landlord from eight time zones away is also a different job from being one down the road. A good managing agent is not optional. 

Sell. Releases the whole value rather than a monthly trickle, removes every obligation above, and means one fewer thing tying you to a country you’ve just left. The cost is losing your position in the UK market, which matters a great deal if you might return in five years. 

There’s a timing problem with selling, though, and it’s the reason this section exists. The average UK sale takes around five months from listing to completion, with roughly 120 days of that falling after an offer is accepted, and almost none of it comes with a firm date. Around a quarter of agreed sales also collapse before completion, usually because of someone several links down a chain you’ll never meet. 

That’s awkward when visas have start dates, school terms begin in August and flights get more expensive the longer you leave them. 

For most families the open market is still right, because patience genuinely is worth money and waiting gets a better price. Where it stops working is when the dates can’t move – a visa that activates, a job starting, a school place accepted. At that point some families look at selling your house for cash instead, where the buyer uses their own funds, so there’s no chain and completion lands on a date you choose. 

The trade-off should be said plainly rather than buried: you’ll get meaningfully less than the open market would pay. For a family with a confirmed start date and a flight booked, the comparison isn’t against the best possible price. It’s against what happens if the sale collapses in week fourteen. 

Planning healthcare 

Your GHIC or EHIC covers temporary visits. It does not cover you once you’re resident somewhere else, and assuming otherwise is a common and expensive mistake. 

Find out whether you’ll be in a state system, a compulsory insurance scheme or buying private cover, and what the waiting period is for new arrivals. Some countries exclude pre-existing conditions for an initial period. 

Get copies of your family’s medical records, vaccination histories and any prescriptions before you go, ideally translated. Repeat prescriptions are much harder to arrange from abroad than at home. 

Shipping, and what not to bother with 

Sea freight takes six to twelve weeks on most long routes, so you’ll be living out of suitcases for a while either way. Plan for that rather than hoping. 

Don’t ship electrical goods that won’t work on local voltage, furniture that won’t fit a different style of home, or anything you’d replace cheaply at the other end. Do ship the things that make a strange house feel like yours – which with children usually means their own bed linen, familiar books and whatever cannot be substituted.  Photograph everything before it’s packed, for insurance and because you’ll want it later. 

What moving overseas might mean for your children 

Younger children generally adapt faster than their parents expect. Teenagers lose a social world they built themselves, and that’s a real loss rather than a phase.  Tell them early, even though it’s tempting to wait until it’s certain. Being the last to know is worse than a long run-up. 

Give them decisions that are genuinely theirs. Their bedroom, what comes in the shipping and what comes in their own bag, whether there’s a goodbye party. And book the first trip back before you leave, with a date on it – a vague “of course you’ll see them again” is worth much less than a flight in the diary. 

Expect a dip at around six weeks, once the novelty wears off and the effort of being new sets in. It isn’t a sign you’ve made a mistake. 

The admin nobody mentions 

• Tell HMRC you’re leaving, and check your tax position in both countries 

• Child Benefit usually stops when you move abroad permanently 

• Keep a UK address and bank account if you can – closing them is easy, reopening them is not 

• Check whether your driving licence is valid, and for how long 

• Pet travel needs rabies vaccinations and health certificates arranged months ahead, not weeks 

• Read the government’s living abroad guidance for your destination 

• Get apostilled copies of birth and marriage certificates before you go 

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Frequently asked questions 

How far ahead should you start planning a move abroad? 

Twelve to eighteen months for a family, driven by visa processing and school admissions rather than anything else. 

Is it better to rent out or sell your UK home? 

Rent out if you expect to return and buy again in the same area. Sell if the move is open-ended, or if managing a property remotely isn’t realistic. 

Can you get a school place back if you return to the UK? 

Not guaranteed. In-year admissions depend on availability in your child’s specific year group, and oversubscribed schools can be full. 

What’s the most common planning mistake? 

Leaving school applications until the visa is confirmed. The two need to run in parallel, because waiting lists don’t care about your paperwork. 

Does the GHIC cover you if you move abroad? 

No. It’s for temporary visits only. Residents need whatever cover the destination country requires. 

The families who find this easiest aren’t the ones who planned hardest. They’re the ones who found out early which decisions blocked the others, and dealt with those first. 

Disclaimer: This article is intended for general information and guidance only and should not be taken as financial, legal or property advice. It does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any companies or their services by Globalmouse Travels. Anyone considering selling their property or moving abroad should undertake their own independent research and seek appropriate professional financial, legal and property advice before making any decisions. Every family’s circumstances are different, and it is important to ensure that any decision is right for you.