LANGUAGE TRAINING

It is never too soon to start learning the language of the country where you plan to reside, if it isn’t English. In fact you should get in as much practice as possible before you go. There are several ways of tackling it.

Enrol for a course in the UK

Most local authority colleges and adult education centres offer day and evening courses in the most common foreign languages and these are relatively inexpensive. However, normally you need to start at the beginning of the academic year (ie in September) and such courses tend to proceed at a leisurely pace.

If you are dissatisfied with the tuition available you could enquire whether the authority operates more intensive courses. If not, see what private language schools can offer or (if you are in London) contact the cultural centre of the country you are bound for. The Spanish, Italian and French cultural institutes all provide excellent courses.

Enrol for a course abroad

A number of organisations arrange fairly intensive courses of two weeks or more either in groups or on an individual basis.

Find a tutor

This can be a sensible move since you then have the chance of learning at your own pace. The Institute of Linguists or Association for Language Learning may be able to recommend someone in your area.

Teach yourself

This is the hardest way to learn a language and often the least effective since you do not get the opportunity to interact with other speakers. A course with audio cassettes (and perhaps video-tapes) will allow you to hear how the language should be spoken. Such courses are available from the BBC, Linguaphone and a number of other publishers. To find out precisely what is available you would be advised to visit a specialist language bookshop, such as Grant & Cutler or LCL.

A number of local authority colleges now offer self-access courses where you have access to courses on tape – and sometimes videos and computerised learning packages as well.

The handbook How to Master Languages, which is available in many public libraries, offers more detailed advice on learning foreign languages and also lists courses and major course providers. The section on language learning in Appendix C also contains some useful addresses.

LEGAL ADVICE

If you have a solicitor in the UK it is essential that you tell him of your plans and your future address. You will probably engage his services anyway to do your conveyancing in the UK (if you are selling your house) and perhaps to keep an eye on legal matters appertaining to your home abroad. This is a timely moment to make or revise your will (see section on wills below).

MEDICAL MATTERS

You need to investigate whether you need to take any precautionary measures before you leave Britain, and it is sensible to visit those who have looked after your health in recent years. You will find plenty of useful advice on going abroad in the Department of Health booklet Health Advice for Travellers obtainable free of charge from chemists, doctors, post offices or by phoning 0800 555777.

The following suggestions will ensure that you get off to a good start.

Have appropriate vaccinations

If you are moving to Europe, North America, Australasia or Japan no special vaccinations are required. For other countries vaccinations are often necessary or advisable, and your course of treatment may need to start as much as two months before your departure.

There are vaccinations against polio, typhoid, hepatitis, yellow fever, cholera, rabies, encephalitis and meningococcal meningitis, but it is highly unlikely that you will require jabs against all of these unless you are planning to live in the heart of the jungle.

The Department of Health produces a free booklet entitled Health Advice for Travellers which is obtainable from post offices, pharmacies or direct from the DoH Leaflets Unit. It has advice on precautions you may need to take and health facilities abroad. This information is also available on its website (www.dh.gov.uk/travellers) and on Ceefax Pages 460 – 464 (BBC2).

Another organisation worth consulting, especially if you are venturing out of Europe, is Medical Advisory Services for Travellers Abroad (MASTA). It has a useful website (www.masta.org), publishes health briefings, will alert you to any vaccinations you may need and can provide essential medical supplies by mail order. If your doctor is unable to vaccinate you there are MASTA travel clinics located around the UK which can perform the service for you, and British Airways has its own travel clinics linked to the MASTA database.

Visit your doctor

It is sensible to visit your GP to tell him of your plans and ideally have a check-up. If you are on medication make sure that you are given a letter to show customs officers on arrival – just in case they suspect you are a drug peddler - and to the doctor who will treat you abroad. In some cases you may require a medical report for insurance purposes or to satisfy the immigration authorities.

If you are taking up permanent residence in another country you will need to surrender your medical card either to the local Family Practitioner Committee or to the passport official as you leave the country. It is advisable to keep a note of the number in case you return to the UK on a long-term basis.

Visit your dentist

This is a good time to have a dental check-up or arrange to have spare dentures made. Dental treatment can be quite expensive abroad and not all insurance schemes cover it.

Visit the optician

It is also a good idea to have your eyes tested, and if you are going to a sunny clime you may want to have one pair of tinted spectacles.

Forms E121 and E111

If you are going to live permanently in an EEA country you need to obtain Form 121 from a local office of the Department of Work and Pensions. If you are travelling through any of these countries or planning to stay in any of them temporarily, you will need to fill in Form E111 which you will find at the end of the Health Advice for Travellers leaflet which enables you to get emergency medical treatment. The E111 is due to be replaced by the end of 2005 with the European Health Insurance Card.

NATIONAL INSURANCE

If you are not yet in receipt of a state pension you should get advice on National Insurance contributions. It may be to your advantage to pay voluntary contributions at the Class 3 (non-employed) rate to maintain your UK insurance record for the retirement pension and widow’s benefits. These voluntary payments, however, will not necessarily entitle you to social security benefits in your new country of residence, and you will need either to contribute to the state insurance scheme there or to take out private insurance.

Britain has social security agreements with around sixty countries (mainly in Europe) and if you are planning to live permanently in one of them you should contact the Inland Revenue Centre for Non-Residents in Newcastle for details. (See Appendix C.)

PASSPORT AND VISA

Make certain your passport is valid. If you need to obtain a passport or renew it, ask for a form at your local post office and send it off to the appropriate passport office. Expect a wait of up to a month, at least. If you need it more urgently you will have to visit the office yourself.

Passport agency office addresses are listed in Appendix C.

For many countries a passport alone will normally suffice for a visit of up to three months, but if you are planning to take up permanent residence abroad in a country outside the European Economic Area you will probably need to obtain a special visa before you leave.

You should contact the relevant embassy or consulate some time before your departure and preferably before you make a purchase to discover whether you will be eligible for residence status. You may find that you are not – in the case of the USA or Australia, for instance – unless you are able to comply with certain requirements.

If all is well, you will need to find out the correct procedures for obtaining the right type of visa. You can, if you wish, employ a third party to make the arrangements for you, but you may be required to attend the embassy or consulate in person at some stage.

Together with your passport you will have to produce some or all of the following items:

• a birth certificate
• a marriage certificate if applicable
• evidence of financial status
• a medical report
• photographs.