Moving Overseas Permanently: The Document Checklist

Before a permanent move, gather four sets of documents: what the destination's visa and registration will ask for, originals that are harder to get once you have left, authority for someone to act for you in Australia, and records of the Australian bodies you told. Legalise only what the destination asks for.

Key takeaways

• Ask the destination for its list in writing before notarising anything. Many overseas authorities accept originals or plain copies.
• Order spare originals of registry certificates and degree documents before you go. They are slower and harder to handle from abroad.
• A police check often has a validity window at the destination. Time it to the application, not to your departure.
• Decide who will act for you in Australia, and see a solicitor about a power of attorney and your will.
• Smartraveller notes you must tell the ATO if you are moving overseas for an extended period. Also check Centrelink and other bodies.
• Some things can still be done from overseas: DFAT legalises Australian documents through embassies and consulates.

Which documents will the destination ask for?

The destination's residence visa, work permit and local registration usually want some mix of identity, civil status, character and qualifications: passport, birth certificate, marriage or divorce certificate, a police check, degree and transcript, and evidence of employment or funds. Each country and each visa class has its own list, and it changes. Get it from the destination's embassy or consulate, the immigration authority, or your employer, in writing.

The list tells you what form each document must be in. DFAT's own guidance is that many overseas authorities do not ask for legalised documents at all and may accept originals or copies as they are. Where legalisation is required, DFAT can legalise many original Australian government documents directly, such as birth, marriage and death certificates from a registry, court documents including divorce certificates, and national police checks, without a notary. Private documents and copies need a notary first. University documents must be verified by the university before DFAT will act on them. Whether you need an apostille or embassy legalisation depends on the destination's status under the Hague Apostille Convention; check the HCCH status table on the day. Our guide to documents to notarise when migrating walks through the residence application itself.

Document	Why you may need it	Usual form for overseas use
Birth certificate	Visa, residence, later citizenship	Registry original; DFAT may legalise directly
Marriage or divorce certificate	Partner status, name, dependants	Registry or court original; DFAT may legalise directly
National police check	Character requirement	Original; check the validity window
Degree and transcript	Work permit, recognition of qualifications	Verified by the university, then DFAT
Employment references	Work visa, skills assessment	Signed letters; notarised copies if asked
Children's school records	Enrolment overseas	Depends on school; see the education rules
Driver licence	Converting to a local licence	Check the destination; often a translation or permit

What should you get before you leave?

The documents that cause the most trouble after a move are not the ones for the visa. They are the ones you did not know you would need: the birth certificate for a local citizenship application years later, a degree for a new employer, a divorce certificate for a remarriage, the children's immunisation history for a school. All of these can be obtained from overseas, but it is slower, needs couriers, and any legalisation must go through an Australian embassy or consulate or be posted back to Australia.

So before you go, order spare originals of registry certificates, which state registries issue on request; ask your university for extra verified or official copies; collect employment references and statements of service while your former managers are still reachable; and get copies of medical, dental and immunisation records for each family member. Keep one full set with you and one with someone you trust in Australia. Smartraveller's guidance on going overseas to live, work or study also suggests leaving copies of your passport, visa, insurance and licence with someone at home.

When should you get the police check?

Timing matters more for a police check than for any other document. Many destinations want a check issued within a set period before the application, so a check obtained months before you apply may be refused as too old. Find out the destination's rule, then apply for the Australian check close to the date you will lodge the application. If you will already be overseas by then, check whether you can apply from abroad and have it legalised through an Australian embassy or consulate. Our guides to police checks for overseas use and documents that are too old explain the timing problem.

The same thinking applies, less strictly, to registry certificates and bank statements. Some destinations want recently issued certificates, even though the facts in a birth certificate never change. Ask.

Who will act for you in Australia?

Almost everyone who moves permanently leaves something behind: a property, a car being sold, a bank account, a tax return, superannuation. Smartraveller suggests updating your will and considering a power of attorney for a trusted person before you go. In Australia, powers of attorney, including enduring powers of attorney, are governed by state and territory law, with different forms and witnessing rules in each. A power of attorney for use in Australia is witnessed under those rules, usually not by a notary, and a solicitor is the right person to advise on which kind you need, its scope and your will.

If you also leave affairs in a third country, such as property in the country you came from, you may need a separate power of attorney for that country, signed before a notary and apostilled. Our guide to international powers of attorney covers that case.

Which Australian bodies should you tell?

This is not notarial work, but it produces records you may later need to prove your departure date or residency status. Smartraveller notes that you must tell the Australian Taxation Office if you plan to move overseas for an extended period, and that leaving can affect Centrelink payments. Check the current rules directly with the ATO and Services Australia. Also consider your bank, Medicare, your superannuation fund, the electoral roll, your state road authority and any HELP debt. Keep the confirmation emails and letters, because a later tax or residency question is much easier with them.

How do you work through the checklist?

1. Get the destination's list. In writing, for each family member and each application: visa, residence, work, school.
2. Sort each item by form. Original, plain copy, notarised copy, apostille or embassy legalisation, translation.
3. Order spare originals. Registry certificates and university documents, with enough copies for later applications.
4. Arrange your affairs here. See a solicitor about a will and a power of attorney, and choose who will act for you.
5. Time the perishable documents. Police check and recent certificates, close to when you lodge.
6. Notarise and legalise. Only what the destination asked for, then DFAT, then the embassy if needed.
7. Tell the Australian bodies. ATO, Services Australia, bank and others, and keep the confirmations.

What can still be done once you are overseas?

Quite a lot, but more slowly. DFAT legalises Australian documents through its embassies and consulates overseas as well as in Australia, and consular officials can witness signatures on some Australian documents. You can also post documents back to DFAT in Australia. What is hard from abroad is anything that needs you in person in Australia: a notary here sighting your original, a state registry's identity checks, a university that wants you to collect a document. Our guides to getting an apostille from overseas and notarising from overseas cover the options.

What about translations and names?

If the destination does not work in English, expect to translate most of the documents in the first set. Ask who may translate them: some countries accept a translation made in Australia by a NAATI certified translator, others want a sworn translator in their own country, and some want the translation legalised too. If a translation made in Australia is to be legalised by DFAT, DFAT requires a NAATI certified or recognised translator, with the translator's details and seal on every page.

Check that your name is spelt the same way across every document before anything is translated or legalised. A difference between your passport and your birth or marriage certificate, such as a former surname or a different spelling, is far easier to explain with a linking document in hand than after a foreign office has queried it.

Common mistakes to avoid

The first is legalising everything "just in case", when many destinations do not need it. The second is getting the police check too early. The third is leaving with only one original of each certificate. The fourth is signing a power of attorney without advice on whether it should be enduring and how it will be used. The fifth is assuming a JP-certified copy will be accepted overseas; it is for Australian use and cannot be apostilled.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

Sam and Leila are moving from Sydney to Portugal with two children. The residence application wants birth and marriage certificates and police checks, apostilled. They order two originals of each certificate, send one set to DFAT directly, and time the police checks to the lodgement date. They see a solicitor about wills and an enduring power of attorney for Sam's sister, who will manage their rental property, and collect the children's school and immunisation records before term ends.

In short

A permanent move needs four sets of documents: what the destination asks for, originals that are hard to get from abroad, authority for someone to act for you here, and records of the Australian bodies you told. Ask the destination for its list first, since many do not need legalisation. Registry certificates and police checks can often go to DFAT directly; private documents and copies need a notary first. Our apostille and authentication services page explains the legalisation step.

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Planning a move and not sure which documents need notarising or legalising? Send us the destination's list, and we will explain each step before you book.