You Need To Know These If You Are Relocating Or Moving Out Of Singapore

Relocation or Moving is one of the top five stressors in life according to research findings from studyfinds, apparently on top of being a jailbird! Adding that to the fact that Singapore is the top “most-fatigued country in the world”, it’s not surprising that one will experience emotional stress during the process of relocating out of Singapore.

Relocation can be seen as a pivotal juncture in life, an epic adventure, and it should be! However, what seems exciting initially can quickly spiral out of control. How can Singaporeans looking to relocate manage this better, or at least lower the stress factor of having to do everything yourself. 

Here’s a list of things that could help you and one website that could help you! 

First off, the most important step – Create a checklist.

This will be your bible, your guide, and your compass. Break it down into a timeline, phases and setup reminders on your calendar for the larger events such as house cleaning and packing. Print a few copies of this and stick this to a very visible place at your home and office, keep everyone in your family aligned and help remind each other to share the stress load. 

You could also use this amazing free website Moovaz to plan your move and create an event triggered checklist. Moovaz even provides you your own personal human concierge called “ReloBuddy” to assist you if you have any questions along the way. You can add family members to the same journey plan too. 

Next is to setup a budget for your entire move, to keep things within your ideal budget.

For Singaporeans there are a couple of specifics you might want to keep in your checklist as well: 

1. Singapore Tax Clearance
   Clear your tax liabilities, long story short, you will not be allowed to leave Singapore if you haven’t cleared your taxes. Do this at least a month before your move date. 
2. Cancel any existing GIRO payments
   Terminate any GIRO or automated payments with your banks before you close them.
3. Personal Insurance
   Tell your agent about your intention to move. 
4. Cancel any local credit cards
   You know how this is, the automated annual fees can snowball into a rather large amount if you don’t cancel them and are not intending to use them locally anymore. 
5. Update or cancel any bills and subscriptions
   Electrical bills, PUB, local accounts – Some of which might take a month or two to take effect. 
6. Withdrawing CPF (if applicable)
   Here’s the link to more information on CPF withdrawal and closure if you are leaving Singapore permanently. 

Now that you’ve done these, you probably want to decide on a moving service to assist you in the heavy lifting, packing and actually moving everything you have! You can either ask your Moovaz ReloBuddy or do a quick search and research on Moovaz’s platform for a few curated relocation services that have been trusted and recommended by many relocators before you. This way, relocating out of Singapore will be much easier and less stressful.

There are a range of services ranging from Household Goods Moving, Cleaning, Packing, Visas, Insurance and even Pet relocation vendors on the Moovaz platform. Note that pet relocation will ideally require professional services as well, for paperwork and quarantine. 

Finally, we hope you’ve followed your checklist religiously and it’s probably the time to send farewells to your local friends. Say goodbye to your family, neighbours, not forgetting the favourite joints. 

Organise and plan for that one safe and stress free day for your travel and big move!

We hope this article helps you out in your journey relocating out of Singapore and ideally lets you know you are not alone in this journey, manage your stress levels and prepp-ed for that new epic adventure in your life!