The document problem is rarely that a single form is difficult. It is that three institutions ask for overlapping papers in the same fortnight, and one of them wants a version you can no longer get because the utility bill was at an address you have left. Build the file while the address still exists.
Identity and civil status
Passports, for every person moving, with enough validity for the process you are about to start. Marriage and birth certificates if a visa, a school or a bank will ask how people are related. Ask whether a certified copy or an apostille is required before you pay for either. Not every country is in the apostille convention, and not every document needs one.
If a document is not in the language of the place you are going, ask whether a certified translation is required and who may certify it. A helpful relative’s translation is often not that person.
Address, money and work
Recent proof of address is the item that goes stale. Download or scan it while it is true. Bank statements covering the period a new bank is likely to ask about, evidence of salary or self-employment, and the story of any large sum you will move. A house sale, a gift and a bonus are different stories and want their own papers.
Tax reference numbers, and a note of where you believe you are tax resident, save a second round of questions. You are not certifying the legal conclusion by writing it down. You are avoiding a blank form.
How to keep the file
Originals travel with you or in a way you can track. Scans live somewhere you can reach without the original laptop. Name files so another person could find a birth certificate. Share access with the adult who may need to produce them if you are mid-flight.
Ask the recipient what ‘certified’ means before you pay for copies
Identity documents, civil records and proof of address are the core of almost every move, and the failure is usually the form of the document rather than its absence. A bank, a notary, a school and an immigration desk can each want a different kind of copy. Ask each recipient what it accepts: original, certified copy, sworn translation, and whether the certification must be recent. Then collect to that standard. A folder of scans is still worth having, because couriers and house moves lose paper.
Financial documents sit beside the identity file. Recent statements, evidence of the source of a large transfer, a completion statement if you have sold a home, and letters from pension schemes or insurers are the pieces people cannot download later from a portal that now rejects their new address. There is no single pack that satisfies every bank. Build the pack the institution in front of you has described.
Keep a list of what you showed, and to whom
When you send a document, note the date, the institution and whether you sent an original. Originals should not be your only copy, and they should not sit in a suitcase as the sole evidence of a marriage or a birth. If a translation was required, keep the translator’s details with the translation so you can order another if a second institution asks.
Review the folder when the move changes shape: a different country, a spouse added to an application, a property purchase that needs source-of-funds evidence. Documents go stale in the eyes of some institutions even when the facts have not changed. Ask again rather than assuming last year’s certification still works.
A practical checklist
- Passports and any current visas.
- Civil documents, and a note of whether copies must be certified.
- Proof of the address you are leaving.
- Bank statements and the source of large sums.
- Employment or company papers you may be asked to show.
- A list of account numbers and providers, stored securely rather than in an open email.
Questions to ask
- Do you need an original, a certified copy, or a scan?
- Is an apostille or a translation required for this document?
- How recent must proof of address be?
- Which months of statements do you want?
- Who in the household is allowed to present them?
Common mistakes
- Apostilling everything, including documents nobody asked for.
- Translating unofficially.
- Leaving statements until the account address has changed.
- One copy, in a suitcase.
- Mixing passwords and passport scans in the same unprotected note.
WiT Access provides general information and comparison resources. Nothing on this website constitutes financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Always consider obtaining advice from an appropriately qualified professional.
