5 August 2024

Moving to be with your long-distance partner abroad

A number of British people have partners who live in other countries. If you are one of these people and want to move to be with your partner, then find out how a Notary Public such as us can help you.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

When you meet someone from another country and begin a relationship, it can be difficult to see each other due to the distance between the two of you. Long distance relationships do not suit everyone, so it is only natural that you would want to move to be with your partner.

If moving to be with your long-distance partner abroad is a situation that applies to you, then it is likely that you are interested in knowing what you will need to do.

A lot of the preparation you will need to do yourself, such as arranging your flight, accommodation, searching for a job, and of course, packing.

However, you should be aware that before you move, you will have to get some documents ready to take with you. These documents will need to be both notarised and legalised, which is something that a Notary Public such as us can do for you. Read on to find out what you will need to move abroad, and how we can help you.

Documents for moving to be with your long-distance partner

There are many documents that you might need to provide for moving to be with your long-distance partner, and they will vary based on the country you are going to.

Also, the documents you take will generally not even be related to moving to be with your partner, but more related to being able to set up your new life in a new country.

For example, to be able to apply for a visa for another country or open a bank account there, you will need to get your ID and proof of address notarised first.

Additionally, if you have qualifications you want to use as part of a job application abroad so that you can support yourself when you move to be with your partner, then you will need them to prove you have the skills to do the job you want.

Some documents you may need to take with you include:

Birth Certificate
Certificate of No Impediment or an equivalent document if you plan on getting married
Criminal background check such as a DBS or an ACRO
Educational certificates, such as degree certificates
ID documents, such as a Driving Licence or passport copy
Professional qualifications

For these documents to be recognised as legitimate, they will first need to be notarised. Please note that this does not apply to Birth Certificates or other General Registry Office (GRO) documents, as these have Crown copyright. However, GRO documents will still need to be legalised.

Other considerations and requirements

Earlier on, we mentioned how you will have to prepare a lot of things yourself for when you move, such as where you will be living, and what work you will do to support yourself.

Whilst we are generally focussing on the documents you might need, we will briefly cover some of the other requirements that you should consider when you are moving to be with your long-distance partner abroad.

For example, you will need to make sure that you apply for the correct visa that suits your and your partner’s situation. This will vary depending on the country you are going to, but many nations have types of partner visas, such as Australia.

Your visa is possibly the most important consideration, and is linked to others, such as the documents you need to provide, and even whether you can work or not.

Why you need a Notary Public

When you are moving to be with your long-distance partner abroad, you will need to get your documents notarised by a notary before they can be accepted as valid and authentic documents.

In addition to notarisation, your documents will then need to go through the process of legalisation with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Legalisation both verifies the stamp and signature of the notary, and ensures that your documents have equal legal standing to documents from the country you are going to.

Depending on the country you may just need an apostilles, or you may need to go through the embassy legalisation process. Registered notaries can also manage this whole process for you.

Our Notary Public of England and Wales, Nathan Woodcock, can assist you with all of the above processes.

How we can help you with moving to be with your long-distance partner

For all of your notary needs, you can arrange an appointment with Nathan to have him notarise your documents for you. To book an appointment, you will just have to call us, email us, or use our website chatbot to talk to a member of our helpful team about what you need done.

This can be at a place of your own choosing through the use of our mobile notary service, or at one of our offices in either London, Manchester, or Sheffield.

To get your documents legalised, we can either manage the process of embassy legalisation for you, or the process of getting an apostille. For apostilles, we offer a standard and a fast-track apostille service, which you can choose between depending on how soon you need an apostille from the FCDO.

Get in touch with us today if you need our Notary Public’s assistance whilst you are moving to be with your long-distance partner.