Hi Everyone,
Well, I almost got stuck in the USA on a recent return trip back to Spain all because my passport is very near (like 2 weeks away) from its expiration date. Nowadays airlines may prevent you from boarding if your passport isn't at least 2-3 months away from its expiration date.
While thinking about this, I started thinking about the mountains of paperwork I have been through as an expat and know that there are many of you who are soon to become expats, so I thought I would share some ideas with you that might help you in your bureaucratic journey.
1) Make sure that your passport is renewed and up-to-date. I would recommend that it have at least a year's validiity on it.
2) Make sure your US state driving license (if you have one) is also up-to-date and not set to expire while you are out of the country.
3) Plan on driving in Spain? Go to your local AAA and get an international driving license. Nowadays most car rental agencies won't rent you a car without one.
4) Legal docs: birth certificate, social security card, passport, etc. Scan these docs and email them to yourself on a web-based email account such as Yahoo! Google or Hotmail. That way if need be, you can access them from anywhere in the world.
5) Personal records: CVs, transcripts, diplomas, etc. I recommend doing the same thing. Scan them all, save them as PDF files and then email them to yourself to have access to copies of these docs when they may be needed.
Of course, copies of the originals may not be accepted in all places, but it's a start and will save you from scrambling to get them for the places where they are acceptable.
Good luck everyone!
-Rebecca
