posted 16th June 2026
Moving abroad is one of the biggest decisions a person or family can make.
It can mean a new climate, a new language, a new career, different schools, unfamiliar systems and the exciting possibility of building a completely different life.
It can also involve transferring substantial sums of money to people you have never met, signing contracts written under unfamiliar laws, trusting advisers in another country and making life changing decisions based on websites, video calls, property photographs and online reviews.
That is where due diligence becomes essential. Due diligence may not sound particularly exciting. It does not have the same appeal as sea views, mountain homes, city apartments or imagining your first morning coffee in a new country. But it is often the work completed before a move that determines whether the experience becomes a successful new chapter or an extremely expensive lesson.
The purpose of due diligence is not to make you suspicious of everyone. It is to make sure your trust is earned.
Why Moving Abroad Can Make People Vulnerable
Most people planning an international move are dealing with several major decisions at once.
They may be arranging residency, finding a home, choosing schools, searching for work, opening bank accounts, moving savings, shipping possessions, transferring pets, dealing with tax and trying to understand an entirely new administrative system.
That creates pressure. Scammers and poor operators understand pressure very well. They know that someone worried about losing a property, missing an immigration deadline or securing a school place may act more quickly than they normally would.
They also know that people moving abroad often lack local knowledge. A document may look official because the buyer does not know what genuine local paperwork looks like. A professional may appear credible because the client is unfamiliar with the country’s licensing system. A property listing may seem reasonable because the person viewing it has no reliable understanding of local prices.
The danger is not necessarily that movers are careless. It is that they are making complicated decisions from a position of limited information.
Due diligence helps close that information gap.
Do Not Confuse Confidence with Competence
One of the easiest mistakes to make is assuming that someone who sounds confident must know what they are doing. A persuasive adviser may speak quickly, answer every question immediately and repeatedly explain that they have “helped hundreds of people just like you”. That may be true.
It may also be a very polished sales performance. Competent professionals should be able to explain their qualifications, registration, experience, fees, responsibilities and professional limitations. They should also be comfortable when you ask questions.
Be cautious of anyone who claims to handle absolutely everything, especially where legal, immigration, tax, financial and property matters overlap.
Different countries regulate professions differently, but complex moves often require more than one specialist. A property agent is not automatically a lawyer. A relocation consultant is not necessarily a tax adviser. A social media personality who moved abroad last year is not automatically an immigration expert.
They may be useful. They may even be delightful. But “very confident on Instagram” is not a professional qualification.
Verify the Business Independently
Before paying or instructing a company, confirm that it genuinely exists.
Look for its registered legal name, business address, company number, professional registration, licences and insurance where applicable. Check these details against official registers rather than relying solely on information displayed on the company’s own website.
A sophisticated website can be created quickly. So can an impressive email signature. Verify telephone numbers and addresses independently. Check whether the business operates from the location it claims. Look at how long its website has existed, whether its public information is consistent and whether the names of the people you are dealing with appear in credible professional sources.
Do not rely on a registration certificate sent to you as an attachment without checking it against the relevant issuing authority.
Documents can be copied. Logos can be reproduced. Entire websites can be cloned.
Independent verification is what matters.
Understand Who Regulates the Professional
Different professions may be licensed, registered, supervised or completely unregulated depending on the destination.
Find out what rules apply in the country concerned.
Does an estate agent need a licence?
Must an immigration adviser be registered?
Is the lawyer listed with the relevant bar association?
Is the accountant a member of an established professional body?
Does the financial adviser have permission to provide regulated advice?
Is the school officially recognised?
Does the removals company hold appropriate insurance?
Membership of a professional body does not guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong. However, it may provide an additional layer of accountability and a complaints process.
Ask what happens if there is a dispute. A reputable professional should be able to tell you who regulates them, what insurance they carry and how complaints are handled without suddenly becoming vague, offended or mysteriously unavailable.
Use Independent Advisers
Independence is especially important when buying property, investing money or making decisions with long term legal consequences.
A professional recommended by the seller, developer, agent or investment promoter may be entirely competent and honest. The problem is that their interests may not be identical to yours.
Your legal adviser should act for you. Your surveyor should report to you. Your tax adviser should assess your circumstances rather than simply confirm that the proposed arrangement is “perfectly normal”.
Do not assume that a professional is independent merely because someone has introduced them as such. Ask directly whether they act for, receive referrals from or have a financial relationship with any other party involved in the transaction.
Recommendations are useful starting points. They are not a substitute for checking.
Never Buy Property on Photographs and Optimism Alone
Property is one of the largest areas of risk in an international move.
Fake rental listings can use photographs copied from genuine advertisements. A person claiming to be the owner may have no connection with the property. A home may exist but not legally belong to the person attempting to sell or rent it.
Even genuine properties may have legal, structural or financial complications that are not obvious from a viewing. Before committing money, confirm ownership through the appropriate official records. Establish whether there are mortgages, charges, debts, planning problems, access disputes, restrictions, tenants, communal obligations or other rights affecting the property.
Where relevant, arrange an independent structural inspection or survey.
Check that extensions, pools, converted rooms and additional buildings have the necessary permissions. A beautifully tiled guest room is less appealing when you discover it officially does not exist.
For rentals, verify the landlord or authorised agent and inspect the property personally where possible. When an in person viewing is impossible, consider asking a trusted independent person or professional to attend and verify it.
A video tour is helpful. A video tour is not proof of ownership.
Be Suspicious of Artificial Urgency
Scammers want people to act before they think. That is why fraudulent offers often involve pressure.
“Another buyer is apparently ready to proceed!”
“The property will disappear unless the deposit is paid today!”
“The immigration rule will supposedly change tomorrow!”
“The investment opportunity closes at midnight!”
“The bank account is about to be frozen!”
“The landlord is travelling and cannot wait!”
Some genuine transactions are time sensitive. Popular properties do attract interest and legal deadlines do exist.
But urgency should never prevent basic checks. When someone discourages you from taking independent advice, reading a contract or verifying payment details, pause.
A genuine professional may explain the consequences of delay. A dishonest operator will often make verification itself feel like the problem.
No legitimate transaction should collapse merely because you asked who owns the property, requested written terms or called the business through an independently verified number.
Treat Payment Instructions as High Risk
International moves involve payments to estate agents, lawyers, landlords, developers, removals companies, schools, government departments and other service providers.
This makes movers attractive targets for payment fraud.
Criminals may intercept or imitate emails and send altered bank details. The fraudulent message may appear within a genuine conversation and may use correct names, amounts and transaction details.
Always verify payment instructions through a separate, trusted channel. Do not rely on replying to the same email. Call a previously verified telephone number or speak directly to the professional you know.
Be particularly cautious if bank details change unexpectedly, if the account name does not match the company or person you expected, or if you are told to pay into an account in a different country without a clear explanation.
Take extra care with requests for payment by cryptocurrency, gift card, cash transfer service or other methods that offer little prospect of recovery.
A bank transfer can take seconds. Recovering money sent to a fraudster can take far longer, assuming it can be recovered at all.
Read the Contract - Including the Boring Parts
Contracts connected with moving abroad can include reservation agreements, tenancy agreements, property contracts, employment terms, school agreements, shipping contracts, insurance policies and professional engagement letters.
Read them! Not just the attractive headings. Not just the page containing the price. Read the clauses dealing with deposits, cancellations, refunds, liability, deadlines, renewal, termination, jurisdiction and dispute resolution.
Find out which country’s law governs the agreement and where any dispute would need to be pursued. A contract is not automatically fair or safe simply because it has been professionally formatted and converted into a PDF.
Do not sign something you do not understand. Arrange an independent translation where necessary rather than relying on a brief verbal summary from someone who benefits from the transaction going ahead.
If you are told that the contract is “standard” and therefore does not need reviewing, that is an excellent reason to review it.
Check Immigration Advice Against Official Sources
Immigration misinformation can cause serious problems.
Rules relating to visas, residency, work permission, minimum income, insurance and family members vary between countries and can change.
Use official government or immigration authority sources as the starting point. Check whether the person providing immigration services is authorised to do so where regulation applies.
Be wary of anyone guaranteeing approval. A competent adviser can assess eligibility, prepare documents and guide an application. They generally cannot guarantee the decision of a government authority.
Also be suspicious of claims that rules can be quietly avoided, documents can be adjusted or unofficial payments can “make things easier”. A shortcut that places your legal status at risk is not a shortcut.
It is simply a longer problem waiting to begin.
Examine Employment Offers Carefully
International job offers can be used to obtain money, identity documents or personal information.
Check that the employer exists and that the vacancy appears through the company’s official channels. Contact its human resources department using independently sourced details.
Be cautious if the recruitment process takes place entirely through messaging apps, the salary is unusually high, the interview is minimal or the company asks you to pay recruitment, visa, equipment or processing fees into a personal account.
Review the employment contract carefully and confirm whether the role provides a lawful route to work in the destination.
Understand the salary after local tax and social contributions, not just the headline figure. Check working hours, probation, holidays, healthcare, relocation assistance, housing arrangements and what happens if the job ends shortly after arrival.
Moving country for employment requires more than a promising offer and a plane ticket.
The job needs to exist when you land.
Protect Your Personal Information
Relocation requires a large amount of personal documentation. Passports, birth certificates, bank statements, tax records, medical information, employment evidence and proof of address may all be requested.
These documents can also be valuable to identity criminals. Before sending sensitive information, confirm who is requesting it, why it is required, how it will be stored and whether there is a secure method for submitting it.
Avoid sending complete identity files through unverified email addresses or messaging accounts. Redact information that is not required where appropriate. Be wary of unexpected messages claiming that an application is incomplete, an account must be verified or a document needs to be uploaded urgently.
Always access official accounts through known websites or applications rather than clicking links in unsolicited messages. Your relocation folder may feel like a collection of boring paperwork.
To an identity thief, it can look like a complete starter pack.
Reviews Help, but They Are Not Proof
Online reviews can be useful, but they should be treated as one part of the picture. Some reviews are genuine. Some may be incentivised, manipulated or fake. Even genuine reviews may relate to a completely different type of service.
Look for patterns rather than relying on the overall score. Do reviewers describe specific experiences? Does the business respond professionally to criticism? Are all positive reviews unusually similar? Has there been a sudden burst of praise over a short period? Do independent platforms tell a consistent story?
Search for the company name alongside terms such as “complaint”, “fraud”, “disciplinary action”, “court” or “licence”.
The appearance of criticism does not automatically mean a business is unsuitable. Large companies may inevitably receive complaints.
The important question is what happened and how the company responded. Five stars are reassuring.
Verifiable credentials are better.
Understand the Full Cost
Another common problem is not necessarily fraud, but incomplete information. A service or property may be genuine while still costing far more than expected.
Ask for all fees in writing. This may include taxes, legal fees, professional charges, agency fees, communal costs, bank charges, currency conversion, insurance, shipping, customs, registration, maintenance and cancellation costs.
Do not allow the main advertised price to distract from everything surrounding it.
A property may be affordable until the maintenance, legal work, taxes and repairs are included. A school may fit the budget until transport, uniforms, books and registration charges appear. A removals quotation may look attractive until storage, customs and delivery fees arrive.
Not every unpleasant surprise is a scam. Sometimes it is simply a cost nobody volunteered to mention.
Due diligence includes asking enough questions to make sure the full price comes into view before the invoice does.
Keep a Clear Record
Maintain an organised record of the relocation process. Save contracts, receipts, emails, advertisements, payment instructions, identification details, licences and notes of conversations.
Where an important statement is made verbally, confirm it in writing.
For example: “Thank you for today’s call. My understanding is that the quoted fee includes…”
This is not confrontational. It is sensible.
Written records can resolve misunderstandings and may become essential if something goes wrong. Screenshots can also be useful where online listings, messages or profiles may later disappear.
The purpose is not to build a criminal case against everyone you meet. It is to avoid finding yourself six months later trying to remember who promised what during a video call on a Tuesday evening.
Trust Your Instincts, but Test Them
People often say, “Trust your gut.” That can be useful, but instincts should work alongside evidence.
Some scammers are deliberately charming, patient and convincing. Some excellent professionals may be quiet, cautious and less polished. Do not reject facts because someone feels trustworthy.
Equally, do not ignore discomfort simply because the paperwork looks impressive.
If something feels wrong, slow down and investigate. Ask another professional. Check the official register again. Contact the organisation independently. Review the payment details. Search the address. Request clarification in writing.
The greatest protection is often the willingness to pause.
What to Do if You Suspect Fraud
If you believe you may have been targeted, stop communicating and do not send further money or documents.
Contact your bank or payment provider immediately if funds have been transferred. Speed can be critical. Preserve all evidence, including emails, messages, payment details, contracts, screenshots and telephone numbers.
Report the matter to the relevant police, fraud reporting agency, consumer protection authority, professional regulator or online platform in the countries concerned.
If identity documents have been compromised, contact the relevant passport or identity authority and take advice on protecting your accounts.
Do not let embarrassment prevent you from acting. Fraud works because it is convincing. Intelligent, experienced and careful people can still be targeted, particularly when criminals exploit urgency, emotion and unfamiliar systems.
The mistake is not asking for help. The mistake is allowing embarrassment to give the fraudster more time.
How EXAPS Can Help
Moving abroad often requires several different professional services, and knowing where to begin can be difficult.
EXAPS has been created to help individuals and families identify professional service providers that understand the international relocation journey and have chosen to align themselves with the EXAPS Code of Conduct.
EXAPS membership does not replace your own checks, independent legal advice or official regulatory verification. No directory or professional network can remove every risk. However, it can provide a clearer starting point and help movers search for support through a platform built around professional standards, transparency and trust.
Due diligence is not about assuming the worst of every company. It is about giving the good ones the opportunity to prove themselves.
Final Thought
Moving abroad should be exciting. It should involve new places, new opportunities and the feeling that life is opening rather than closing.
But excitement should never be allowed to silence sensible questions.
Check the company.
Check the professional.
Check the property.
Check the contract.
Check the payment details.
Check the official rules.
Then check once more before sending the money.
Due diligence may slow the process down slightly. That is often exactly what it is supposed to do. Because a beautiful new life abroad deserves something stronger than hope, a glossy brochure and an urgent request for a deposit.
It deserves proper preparation.
