Documents to finish before you book the family flight

Book the flight after the file, not before. A family of five discovers missing papers at the worst week.

Each passport needs validity that survives the visa and the first school term. Children’s documents are separate files. A baby needs their own civil record, not a footnote on a parent’s.

School records, vaccination booklets, and any learning-support reports should be translated by someone the destination will accept. Marriage and birth certificates are the same. Do not assume a German extract is self-explanatory in Rio.

Medical letters matter if someone is pregnant, in treatment, or carrying a controlled prescription. Birth-abroad planning has its own sequence; read that guide if the due date is part of the move.

We keep the checklist. Licensed counsel decides what the law requires. The point of finishing documents early is that the school and the lease can move while the visa is still in motion.