The first ninety days: what to settle, and in what order

The administrative part of arriving is finite and can be finished in a few weeks. What fills the first ninety days is everything that depends on it, plus a short list of things that are much easier to do now than in a year.

Weeks one to four: the chain

Medical, biometrics, insurance, visa, identity card. Then tenancy registration, then utilities, then the bank. Nothing in this chain can be started before the link above it exists, which is why it takes the time it takes rather than the time it should.

Two things worth doing in parallel because they have their own queues: school applications, and a driving school place if your licence is not exchangeable.

Weeks four to eight: the household

• Sponsor the family, each member separately, once your own permit is complete.
• Driving licence, and vehicle — bought or leased, with insurance priced on a local record you do not yet have.
• Schools confirmed, with the attested documents the applications required.
• Medical care established: a GP, a paediatrician, and confirmation that they are in your insurance network. Doing this while nobody is ill is the entire point.

Weeks eight to twelve: the things people postpone for years

• A registered will covering your local assets. Cheap, quick, and the item most likely to be needed by people who cannot arrange it themselves.
• A second account in your spouse's name, funded. Removes the worst practical consequence of anything happening to you.
• The tax file: record the date of arrival, keep entry and exit evidence, and confirm what your previous country still expects from you and when.
• Notify what needs notifying at home — the tax authority, the pension providers, the banks, and any obligation to declare a change of residence.

What to leave alone

Buying property in the first ninety days, unless you already know the city. Districts here differ enormously in commute, noise, service charge and who lives in them, and none of that is visible from a viewing. Rent for a year in the area you think you want and find out whether you are right — the cost of a year's rent is small against the cost of buying in the wrong place and selling in a slow market.

And leave the structuring alone until the tax position is settled. Companies and holding arrangements set up in the first weeks are set up before you know what problem they are solving.