Getting Our Dogs Ready

Not only do we have to have certain documents ready for us moving to Europe, but we also have to have our dogs ready.

1. First, we had to make sure to get the proper kennel-crates. They have to be IATA-compliant for international travel, which just means that the crates need to be big enough so our labs can turn around in and sit up. They also need to have ventilation on all 4 sides. The crates also need to be labeled 'live animal' with an up-arrow. The airlines also require food and water containers attached inside the crate. The women who sold the crates to suggested to freeze the water in the water bowl before departure. For more information, check out this site: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/pet_travel/content/wp_c_pet_travel_tips.shtml
2. For proper documentation, we took our dogs to the vet for a final examination who have to fill out the Netherlands certification (this is the same as an 'EU pet passport Form 998') with proper stamps and signatures from the vet (http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/article.asp?articleref=AR00002668EN). Luckily, they don't have to be quarantined if we have this certification. And because we are going to be traveling with our dogs, the dogs don't have to be USDA State approved. A great source was the http://www.pettravel.com and http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/vs/iregs/animals/

Hopefully there isn't anymore than this transporting our dogs!

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog!
We are excited to start this blog for our friends and family to follow us in our journey to the Netherlands. We also thought this blog may be helpful to those who are also relocating to Europe or another country. Please feel free to leave comments to share your thoughts and opinions.

Rain to Rain. Precisely. Seattle is notorious for its rain, and so is Amsterdam. Similar latitude and climate.

Getting Documents Ready

We are in the midst of moving to Netherlands! Things we are working on is to have our birth certificates and marriage licence legalized (aka authorized). Taking these steps for our certifications to be legalized/authorized creates value in other countries, in this case, the Netherlands.

For a California birth certificate, we had to:

1. Order a new certified copy through the county (I used http://www.vitalchek.com/).
2. Have both notarized certificate of acknowledgement and a sworn statement faxed in also. Note that some states require a copy of your ID.
3. When I receive the birth certificate from California, I have to send it back to the Secretary of State of California to have it authorized (apostille).(http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/authentication.htm).

For out of country birth certificates, in our case, Taiwan. The steps we took to have the birth certificate legalized/authorized are:

1. Obtain birth certificate/ancestral registry from local city hall/government office.
2. Get the birth certificate stamp-approved by the Taiwan court
3. Get it officially legalized by the Dutch Embassy in Taiwan

Thankfully, we have kind relatives who are doing this portion of it in Taiwan.

For our marriage license, it was much easier since we live in the same state.

1. Ordered a new certified copy of our marriage license through the county Records Office. Going in-person, you can get it right away.
2. Send it to Washington Secretary of State to have it authorized.

Just a note that the Netherlands require all certifications to be current (within the last 6 months).