Arrival Setup

Arrival Setup Skill

The first weeks in a new country are a maze of interlocking requirements: you can't open a bank account without a local address, can't sign a lease without a bank account, can't do either without a registration number that itself needs an address. Newcomers lose weeks going in circles because nobody told them the order. This skill lays out the sequence — what unlocks what — so you break the chicken-and-egg loops instead of getting stuck in them. It's the after-you've-arrived companion to the visa ([[immigration-document-checklist]]) and the move ([[relocation-planner]]); the specific offices and rules are local, so everything routes to the official source.

What This Skill Produces

• A sequenced arrival checklist: the essentials (residence registration, tax/social number, bank account, phone/SIM, address, health enrollment) in dependency order — what to do first because it unlocks the rest
• The chicken-and-egg workarounds: the known loops (address ↔ bank ↔ registration) and the specific ways newcomers break them in this country (fintech banks that don't need proof of address, temporary-address options, employer letters)
• The office map: which government office/institution owns each step and what to bring to each
• A week-by-week plan against the deadlines that carry penalties (registration windows especially — many countries fine you for registering late)

Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided):

• The country moved to (and from, for some steps), and the visa/status (it changes what you're entitled to and what's required)
• What's already sorted (accommodation? a job? any documents in hand?)
• The urgent drivers: a job start date, a registration deadline, needing income access
• Whether accommodation is permanent or temporary (affects the address-dependent steps)

Framework

1. Find the keystone step for this country. In most systems one registration is the key that unlocks the rest — residence registration, a tax/social number (SSN, NINo, NIE, Steueridentifikationsnummer, etc.), or similar. Identify it and its deadline first; nearly everything else depends on it, and it's often time-limited with penalties for lateness.
2. Map the dependency loops and their breaks. The classic traps: bank needs address, lease needs bank, both need the registration number. Name this country's specific escapes — app-based banks that onboard without proof of address, temporary/hostel addresses that count, an employer or university letter that substitutes. Breaking one loop usually cascades the rest open.
3. Sequence, don't parallelize blindly. Order the checklist so each step has its prerequisites: often phone/SIM (cheap, unlocks verification) → temporary address → registration/number → bank → permanent lease → utilities → health enrollment. Adjust to the country's actual keystone.
4. Bring the right documents to each office. Each step wants specific documents (passport, visa, registration certificate, proof of address, employment contract). List what each office needs so a trip isn't wasted — a wasted government appointment can cost weeks in re-booking.
5. Hit the penalty deadlines. Registration and tax-number windows often carry fines or status problems if missed. Surface these as the hard dates on the week-by-week plan, routed to the official source to confirm — because they're local and they change.