Courses

12 courses in Travel & Living Abroad

🕒 Coming soon

Banking & Money When You Live Abroad

A practical, plain-language guide for U.S. citizens living abroad: why FATCA makes some foreign banks reluctant to open accounts for Americans, keeping and using your existing U.S. bank and brokerage accounts from abroad, a short pointer to the FBAR/FATCA foreign-account reporting covered in depth in the Taxes for Americans Abroad course, how to move money internationally (wires, transfer services, fees, and the exchange rate), currency risk, avoiding scams that specifically target people sending money across borders, and staying compliant (sanctions screening and using regulated providers). This course is educational only, not financial, tax, or legal advice, confirm current rules, forms, fees, and dollar thresholds with your bank, a qualified cross-border financial or tax professional, and at irs.gov, fincen.gov, and consumerfinance.gov. Cited throughout to the IRS, FinCEN, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

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🕒 Coming soon

Dual Citizenship & Renunciation Basics

A plain-language, non-partisan guide to holding two citizenships and to formally giving up U.S. citizenship: what dual nationality is and that U.S. law permits it, the general ways a second citizenship is acquired (by descent, naturalization, or marriage, rules vary by country), the practical implications (which passport to use, taxes, military service and other obligations), and the formal, in-person, irrevocable process for renouncing U.S. citizenship before a consular officer, including its tax consequences. This course takes no position on whether to acquire or renounce a citizenship, it explains how the systems work. Cited to the U.S. Department of State, USCIS, and the IRS. Educational only, not legal or tax advice.

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Flying Internationally & Coming Home

A practical, plain-language guide to the airport-and-border parts of an international trip: check-in and documents, TSA security screening and TSA PreCheck, what U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) actually does, the Trusted Traveler Programs (Global Entry, PreCheck, NEXUS, SENTRI) and who each is for, and coming home, the CBP re-entry process, the customs declaration, duty-free allowances, prohibited and restricted items, and how to avoid problems. Cited throughout to tsa.gov, cbp.gov, and USDA APHIS.

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Healthcare Abroad

For U.S. citizens traveling or living abroad: how healthcare systems and payment expectations differ once you leave the U.S., travel medical insurance for a trip versus international (expat) health insurance for living abroad, the key fact that Medicare generally does not cover care outside the U.S., getting and legally carrying medications abroad, routine and emergency care, medical evacuation and repatriation, and exactly what the State Department can (and cannot) do to help. This course is educational only, not medical or insurance advice; always confirm current coverage, costs, and rules with your own doctor, insurer, Medicare, and the official sources cited throughout. Cited to Medicare.gov, travel.state.gov, and the CDC's Travelers' Health resources.

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🕒 Coming soon

How to Get a U.S. Passport

A practical, plain-language guide for U.S. citizens: passport book vs. card, applying for the first time (Form DS-11), renewing (Form DS-82), the documents and photo you need, fees and processing times (and why to always verify the current numbers), passports for minors, name changes, lost or stolen passports, and the travel-validity rules many countries enforce. Cited throughout to the U.S. Department of State's travel.state.gov.

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International Travel Basics

The start-here hub for U.S. travelers planning an international trip: a pre-trip timeline, passport and visa readiness, STEP and Travel Advisories, travel insurance, health prep, money abroad, packing and documents, staying safe (and what to do in an emergency), and coming home through customs. Points to the deeper Passports and Visas courses rather than repeating them. Cited throughout to travel.state.gov, CDC Travelers' Health, and CBP.

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Moving Abroad 101

The overview course for U.S. citizens actually relocating abroad, not just visiting: the big decisions (a long stay vs. residency vs. citizenship), the common categories of long-stay visas (work, study, family, retirement, and the newer digital-nomad visas), a six-factor framework for choosing a country, a realistic timeline and cost of relocating, how to keep your ties to the U.S. while living abroad (voting, mail, banking, taxes), and where to get authoritative help. Cited throughout to travel.state.gov, fvap.gov, ssa.gov, and irs.gov, with destination-government examples, teaches the framework, since immigration rules are country-specific and change.

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🕒 Coming soon

Retiring Abroad

For U.S. citizens considering retiring in another country: whether Social Security payments keep coming (and the Payments Abroad Screening Tool that checks your specific country), the high-level landscape of retirement and passive-income visas, why the U.S. still taxes your worldwide retirement income, why Medicare doesn't travel with you, a retirement-specific take on choosing a country and budgeting a fixed income, estate and beneficiary questions to raise with a professional, and a planning checklist to pull it together. Cited throughout to ssa.gov, travel.state.gov, irs.gov, and medicare.gov. Educational only, not financial, tax, legal, or immigration advice.

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Shipping & Logistics of an International Move

The practical logistics of physically moving abroad, once you've already decided where and how (this course's sibling, Moving Abroad 101, covers that decision): movers vs. shipping it yourself vs. selling and rebuying, air vs. sea freight and how to vet a licensed international mover, customs on your household goods at the destination, moving pets internationally, which documents to hand-carry instead of pack, closing out U.S. mail, and staying registered to vote from abroad. Cited throughout to travel.state.gov, CBP, USDA APHIS, the UK government, the Federal Maritime Commission, USPS, and FVAP.gov, teaches the framework, since destination rules vary by country and change.

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Studying Abroad

A practical, plain-language planning guide for U.S. students (and parents) considering academic study in another country: the common program types (exchange, direct enrollment, faculty-led, degree-seeking), how to choose a program, the student-visa framework (each country sets its own rules, this course teaches the method, cross-referencing our Travel Visas 101 course), passport readiness, funding and financial-aid portability, health and safety abroad, credit transfer, and a full planning timeline. Cited throughout to travel.state.gov, EducationUSA and USA StudyAbroad (state.gov), CDC Travelers' Health, and studentaid.gov.

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Taxes for Americans Abroad

A careful, plain-language introduction to U.S. tax obligations for citizens and green card holders living outside the United States: the core worldwide-income rule, who must file, the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (Form 2555) and its qualifying tests, the Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116), foreign-account reporting under the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) and FATCA (Form 8938), the automatic 2-month filing extension, state tax considerations, and common pitfalls. This course is educational only, not tax or legal advice, always confirm current rules, forms, and dollar thresholds with a qualified cross-border tax professional and at irs.gov. Cited throughout to the IRS, FinCEN, and Treasury.

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Travel Visas 101: Getting a Visa to Travel Abroad

A clear, destination-agnostic guide for U.S. citizens to figuring out and obtaining a visa when traveling to another country: what a visa is, how to research any destination's current requirements, the four common visa categories, Europe's Schengen Area and the new ETIAS travel authorization, the documents you'll typically need, transit visas, and overstay/entry-exit rules. Teaches the method, not a fixed set of country rules, because requirements change, always confirm with official sources.

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