--- title: "Moving home after living abroad: paperwork and phone" description: "Address registration, healthcare, the bank and the number you left behind. The order for existing administratively again without losing weeks." url: https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/moving-back-home-after-living-abroad markdown: https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/moving-back-home-after-living-abroad.md lang: en site: Gigapass generated: 2026-10-24 languages: es: https://getgigapass.com/blog/volver-a-espana-despues-de-anos-fuera de: https://getgigapass.com/de/blog/nach-jahren-im-ausland-zuruckkehren it: https://getgigapass.com/it/blog/tornare-a-casa-dopo-aver-vissuto-all-estero fr: https://getgigapass.com/fr/blog/rentrer-chez-soi-apres-avoir-vecu-a-l-etranger pt: https://getgigapass.com/pt/blog/voltar-a-casa-depois-de-viver-fora nl: https://getgigapass.com/nl/blog/na-jaren-in-het-buitenland-terugkomen ja: https://getgigapass.com/ja/blog/kaigai-seikatsu-kikoku ko: https://getgigapass.com/ko/blog/haeoe-saenghwal-gwiguk zh-hans: https://getgigapass.com/zh-hans/blog/zaiguowai-jinian-huiguo pl: https://getgigapass.com/pl/blog/powrot-do-kraju-po-latach-za-granica sv: https://getgigapass.com/sv/blogg/komma-hem-efter-ar-utomlands no: https://getgigapass.com/no/blogg/komme-hjem-etter-ar-i-utlandet da: https://getgigapass.com/da/blog/hjem-efter-ar-i-udlandet tr: https://getgigapass.com/tr/blog/yillar-sonra-ulkeye-donmek ru: https://getgigapass.com/ru/blog/vozvrashchenie-domoy-posle-let-za-granitsey zh-hant: https://getgigapass.com/zh-hant/blog/zaiguowai-jinian-huiguo ar: https://getgigapass.com/ar/mudawana/alawda-baad-sanawat-fi-alkharij he: https://getgigapass.com/he/blog/lachzor-habaita-achrei-shanim index: https://getgigapass.com/llms/en.txt --- # Going home after years abroad: what you have to switch back on > Address registration, healthcare, the bank and the number you left behind. The order for existing administratively again without losing weeks. [Home](https://getgigapass.com/en) › [Blog](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog) › Going home after years abroad: what you have to switch back on Expats Address registration, healthcare, the bank and the number you left behind. The order for existing administratively again without losing weeks. **Tomás Berruezo** 10 Aug 2026 6 min Photo by Nikolai Kolosov on Unsplash In this article › The order › The phone number › What you can bring back and what you cannot › The real landing Going home has a list of its own, and it surprises anyone who expected to find everything where they left it. After a few years away you go back to being an administrative oddity. ## The order 1. Register your address wherever your country keeps that register, because it is what unlocks almost everything else. 2. Deregister from the consular register of the country you were living in. 3. Healthcare: apply for your card again and get a doctor assigned. 4. Tax: from what point you are resident again and what that means. 5. Bank: update your address, your phone and your residence status. 6. And the phone, if you cancelled the number or had it on a minimum plan. ## The phone number If you kept it, all you have to do is go back to a normal tariff. If you cancelled it, after a while the number cannot be recovered, and that is where the boring work starts: changing the contact number at your bank, with the administration and in every service that uses text messages. It is the best reason not to cancel it in the first place, and if that has already happened, the list gets made and dealt with in one afternoon. The options for not ending up there are in [keeping your existing number while you live abroad](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/keep-phone-number-living-abroad). ## What you can bring back and what you cannot - Medical and vaccination records, which you will be asked for. - Employment and contribution certificates from that country, for future pensions. - Degrees and training, with recognition if it is needed. - And your tax paperwork from over there, in case it is needed when you file. > Coming home starts with the address register: almost everything else hangs off it. ## The real landing And then there is the part that is not paperwork: coming back is tiring. The city has changed, so have the people, and it takes months to fit back in. Knowing it is normal does not make it easier, but knowing it in advance stops you reading it as a mistake. General information. Tax and employment matters depend on your case and on the applicable agreements, and are answered by an adviser or by the relevant authority. Know where you're going? Pick your destination, days and data. Install it before you leave and pay once. [See destinations](https://getgigapass.com/en#destinos) Tomás BerruezoPlans and small print Thirty years reading operator terms, first for work and now out of habit. If something is billed separately, he finds it. ## Frequently asked questions **What do I do first when I move back?** Register your address where your country requires it, because nearly all the other steps hang off that. Then the consular deregistration, healthcare and the bank. **Can I get my phone number back?** Only if you kept the line. Once enough time has passed since cancelling, the number is gone. **What paperwork should I bring from the country I lived in?** Medical and vaccination records, employment and contribution certificates, degrees with recognition if needed, and tax documents. **When am I a tax resident again?** It depends on criteria set by law and by the applicable treaty. That is a question for an adviser. ## Keep reading - [Expats](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/local-line-living-abroad) | Local line or your home-country line when you live abroad: which for what | 6 min - [Expats](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/paperwork-when-moving-to-another-country) | Paperwork on arrival: the order that saves you the runaround | 6 min - [Expats](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/moving-abroad-checklist) | Moving abroad: the list of what to close down before you go | 7 min