A gift for someone who is emigrating: what really helps

Someone who is emigrating wants to take few things and has a great deal to arrange. The best gift is therefore light, or helps with the arranging. Ten ideas, from an afternoon of packing to a step-by-step plan for the new country.

2 min read

Written and checked by Auke on 19 October 2026, against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.

A gift for someone who is emigrating is harder than it looks. Every item takes space in the suitcase or the container, and the last weeks before leaving are full. The best gift is therefore light, or it takes something off their hands. Below are ten ideas, in three kinds.

Time and hands

The last weeks before a move are the busiest. Help is worth more then than a parcel.

An afternoon of packing or clearing out. Fix a date and bring boxes, tape and a marker.
Looking after the children on the day the movers come, or on the day of the appointment at the municipality.
Driving them to the airport, with the suitcases. On the day of departure, that is one of the nicest things not to have to arrange yourself.
A last dinner at your place, when their kitchen is already empty.

Something that helps with the arranging

Emigrating is mostly a lot of arranging, in an order that isn't clearly set out anywhere.

The step-by-step plan for their new country. It has everything they need to arrange, in the Netherlands and in the new country, in the right order and with the official source at every step. The plan keeps track of the deadlines. You can give it as a gift: you get a code and a gift card to print, and the recipient redeems the code whenever it suits them.
A language course for the language of the new country, or a few lessons with a teacher. Whoever speaks the language a little gets further at every counter.
A sturdy folder for the important papers: passports, certificates, diplomas and the proof of deregistration. Those papers don't belong in a moving box.

Rather have everything on one list?

Choose your destination and we'll send you the departure checklist, with every step in order, and five mails about the pitfalls and the real costs. After that, an occasional email, including one offer. You can switch it off at any time.

Which country?

Your email address

We use your address, and your departure date if you fill it in, only for the checklist, the guide and the mails after it. You can unsubscribe under every mail.

Something small to take along

What goes along has to be light and able to lie flat.

A photo book or a stack of cards with messages from friends and family. Light, and opened more often than you would think.
A travel adapter if they are going to a country with different sockets, such as England, the United States or Australia. Handy for the first weeks, before they have new chargers.
A visit that is already fixed. Agree when you will come over, or contribute to a flight back home. Something to look forward to, on both sides.

What you'd better not give

Large or heavy things. They have to go in the suitcase or the container, or stay behind.
Something they now have to arrange, such as a subscription they will have to cancel again when they leave.
Plants and food if they are moving to a country outside the EU. Many countries have strict rules on what you may bring in. The United States, for example, wants you to declare meat, fruit, vegetables and plants, and many of them are not allowed in.

Want to know more about this?

Which country?

Your email address

We use your address, and your departure date if you fill it in, only for the checklist, the guide and the mails after it. You can unsubscribe under every mail.

What this rests on

The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Bringing agricultural products into the United States: declare meat, fruit, vegetables and plants; many are prohibited or need a permit — cbp.gov

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