Vetted services

Employers often mandate a mover. We take no referral fee from any of them. Open the official office page that week — floors move.

What to ask

• Will you survey the home in person before quoting?
• Does the price include customs clearance, or is that billed later?
• Unaccompanied baggage is declared when you enter, not when the container arrives — who files it, and can it still clear within six months of arrival?
• Pets move separately — who handles quarantine paperwork?
• Whose name goes on the fapiao, and when do we get it?

Official site / gallery

• Santa Fe Shanghai ↗
• Crown Relocations Shanghai ↗
• Asian Tigers China ↗
• GACC unaccompanied baggage (Decree 276) ↗

Routine paediatrics goes to the private hospitals. Cleanings, braces and implants usually go to a dental clinic.

What to ask

• Does the dentist speak your language, or is it an interpreter?
• Direct billing or pay-and-claim? Most plans exclude or cap dental.
• Is the treatment plan written, itemised and priced before you sit down?
• Who reads the X-rays, and can you take a copy with you?

Official site / gallery

• Parkway dental ↗

Import quarantine is handled by customs, not by a vet clinic. Start there.

What to ask

• Get the quarantine arrangement in writing — never over a chat app.
• Which building? Ask for the written pet policy at the first viewing.
• Does the mover have a pet desk, or is it a separate relocation firm?
• Which clinic near you actually consults in English, this year?

Official site / gallery

• GACC 2019 No. 5 (dogs and cats) ↗
• Keeping a pet in Shanghai ↗

For a two-to-three year posting, renting furniture usually beats buying.

What to ask

• Does your employer already have a contracted supplier?
• Western-size mattress, sofa depth, and a dryer — the three things a flat-pack run will not solve.
• Is a dryer vented or condenser, and may you drill? Balcony hanging: is an outward pole banned?
• Contract: damage liability, early termination, and the fapiao.
• Old lane houses: is there a service lift, and are you allowed to drill?

Official site / gallery

• IKEA store list ↗

We do not sell policies. These are the questions to put to your HR before you arrive.

What to ask

• Global plan or a China-local plan?
• Outpatient direct billing, or do you pay first and claim back?
• Does the network include the international hospitals you would actually use?
• What is excluded — dental, maternity, mental health?
• Get the direct-billing card number and the pre-authorisation phone line before you need them.

We are not licensed to file on your behalf and we do not. We point you to the official process and to your employer’s provider.

What to ask

• Work permit and residence permit are two separate filings — which one are you on?
• Who at your employer owns the timeline? It is usually HR, not you.
• Do not sign a twelve-month residential lease before the permit is confirmed.
• Short trip instead? Check whether you qualify visa-free before applying for anything.