Clarify which immigration preparation and relocation costs the employer will pay, when payment occurs and whether reimbursement must be repaid after an early departure. Verify government charges for the route actually chosen. There is no reliable single total that applies to every first-time applicant and household.
Compare cash timing as well as the total
Build separate estimates for document retrieval, any necessary evaluation or translation, professional advice, travel and the move. Mark each amount as confirmed, quoted or unknown. Ask whether employer reimbursement requires receipts or a minimum period of service, and review the contract rather than relying only on a recruiter’s summary.
Keep a reserve for a changed start date. Paying for an evaluation or expedited service does not resolve a substantive eligibility problem or purchase a favorable decision. The expense that surprises people is rarely the government charge; it is the gap between paying for something and being reimbursed for it.
Map that gap explicitly. Note which payments must clear before travel, which fall due on arrival, and which the employer settles only after a payroll cycle has run. Ask, too, what happens to each amount if the plan changes: a deposit on housing, a broken lease, a shipped household or a sold vehicle are decisions that become expensive precisely because they were made early to save money.
Where an employer offers a lump-sum relocation allowance, establish whether it is paid gross, whether it is taxable, and whether any portion is recovered on early departure. None of this alters eligibility, but a household that cannot absorb a delay will feel a routine one as a crisis.