--- name: arrival-setup description: "Set up the essentials in the right order after moving to a new country — the ID/registration, bank account, phone, address, and social/tax number that unlock each other — so you don't get stuck in the chicken-and-egg loops that trap newcomers. Use when someone says 'I just moved to a new country', 'what do I do first after arriving', 'set up my life in [country]', or 'I can't open a bank account without an address but can't rent without a bank'. Produces a sequenced arrival checklist with dependencies and the official offices for each. Routes to official sources; rules are local." --- # Arrival Setup Skill The first weeks in a new country are a maze of interlocking requirements: you can't open a bank account without a local address, can't sign a lease without a bank account, can't do either without a registration number that itself needs an address. Newcomers lose weeks going in circles because nobody told them the *order*. This skill lays out the sequence — what unlocks what — so you break the chicken-and-egg loops instead of getting stuck in them. It's the after-you've-arrived companion to the visa ([[immigration-document-checklist]]) and the move ([[relocation-planner]]); the specific offices and rules are local, so everything routes to the official source. ## What This Skill Produces - A **sequenced arrival checklist**: the essentials (residence registration, tax/social number, bank account, phone/SIM, address, health enrollment) in dependency order — what to do first because it unlocks the rest - The **chicken-and-egg workarounds**: the known loops (address ↔ bank ↔ registration) and the specific ways newcomers break them in this country (fintech banks that don't need proof of address, temporary-address options, employer letters) - The **office map**: which government office/institution owns each step and what to bring to each - A **week-by-week plan** against the deadlines that carry penalties (registration windows especially — many countries fine you for registering late) ## Required Inputs Ask for (if not already provided): - The country moved to (and from, for some steps), and the visa/status (it changes what you're entitled to and what's required) - What's already sorted (accommodation? a job? any documents in hand?) - The urgent drivers: a job start date, a registration deadline, needing income access - Whether accommodation is permanent or temporary (affects the address-dependent steps) ## Framework 1. **Find the keystone step for this country.** In most systems one registration is the key that unlocks the rest — residence registration, a tax/social number (SSN, NINo, NIE, Steueridentifikationsnummer, etc.), or similar. Identify it and its deadline first; nearly everything else depends on it, and it's often time-limited with penalties for lateness. 2. **Map the dependency loops and their breaks.** The classic traps: bank needs address, lease needs bank, both need the registration number. Name this country's specific escapes — app-based banks that onboard without proof of address, temporary/hostel addresses that count, an employer or university letter that substitutes. Breaking one loop usually cascades the rest open. 3. **Sequence, don't parallelize blindly.** Order the checklist so each step has its prerequisites: often phone/SIM (cheap, unlocks verification) → temporary address → registration/number → bank → permanent lease → utilities → health enrollment. Adjust to the country's actual keystone. 4. **Bring the right documents to each office.** Each step wants specific documents (passport, visa, registration certificate, proof of address, employment contract). List what each office needs so a trip isn't wasted — a wasted government appointment can cost weeks in re-booking. 5. **Hit the penalty deadlines.** Registration and tax-number windows often carry fines or status problems if missed. Surface these as the hard dates on the week-by-week plan, routed to the official source to confirm — because they're local and they change. ## Output Format ``` ## The keystone (do this first) [This country's key registration/number · its deadline · what it unlocks] ## The sequence (dependencies shown) 1. … → 2. … → 3. … [each step + its prerequisites + the office that owns it] ## Breaking the chicken-and-egg loops [The known traps + this country's specific workarounds] ## What to bring to each office | Step | Office | Documents to bring | ## Week-by-week (with penalty deadlines) [The hard dates — verify each at the official source] ⚠ Offices, rules, and deadlines are country-specific and change — confirm each at the official government source for your destination. ``` ## Quality Checks - [ ] The keystone registration/number is identified first with its deadline - [ ] The dependency loops are named with this country's actual workarounds - [ ] The sequence respects prerequisites (no step before its unlock) - [ ] Each step lists the documents its office needs - [ ] Penalty deadlines are flagged and routed to the official source ## Anti-Patterns - [ ] Do not assert a specific country's offices, numbers, or deadlines as fact — they're local and change; orient and route to the official source - [ ] Do not give a flat unordered checklist — the dependency order is the entire value - [ ] Do not ignore visa/status — it determines entitlements and requirements - [ ] Do not miss registration deadlines — late registration is a common, penalized newcomer mistake - [ ] Do not conflate this with the visa process or the physical move — link to those, don't redo them ## Related [[immigration-document-checklist]] for the visa; [[relocation-planner]] for the move itself; [[credit-from-scratch]], [[healthcare-system-primer]], [[tax-residency-primer]] for the deeper newcomer steps; [[two-worlds-translator]] for the cultural side. ## Example Trigger Phrases - "I just moved to a new country." - "What do I do first after arriving?" - "Set up my life in [country]." - "I can't open a bank account without an address but can't rent without a bank."