The Plan B Document Checklist for American Families
Every part of a Plan B, from applying for a second citizenship to opening an account abroad or leaving in a hurry, runs on paperwork. Families who have their documents ready can act in days. Families who don't can lose weeks or months ordering records, waiting for apostilles, or renewing a passport at the worst possible time.
This checklist covers the documents an American family should have in order, sorted by importance so you can start with what matters most, and how to store them so you can reach them from anywhere.
Global Vaults provides general information only, not legal advice. Requirements vary by country and situation, so confirm details with the relevant government office before relying on them.
Most important to always have on hand
These protect your ability to leave quickly and prove who you are, and let your family act if something happens to you.
☐ A valid US passport with at least 6 months remaining until expiration for every family member. Adult passports are valid for 10 years, but passports issued to children under 16 are valid for only 5, so they lapse faster than parents expect.
☐ Certified birth certificates for everyone in the family, ordered from the vital records office of the state where each person was born. Get the long-form version where available, which lists parents' details.
☐ Marriage certificates, plus divorce decrees and name change records where relevant, so the names on all your documents can be linked.
☐ Encrypted digital copies of everything on this list, so you can reach them from anywhere. Scan every document, store the files in an encrypted cloud service with strong two-factor login, and keep a backup on an encrypted drive. Make sure a trusted family member knows how to get in if you can't.
☐ A letter of instruction telling your family what you have and where: accounts, storage providers, safe deposit boxes, and how to reach any advisors. List every account, US and foreign, with the institution and how to contact them, but keep login details separately and securely, never in plain text.
☐ Powers of attorney, financial and medical, so someone can act for you if needed.
☐ Wills, with a note on whether they cover assets held abroad. Some countries may not recognize a US will for property located there.
☐ A medical summary for anyone with ongoing conditions, plus prescriptions listing generic drug names, since brand names differ abroad.
☐ Health insurance details, including cards, policy information, and any international or evacuation coverage.
Tip: keep a list of every family member's passport numbers and expiry dates, and set calendar reminders a year before each one expires.
Important items before you apply for anything abroad
Residency, citizenship, visa, and banking applications usually ask for these.
Apostilles and certified copies
If you move abroad, whether planned or sudden, foreign governments, banks, and immigration offices will usually want official copies of your records, often with an apostille, and to see your passport. You're likely to need them when applying for a residence permit or visa, enrolling children in school, registering a marriage, birth, or name change, buying property, or settling an estate.
What's an apostille? It's an official certificate, attached to a public document, that confirms the document is genuine so it's accepted in other countries that belong to the Hague Apostille Convention. Most countries you're likely to deal with accept apostilles. Where they don't, a longer process called authentication is used instead.
Where to get one depends on who issued the document. State documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, are apostilled by the Secretary of State (or equivalent office) of the state that issued them. Federal documents, such as FBI background checks, are handled by the US Department of State. It's also worth ordering several certified copies of each record, since some offices keep the copies you submit.
Some countries also require documents to be recent, depending on what they're for, and may require them to be translated by an approved translator.
☐ Apostilles attached to any of the above documents (birth, marriage, etc.) as needed.
☐ A criminal background check document, which many countries ask for with residency and visa applications. Americans usually request one from the FBI. Since many countries want it to be recent, get it close to when you apply.
☐ Diplomas and transcripts, which some countries ask for with a work visa or residency application, sometimes apostilled.
☐ Recent tax returns, often requested when applying for residency or opening accounts abroad.
☐ Proof of income or assets, such as bank statements or pension letters, which many residency programs require.
☐ Vaccination records for each family member, which schools and some countries ask for.
☐ A medical certificate, which some countries require with residency or long-stay visa applications, confirming you don't have a disease that poses a public health risk.
Only if it applies to you
Most families can skip some or all of this section.
Second citizenship
These records support citizenship by descent claims and protect your children's options. If you hold or qualify for another citizenship, check whether that country requires your children to be registered by a deadline. Missing one can cut off a whole family line, so treat it as urgent.
☐ Your ancestors' records. For any parent or grandparent born abroad, gather their foreign birth and marriage certificates and, if they became Americans, their US naturalization records. Naturalization records can be requested from US Citizenship and Immigration Services. These are often the hardest documents to find, so start early.
☐ A written family tree, noting where and when each ancestor was born, married, emigrated, and naturalized. It helps you and future generations prove descent when applying for citizenship.
☐ Proof of any foreign citizenship you hold, such as a certificate of registration, plus your children's.
☐ Second passports and residence permits, with their expiry dates tracked.
☐ Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, for any child born outside the US to American parents. This is the official US record of their citizenship.
Family situations
☐ Adoption records, if they apply.
☐ A consent letter for traveling with children. If a child travels with only one parent, or with grandparents or friends, US Customs recommends carrying a signed letter of consent from the absent parent or parents. Many families keep a notarized template ready.
Travel extras
☐ A passport card, an inexpensive backup ID that's valid for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico, and parts of the Caribbean.
☐ Driver's licenses and an International Driving Permit, which many countries require alongside a US license. In the US, these permits are issued through AAA and the American Automobile Touring Alliance.
Everyday documents
☐ Insurance policies, including life, property, and any covering valuables stored abroad.
☐ Property deeds, vehicle titles, and important contracts.
Storing it all safely
A good system keeps your documents safe and reachable even if your home, your devices, or your access to the US are disrupted. Along with the digital copies above, keep the originals at home in a fireproof, waterproof safe or file box, organized so anyone in the family can find things quickly. Keep a set of certified copies in a second location away from home, such as with a trusted relative, in a safe deposit box, or in a private vault abroad, so a single fire, flood, or emergency can't take everything.
Keep it current. Review everything once a year, for example at tax time. Update anything that has expired or changed, add new documents such as residence permits or a child's records, replace certified copies that countries may consider too old, and confirm that the people who'd need access still know where everything is.
A few hours spent organizing now can save weeks when it matters most.
Global Vaults provides general information only, not legal advice. Last reviewed November 2026.