As soon as we arrive in Spain, we’ll register our Spanish address with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). We do this for short trips and vacations we take outside the US now. It's just as important when moving for a longer period of time. STEP is a free service run by the US Department of State that lets US citizens register their location when they’re outside the United States.
One of the first things when we get to Spain is to become more fluent in Spanish. We're planning on going to language school, use apps and online resources to stay consistent. But to really be successful for the long term, we know a lot of that learning is going to have to be immersion—living day to day in Spain.
if you have Global Entry and you're spending a significant chunk of time living abroad, there are two things you should make sure are current in your Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) account.
A second US passport can keep your international travel on track if you're without your original passport.
Usually when applying for entry to foreign country that requires you to have an entry visa, you have to send away your existing US passport with the visa application. Processing by that country can sometimes take as long as two or three months. While you're without your passport, you can't travel outside the US and that includes Canada or Mexico.