Relocation, deposits and living expenses often fall before full pay begins, which is the main pressure. Add document preparation and any legal review. Government fees change over time, so confirm current amounts with the relevant authority rather than budgeting from an old figure. Before budgeting, ask for the written relocation policy rather than the recruiter's figure. That document normally sets out what is advanced, what is reimbursed against receipts, and whether any of it becomes repayable if the employment ends inside a stated period.
Ask what the employer covers before the first pay period
Confirm whether relocation, temporary housing and travel to a training site are reimbursed, and when the first payment actually arrives, since a monthly cycle can put real distance between arrival and income. Where training is at reduced pay, get the rate and its end date in writing. These terms are far easier to negotiate before acceptance than after.
A clawback clause is the term most often discovered late. Relocation policies frequently make an advance repayable on a sliding scale where the employee leaves inside a fixed window, and the obligation can survive even when the departure was not the employee's choice. Read that clause alongside the compensation schedule so the reduced training rate and the repayment exposure are seen together.
Silence in the policy is worth clarifying in writing, since an unwritten practice is not a term anyone can rely on.