My company wants me to relocate overseas for a promotion. While I welcome the advancement, I don't want to move my family to a new country. How can I turn down this opportunity without hindering my chances for career progress at this employer?
You have some alternatives. The first is that you can turn down the promotion and stay where you are. Most employers will understand your need to keep your family settled. It's reasonable to assume that turning down a promotion one time won't hurt your career — just don’t do it twice. If you do, you can expect your longevity at the company to be limited to one to three years.
Another route is to accept the promotion and go by yourself to the new country. Your wife and children remain behind without disruption to their daily lives, at least for the academic school year. This alternative is difficult and may cost you more emotionally than you're willing to pay. However, more executives are selecting this alternative to ensure that the new job is a good match before moving over their families. This allows you time to really evaluate the job and the new surroundings and see if the risk of moving everyone overseas is worth it.
Or you can challenge your assumption that moving your family will be detrimental. Ask your employer to pay for a scouting trip to the new country and take your wife (and/or family if economically feasible) to see if they might not like a new experience. Perhaps the reluctance you feel about moving them will abate when you actually see where you would be located.
Or, you can launch a search for a new job if you decide that refusing the promotion will indeed hinder your chances at advancement with this particular company, or that moving either by yourself or with your family isn't an option.