Expat Emigration News

17 May at 6 PM 2013

Expat mums unfairly penalised by UK expat pension crackdown

The recently announced change in UK pension law disallowing married women’s pensions is hitting hard on stay-at-home expat mums. Married women who have lived overseas with their husbands and never worked will be hit hard by the proposed change in pension law disallowing them from claiming a spousal pension. The change in the law is being brought in to save paying expat spousal pensions to foreign wives who have never worked or lived in the UK but is expected to hit hard on legitimate claimants. The spousal benefit, known as the...

13 May at 6 PM 2013

Brit expats in Spain should think again before fleeing

For many British expats living in Spain, the newly-introduced financial reporting requirements have been the last straw, but taking expert advice may be the answer. According to the Foreign Office, full- and part-time expats in Spain number around 800,000, with permanent resident numbers set between 250,000 and 400,000. Accountancy firms estimate that a high number are seriously considering leaving the country following the introduction of the new tax regime. The law states that any foreigner living in Spain for more than six...

6 May at 6 PM 2013

Battle to demand death of frozen expat pensions hots up

The fight to agree a workable solution which unfreezes UK expat pensions is hotting up, with the International Consortium of British Pensioners demanding an industry and government debate. The ICBP now represents half a million pensioners living in countries where pensions are frozen, and is demanding that the debate takes place before the introduction of the Single Tiered State Pension Bill later this year. Campaigns to have the ‘frozen pension’ Clause 20 removed from the bill are scaling up, and a round-table event is scheduled...

2 May at 6 PM 2013

Fall in French mortgage interest rates attracts British buyers

Fixed mortgage rates on offer to Britons looking for a new life in France are at their lowest since the end of WWII. Now that French property prices are in decline, the temptation of a 20-year fixed rate mortgage at 3.35 per cent or a tracker deal over the same period at 2 per cent may be too good to ignore for those desperate to emigrate. Leading French banks are competing to offer great deals to reliable buyers in an attempt to shore up the property market. A spokesman for a leading estate agency said rates are at their lowest...

23 Apr at 6 PM 2013

NZ Irish expat group spreads positive stories about Ireland

Following recent bad press about unemployment, depression and austerity in Ireland and reports on the latest Irish Diaspora, a New Zealand Irish group is publicising positive stories on social media. A volunteer expat service providing help to new immigrants from Ireland is determined to counter depressing media reports about the state of the ‘old country’ by uploading positive stories. The Irish People Living in New Zealand group is a household name in the community and liaises with Enterprise Ireland and Auckland’s Irish...

11 Apr at 6 PM 2013

Dublin seminar explores reasons behind the present Irish Diaspora

Four leading social scientists met yesterday at Dublin’s Trinity College in an attempt to quantify the many reasons behind the rush to emigrate now referred to as the modern-day Diaspora. The symposium is slated as part of Dublin’s Trinity Week 2013 programme during which eminent academics gather to examine issues of concern to Ireland and the Irish peoples. In contrast to those leaving during earlier Irish Diasporas, contemporary migrants are mostly degree-level professionals, highly-skilled in skilled in their fields....

9 Apr at 6 PM 2013

Expat pension pots suffer from plummeting pound

The weakened state of the pound sterling has devastated many expats relying on their pensions for their day-to-day living expenses. Recent research has revealed that British pensioners living on their retirement pensions in many overseas countries have seen their purchasing power drop by 50 per cent or more. Pensioners living in the Eurozone have endured falls of 22 per cent, with a sterling pension of £5,000 worth some €7,300 in 2003 now worth just €5,692. British retirees in Australia are the worst affected, with a 47 per...

8 Apr at 6 PM 2013

Expat children in Middle East face integration challenges and expensive education

All Middle Eastern destinations include the United Arab Emirates present a challenging environment for children of expat workers in the region. According to a recent expat survey, the entire region scores poorly as a place to raise expat kids, as well as having some of the most expensive international schools on the planet. One of the most difficult challenges faced by expat children is that of integration with the local young peoples’ social scene, with 34 per cent of parents surveyed saying their children were having problems in...

28 Mar at 6 PM 2013

Cameron announces sweeping crackdown on immigration

British Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to announce a widespread crackdown on immigration aimed at discouraging migrants from Bulgaria and Romania. The new measures follow weeks of alarmist UK media coverage predicting the arrival of a huge number of migrants from Romania and Bulgaria after travel and work restrictions are lifted next year. Reports suggest that changes will include restricting access to the NHS, a five-year wait before applying for social housing and heavy fines for those who employ illegals. The...

28 Mar at 6 PM 2013

Unemployed 60 year old Irishman told to take job in Malta

A 60-year old unemployed Donegal man who used to work as a bus driver has received an official letter recommending that he emigrate to Malta and take up a low-waged job. It seems the rot is spreading from the now defunct UK Border Agency to Irish government employees, although the letter caused hilarity when read out in the Irish parliament. Sent by Ireland’s oddly-named Department of Social Protection, the carefully worded missive informed its recipient that a job as a bus driver paying €250 a week had become available on the...