Expat Citizenship News

7 Dec at 6 PM 2018

New warning estimates hundreds of thousands of returning British expats will wreck the NHS

Government officials are warning a no-deal Brexit will result in hundreds of thousands of British expats flooding back to the home country. According to the UK’s Office of National Statistics, some 800,000 British citizens are living in European Union member states, with 25 per cent over retirement age and around 60,000 aged 15 or younger. A recently-released policy statement from the UK’s Brexit department stated all returnees would be entitled to welfare payments, schooling and housing as are all British citizens living in the...

6 Dec at 6 PM 2018

Omanization bites as expats leave, but Golden Visa scheme unlikely to succeed

The introduction of Oman’s visa ban and its recent extensions seems to have encouraged unemployed locals to get jobs, but Oman‘s new Golden Visa scheme doesn’t allow expat citizenship. The aim of the expat visa ban was to vastly increase available jobs for Omanis as the emirate’s unemployment figures were at an all-time high. Since the visa changes were announced, the expat labour force has shrunk by four per cent, with the majority of drops seen in the financial, engineering, manufacturing, industrial and construction...

6 Dec at 6 PM 2018

Is medical tourism worth the hassle for expats?

Given that private healthcare almost anywhere is far cheaper than in the USA and often a deal cheaper than in the UK’s failing NHS, is it really worth shopping around for necessary operations? In the USA, commonly-performed operations such as knee transplants cost between $35,000 and $50,000, with the UK equivalent costing from around £12,000 to £15,000, still a hefty charge for pensioners and those earning basic wages. Websites offering medical tourism at a far lower price are tempting, but often the hype doesn’t match the...

6 Dec at 6 PM 2018

Multiple Golden Visas now essential for the ultra-wealthy

Is global citizenship now a must-have for wealthy expatriates? Paying anything from a reasonable amount to a small fortune for a second passport, residency and citizenship in a country you’ve never even visited now seems to be the must-have accessory for expats as well as wealthy nationals of slightly politically unstable world countries. So much so that multiple Golden Visa passports are more desirable than just one as they brand the owner as worldly, interconnected and a contact to be cherished by those less fortunate. Practically...

5 Dec at 6 PM 2018

Aussie expats take advantage of dollar fall to invest in upscale homes

The week Australian dollar along with the Brexit and Trump effects are being projected to merge into a perfect storm of upscale property purchases by wealthy expat Aussies. According to top-of-the-range real estate agents, the surge has already begun, with enquiries about prestige properties from Australian citizens living and working overseas now at a higher rate that at any time in the past five years. According to one, since the Oz dollar fell below 80 US cents, potential buyers are looking at an effective 30 per cent discount on...

4 Dec at 6 PM 2018

Expats in Saudi confused by so-called fake news

Business owners, real estate owners and expats in general are getting mixed messages about changes to the Saudi labour system. Several days ago, the kingdom’s newly appointed minister for labour and social development promised good news intended to ease the concerns of home owners, businessmen and expatriates living and working in Saudi Arabia. Subsequent leaks gave details of the upcoming announcements, including a cap on worker fees at SR400 monthly and the cancellation of the dependent fees due to increase annually for the next...

3 Dec at 6 PM 2018

Gulf States infrastructure suffering from lack of expat expertise

Recent articles in the GCC Arab media suggest a reaction against getting rid of expatriate talent in the region. In spite of the various Omanization, Kuwatization, Saudization and other such programmes intended to rid the emirates of expatriates and give their jobs to locals, it seems an increasing number of nationals believe government, institutional and other performances are in decline as a result. Arab newspapers are full of tales of woe and scandals related to the programmes, and infrastructure is failing across the region due to...

1 Dec at 6 PM 2018

Brits expats still investing in buy-to-let

Brit expats working in Europe invest in London buy-to-lets whilst those working in the Middle East prefer North of England properties. Perhaps the aboveo is something of a generalisation, but the statistics come from a major UK buy-to-let mortgage lender dealing with British expat property investors across the world. Over the past few years, the buy-to-let boom has forced real estate prices higher across the UK and caused a price explosion in London and its suburbs, but it still shows no sign of slowing down. The survey breaks...

29 Nov at 6 PM 2018

May’s Brexit deal ignores British expats’ state pension arrangements

Close to a million UK expat pensioners living in the EU are still in pension limbo. British PM Theresa May’s Brexit deal fails to guarantee British expats’ state pension arrangements, leaving up to a million British citizens living in Europe afraid for their future pension payments. In her address to parliament last Monday, May said negotiators still need to work on the details of arrangements related to benefits including pensions in respect to the UK’s future trading relationship with the European Union. The controversial deal...

28 Nov at 6 PM 2018

Expats in France struggle to make sense of May’s deal

As Brit expats in France attempt to make sense of May’s deal and calculate its effect on their lives, the French EU minister spells it out. According to French Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau, Theresa May’s Brexit deal as it stands right now is a good deal which brings bad news both for the UK and the 27 remaining EU member states. Looking ahead, she said this moment in time is just the end of the beginning, adding France will always miss the UK and the UK will, some day, realise it misses the EU. Although a future relationship...