Expats: Does Contract Provide Kidnap Cover?
As employers send more staff abroad they need to be aware that kidnap and ransom can occur in any region, according to the Health Insurance Group. It says that employers underestimate this risk and need to do more to protect their employees. Approximately 40,000 kidnappings occur every year and over 40% of these are of...
1.6 Million Britons Go Expat In A Decade
Since 2006, emigration from Britain is estimated to have reached 1.65 million. But the number of Britons moving abroad has slowed down over the past decade. Between 2006 and 2011, the number of Britons leaving the country averaged 162,667 a year, according to latest research from Lloyds Private Banking. Since 2012, this average has dropped...
Currency Changes And The Price Of Property
In global prime property markets even small percentage changes in currency can have significant monetary implications. Currency, ownership costs and taxation are becoming increasingly important considerations for investors, especially as the rate of price appreciation slows in some global city markets. New research by property consultancy Knight Frank suggest that individuals need to be conscious...
Trend For Workers To Be International Commuters
More than half of the businesses questioned in new research said sending staff on global assignments has improved the performance of their international operations and 44% said it improved employees’ skill level. However, the research by international health insurer AXA, conducted among 250 multi-national firms headquartered in eight different countries and 372 expat workers across...
Expat Work Assignments Expected To Grow
Business leaders still view an international mobile workforce as key to meeting their strategic objectives, according to new research by global mobility specialists, Santa Fe Relocation Services. This is despite mounting concerns around immigration and an increasingly uncertain geopolitical climate following changes implemented by the new US administration and the anticipated impact of Brexit. Santa...
Setting Up A Business In America
People and businesses set up in America for many reasons. With the American economy the largest in the world, for many it is an opportunity for expansion, for others it is more about lifestyle. Whatever your reason for setting up you will need to consider a number of factors: Immigration and visa requirements. You can...
Expats Relocate For Better Careers
Research has shown that 30 per cent of expats said that they relocated for better career opportunities and a quarter listed increased pay and benefits. A further 15 per cent relocated for an improved work/life balance. The research, by global healthcare provider AXA, also found that 14 per cent moved for a better environment to...
Working In South Africa: The Tax Implications
South Africa is one of the expatriate jurisdictions where proactive planning makes a significant difference to the tax and exchange control implications of an international mobile employee. The primary reasons for this proactive planning are: Unlike most other countries, with good planning you only become ‘tax resident’ in the beginning of your sixth year in...
Malaria Poses A Risk To Contractors And Beyond
Protection form mosquito bites is not being taken even by professionals in the travel risk business, a new survey has found. Less than a quarter of organisations have pre-travel health programmes in place. Data from medical and travel security risk services company International SOS shows that malaria represents an increasing proportion of offshore medical and...
Choosing A School When Expats Return To UK
When moving to a new expat posting, often the best-known expat school is the obvious choice for your child. Even when there are wider options, often these are restricted by where there are places, or where a company may have a fast-track debenture. By Fiona Hodgkins Perhaps the most complex and challenging school choice of...
Expats With Kids Take Six Months To Settle
Despite the benefits of raising a family abroad, parents and children alike take time to settle into their new life. However, the challenge can bring families closer together, according to new data. Almost half of expat parents say their children take longer than six months to feel at home in their new country, with...
Expats And Their Families Missing Support Network
New research by AXA’s international health insurance specialist has found that expats and their children are finding it difficult to be away from close friends and family. Two-fifths of expats and 32 per cent of their children cited that being away from their support network was one of the most difficult aspects of their transition...