What To Look For When Buying A Spanish Villa
Are you looking to buy property in Spain? Whether you’re an expat resident, a regular visitor or a holiday landlord, owning a Spanish villa can be a huge asset. And before you say ‘but Brexit’, let’s just explain for the avoidance of doubt that the Spanish property market has always been popular with British (and...
Do Expats Need Private Health Insurance?
When living or working abroad one of the major issues to be addressed is how to access good quality healthcare. In many countries you can access the state healthcare system if you are a resident of that country, but there may be conditions before you qualify. Whenever you travel abroad you need to consider how...
UAE’s New Income-Based Family Sponsorship Law
New rules in the UAE allows foreign nationals to sponsor their families to join them in the country. The new rule makes income, not profession the sole criteria for men and women to sponsor family members. The new rule allows any UAE resident, male or female, to sponsor family members (spouse, under-18 sons and unmarried...
Living Abroad – Can I Get Free NHS Healthcare When Visiting The UK?
One of our members who lives in The Philippines asked whether they could still access the services of the NHS as a British passport holder. I have been living and working outside the UK for a number of years but plan to visit family in the UK and wanted to know whether I can make use...
UK Visit Limitations To Remain Non-resident For UK Tax Purposes
One of the members of the Expat Network community asked the following question about being able to visit the UK without becoming tax resident in the UK and we asked Trevor Wilkes of Trew Tax to respond to his query. I have a permanent home in the USA, where I have lived for 35 years...
Banking In Spain
When moving to a new country you should take a look at your banking arrangements. It is generally possible to use your existing bank from your home country for many purposes, but it is worth opening a local Spanish account for most people. International Online Banks You can also consider using one of the growing...
Taxation Of US Expats: The Basics
The basic principle is that Americans living and working abroad are subject to the same tax rules as those who remain in the US. Americans are subject to US income tax on their worldwide income. There are the additional reporting requirements of FATCA and FBAR (see Five Things American Expats Need to Know About Foreign...
Why Expat Tenants Need Home Insurance
Even before you moved to Hong Kong, you may have heard about the highly unaffordable rent in the city, which always ranks top among the world’s most expensive housing markets. This perennial problem has become so extreme that a resident needs to spend 19.4 years without any other expenditure in order to be able to...
Implications of the Joint Agreement for British Expats
The recent breakthrough in the Brexit negotiations has given some clarity to the question of expat rights. Jason Porter of Blevins Franks commented, ‘A landmark agreement has been reached in Brexit talks which should cement the rights of UK citizens resident in other EU countries. The most important aspect is obviously the right to reside, but...
Tax On Return To The UK?
We are in the process of considering a return to the UK. We left in April 2015 and we are resident in the Philippines. If we return we plan to sell our property in the Philippines to use as payment for a property in the UK. The question is, will the money to be transferred...
Do You Need An Offshore Bank Account?
The answer is, you may not. But Iain Yule reckons that most British expats will at some stage, if not throughout their time abroad, find offshore banking useful in a number of ways. First and foremost is the potentially huge tax saving you can make by placing your savings offshore. To take the example of...
Tax On A Move Back To Canada?
I am a Canadian non-resident in the Czech Republic. I plan to return to Canada in two years’ time to finish working and eventually retire. I filed a T1 General form for 2015 as I had a small amount of interest income from a bank account I hold in Canada. Must I always report interest...