Expat Focus

Property abroad: Budget airline 'hotspots'

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:44:25 GMT

Budget airline routes are creating property hotspots for Brits buying abroad. But beware, if the airline pulls out of the route, you could be left stranded in more ways than one... More (This is Money)

Australia to focus immigration policy on skills

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:13:19 GMT

Australia's immigration minister, Chris Evans, has announced policy changes to attract more highly skilled workers. He criticised the current trend for new arrivals to sign up for cookery or hairdressing courses to gain residency. Mr Evans said Australia would abolish the current list of 106 skills in demand and review a points test used to assess migrants... More (BBC)

Property abroad: The Balearic Islands

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:18:18 GMT

Spring might seem an awfully long way off in dark and chilly Britain, but in a couple of weeks, it's blossom time in the Balearic Islands, half-way between Spain and North Africa. From late January to March, 5m almond trees in Majorca alone will carpet the land in fragrant clouds of delicate pink blooms... More (This is Money)

Bach, Building and the Berlin Wall – about Germany and Living There

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:02:41 GMT

House prices here in Germany have been stable for a long time and are beginning to rise, unlike the situation in the UK. I only discovered this some time after I had bought, demolished and rebuilt a small house in a place no-one in Britain has ever heard of. That was in 2004. I can now say definitely that it was the best and most exciting thing I have ever done, and I haven't exactly led a sheltered life. Read more

Expat Experiences: Portugal - Eric and Diane

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:15:13 GMT

We are Diane and Eric. We are both trying marriage for a second time... so far! We are both former Devonians although my wife was brought up in Cornwall. We met through our work at a local newspaper and after knowing each other for eight years and having both been divorced for ten years we decided that we could make it work. That was back in 1991. So far, so good. I have to say that it was Diane who had been hankering to get out of the U.K. She had been trying, unsuccessfully, to do so since 1960... Read more

Expat Experiences: Netherlands - Anne Galloway

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:32:45 GMT

My name is Anne Galloway and I’d like to share a small part of my story of becoming an expat for the first time in the hope that it can help and inspire other expat spouses. I am married with two children who were 10 and 7 when we had to move. I gave up a job I really enjoyed and took my kids away from their friends and all because of my husband’s work. My husband moved to Holland in April 2006 and the children and I followed in the summer... Read more

Expat Experiences: Portugal - Robin and Shirley Hepworth

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:06:45 GMT

Where, when and why did you move abroad? In 2007 we sold up and moved to the Western Algarve, Portugal. Why? Many reasons - better quality of life, less stressful living, nice people, good food, wine & Medronho! We first visited Portugal in 2001 to take part in a sponsored ride from Alcoutim on the Spanish Border to Cape St Vincent in aid of RDA & PSP. I was riding and Shirley part of the support crew and as a result we saw parts of the Algarve most Algarveans never see. We came home feeling that the Lagos area would be a great place to live. Read more

How does a QROPS UK pension transfer overseas work? (Part two)

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:48:25 GMT

This is the second installment of a two-part column on the process involved in transferring UK pensions to Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS). In part one we looked at the people, agencies, and costs involved in the transfer process and here we will summarize the paperwork that typically needs to be completed... Read more

Warning for expat homeowners in northern Cyprus after UK court ruling

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:15:48 GMT

The UK Court of Appeal has upheld a decision forcing a British couple to hand over their northern Cyprus home to its former owner who fled during the Turkish invasion of 1974... More (International Adviser)

Spanish doctors fight expat 'freeloaders'

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:43:03 GMT

Spanish doctors have thrown their weight behind politicians who criticise "health tourism". The SiMAP union, representing public health doctors in Spain, said non-Spanish EU nationals in Alicante, which has a large British expat community, account for 15-20 per cent of hospital admissions... More (Telegraph)