General

Brexit rumbles on, beset by plot twists which would do credit to a Netflix thriller. The so-called ‘Super Saturday,’ in which Parliament met on a weekend for the first time since the Falklands War, ostensibly to push Boris Johnson’s new Brexit deal through the House, turned out to be not so super after all, with the collapse of any agreement.

The new bill has been described as very similar to Theresa May’s previous piece of legislation which, as we all know, failed at the finishing post three times. It has some variety, mainly trying to settle the issue of the Irish backstop: Varadkar and Juncker approve but the DUP, unsurprisingly, does not. The PM now says that if the bill does not go through, he could call a general election before Christmas.   more ...

Expats In Hong Kong Consider Leaving

Increased numbers of expats living in Hong Kong are setting up a 'Plan B' for themselves and their families, as ongoing civil unrest makes the country difficult to live in.   more ...

New Fund For Filipinos To Study In The UK

Would-be expats from the Philippines can now apply to a new fund, set up by the UK government in conjunction with insurance company Pru Life UK, to have the duration of their study fully funded.   more ...

Brexit has once more dominated the British news this month, with an unusual prorogation of Parliament: rather longer than previous prorogued periods and accompanied by accusations of trying to silence Remainer MPs.

The case reached the Supreme Court on Tuesday 24th September, with the Court deciding that the prorogation of Parliament was unlawful and that Parliament must return to sit. Quite what the result of this will be in terms of the UK leaving the EU remains to be seen.   more ...

ExpatFocus recently published an article which discussed the factors people should consider when they're thinking about moving abroad. The feedback received from readers was fantastic and we felt that those expats deserved to be heard!   more ...

The internet has become almost a life-sustaining requirement, like water, oxygen or sunlight. Just watch someone who has misplaced their mobile frantically tipping the house upside down to find it. Our phones are no longer just used for calls but for banking, messages and emails, social media and many other amazing things. However, any type of digital life is only possible if there is unrestricted access to the internet, online services and smooth cashless payments.   more ...

The summer of 2019 has obviously seen major ruptions in British politics, with Theresa May finally departing in a cloud of ignominy and, after a brief leadership tussle between Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson, being replaced by the latter. Max Hastings, of the Daily Telegraph and a friend of Johnson’s, said years ago that if this ever came to pass, he’d pack his bags and leave the country, but it remains to be seen where Hastings could actually go, given the state of limbo in which many of Britain’s expats across the EU still find themselves plunged.   more ...

The best expat countries for quality of life

The best places for expats to live in the world are, according to a survey, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The poll was undertaken by Numbeo, a global database of consumer prices, who found that Denmark is the most highly rated country for delivering the best quality of life for expats.   more ...

This question is often a hot-button political issue, with immigration quotas forming a core part of right-wing electoral agendas in particular. Brookings’ 2018 report on immigration says:

“Immigration policy is often hotly debated for a variety of reasons that have little to do with a careful assessment of the evidence.”

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Anyone who has ever considered moving abroad will inevitably have spent a lot of time thinking about the impact such a move might have on their living standards. Of course, what constitutes a good quality of life for one individual or family may be different from another. Generally speaking, though, there are some good ways of measuring quality of life, such as local education, job opportunities, access to services, transport and housing.   more ...