August 2012 International Relocation and Moving Abroad News Archive

A recent survey shows that the financial crisis has not dampened the appetite for British pensioners to look for a property overseas in which to spend their retirement. According to HSBC, Spain remains the most popular destination with more than 25 per cent of those surveyed between the ages of 45 and 64 saying they planned to buy a property...

Police have charged the gardener of a British woman living in France with her murder. Although they are yet to find a body, investigating officers say blood matching Patricia Wilson’s profile was found in her cottage in the village of Vabre Tizac and in her gardener’s car. The 58-year-old sold her property portfolio in the UK to move...

The European Court of Justice has ruffled feathers by ruling that all British pensioners living in Switzerland and the European Economic Area should be able to claim the government’s annual winter fuel subsidy. Since 1998, the handout of £300 has been available to all pensions in the UK but only expats who moved abroad after turning...

The authors of a new study have warned Brits against buying property in Turkey if they do not have a good enough grasp of the language. The Legal Adaptation of British Settlers in Turkey study found that poor language skills prevented expats from gaining Turkish citizenship, and in turn stopped them from enjoying many civil and legal...

A new international money transfer company claims it can undercut high street banks and offer expat pensioners much better rates when transferring their pensions abroad. TransferWise was launched last year after its two Estonia founders struggled to find a way to transfer money from the UK back home. The company claims that the fees...

The majority of expats think they will need to reign in their spending if they want to continue living abroad, according to a new survey by the Post Office. Seventy-five per cent of the 900 expats surveyed said they were worried about their finances as they perceive the rate of inflation abroad to be four times that in the UK. Brits living...

Recent studies have shown that over 60 per cent of Portugal’s university students wish to leave the country upon graduation. University student associations across the country carried out the study and found that 69 per cent of its current pupils intend to emigrate once they graduate in the hope of finding better work conditions. The...

Nearly half the people in Ireland know someone who has quit the country in the last five years, revealed the latest digital research company Sponge It survey. The ‘State of the Nation’ survey showed that 49 per cent of respondents said that they had a friend who has left the country since 2007. A further 39 per cent of people said an...

Australia’s lower house of parliament backed immigration changes intended to put asylum seekers off attempting to travel to the country by boat. The changes would see asylum seekers transferred to remote outposts in the Pacific and housed in detention centres until their claims have been made. However, reopening these centres, which were...

A recent survey has revealed that youths in South Africa are more hopeful that they can have successful future in the country. The survey, which was carried out by Pondering Panda and quizzed 18,000 people, revealed that people’s biggest concern is the unemployment in the country. Some 23 per cent noted that jobs were their primary...

Nepal has banned women below the age of 30 moving to countries in the Middle East to seek housemaid work due to fears about exploitation and abuse. Housemaids from south and east Asian countries have spoken of being mistreated by their employers in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, for some time. Abusive treatment including...

The lowest number of Israelis emigrated from the country in 2010 for forty years as just 15,600 headed for pastures new, revealed recent data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics. In addition, the data revealed that during the last three years the country has seen emigrants return in their droves, with record numbers being...

The first six months of 2012 has seen a number of Britain’s wealthy people transferring money overseas in preparation for quitting the country. The deVere group, a group of advisers, says that affluent Brits feel departing the UK may be the best option for their futures. The group’s chief executive Nigel Green said that in the first...

Nearly a third of Irish students are that negative about their future career prospects in the country that they intend to emigrate for work after graduating. Some 5,780 students were surveyed, with the results showing a severe lack of confidence in how they feel they will be able to develop their careers in the Emerald Isle. This...

People planning to move overseas have been reminded how important it is to thoroughly research their destination prior to travelling. Crown Relocations senior move manager Kimberley Millhouse has advised people ready to leave the UK that countries overseas have different laws, conventions and processes in place, all of which need to be...