Frequently asked questions

Expat.com is the leading platform dedicated to life abroad. With over 3 million members, it provides free information, advice, networking opportunities and services. It is an essential tool for a successful expat journey. Learn more on About us.

Made by expats for expats, Expat.com has been created by Julien Faliu, a passionate expatriate, and is administrated by a multicultural team, from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, with 50 years worth of cumulative experience living abroad, dedicated to supporting you in your expat journey. You can meet the team on our About us page.

Everyone can participate on expat.com. Dedicated to life abroad, it's a unique space to meet fellow expats, soon-to-be expats, or locals and share experiences and insights on living abroad... and it's free!

Expat.com offers a wide variety of resources, to help you ease and make the most of your expat journey. To support you through every step of your project, here are the resources available:

Guides
Access detailed country and city guides covering the main expat concerns: visas, housing, healthcare, jobs and more.

Magazine
Keep up with the latest global mobility news and trends: articles, interviews, and stories on expat life, culture, and global trends.

Services
Get in touch with trusted partners: moving and relocation experts, health insurance, banks, legal assistance, or coaching.

Business Directory
Find or recommend local businesses or services in your area.

Jobs
Post or apply for job opportunities.

Property
Discover properties for rent or sale worldwide.

Classifieds
Buy, sell, or give items within the community.

Forum
Share advice, answer questions, and exchange experiences with other members.

Events
Create or join events worldwide, meeting expats and locals.

Members
Connect with people living in or moving to your destination.

Pictures
Discover expat life through the lens of fellow expat members and share your own snapshots.

Whether you're an expat, soon-to-be expat or a local, Expat.com welcomes your participation to enrich this collaborative platform: who better to help an expat than another expatriate?

On expat.com, we offer dedicated spaces for each destination, either a country, a region, or a city. If you already live abroad or have a specific destination in mind, you can use the search top bar. For more options, you can access here a complete list of the available destinations.

Expat.com is available in English, French, Spanish and Italian. To switch between languages, you can use the dropdown language menu at the top-right corner on desktop and in the menu on the top-left corner on mobile.

Head to the top right corner, click on "Sign up" and follow the guidelines.

Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner to access your private corner. You will be able from there to personalize your account, manage your contributions, your subscriptions or modify your settings.

On your profile page, you can modify your picture, write an introduction, or update your personal details. We encourage you to complete your profile: it helps build trust and credibility among members.

To change your username, kindly get in touch with our team. They would be pleased to assist you.

From your profile, you can click on "Notifications settings" and manage your preferences from there.

Head to the top right corner, click on "Login" and then on "Forgot your password?". An email will be sent to your mailbox so as to reset your password.

If you want to delete your account, please contact us using the same email address you used to register. Do not forget to indicate your username in your message. Feel free to mention why you want to unsubscribe, we would be happy to receive your feedback.

You can participate in the already existing threads or create a new one. First of all, choose a destination on our expat forums. Navigate topics to answer an existing one or create one by clicking on "Post new topic".

You can enable notifications for specific forums or threads to stay updated on new topics and replies by clicking on the "Subscribe" link. You will also automatically be subscribed to the topics you create.

You can manage your subscriptions from your profile, under the "My subscriptions" section. You will find a list of all the forums and topics you have subscribed to. You can also subscribe to new forums or unsubscribe from specific topics or forums.

To post a picture in a forum thread, click the image icon in the editor and paste the link to your hosted image. Please note that only online hosted images are accepted. Otherwise, you can opt to share your pictures in the dedicated Pictures section.

To communicate via private message with other members, you can add them to your contact list. Click the "Add to contacts" link on the profile page of the member. The member will need to accept your request before they appear in your contact list.

You can send private messages to communicate directly and privately with another member. To send one, click on "Send a message" on the desired user's profile page, type your message and sent it.

All content posted is checked by our Community Management team to ensure it respects our guidelines. We also reserve the right to optimize the title of your topics if needed so as to make them more visible within the community.

The guide section offers practical information and insights on living abroad. You can explore our guides by country and, in some cases, by city, to find tailored advice for your destination.

The guide articles are helpful to prepare for your move or to find solutions once you're settled. Whether you're looking for practical tips or in-depth information, the guide is your go-to resource. You can find information on the main topics of interest for soon-to-be-expats and expats: visas, work, accommodation, health care, bank, leisure... and much more.

We do our best to provide accurate and up-to-date information in our guides. However, while we update our guides regularly, you can still come across inaccuracies. If that's the case, please let us know in the articles comments section.

The Pictures section is aimed at sharing snapshots of expat life. Please note that only original pictures taken by you are allowed; images from other websites or professional photographers are not accepted. Additionally, profile pictures cannot be uploaded to the "Pictures" section.

To add a picture to the participative album, visit the Pictures section, click on Add a picture and follow the instructions provided. Please note that pictures must be less than 5Mb and in one of the following accepted formats: .jpg, .png and .gif.

You can post free ads on our website.
Go on the Classifieds section, click on Post a free ad and fill the form.
We invite you to post your job ads in the Jobs section.
If you are offering or looking for an accommodation, please post in the Housing section.
All ads are reviewed by our team before released online: this process can take up to 48hrs.

If you want to modify or delete an ad, go to your profile page and select the relevant tab: Classifieds, Housing or Jobs. Click on "Modify" to edit or "Delete" to remove an ad. Any update to your ad will be validated by our team before being published online.

You can find the list of the published ads from your profile page, section Ads. Ads are listed by categories: Classifieds, Jobs, Housing. Once expired, ads are no longer available.

Here are the main reasons why your ad could not have been validated:
- advertising content: we do not accept any form of advertising or commercial content in the ads
- ad content is not detailed enough: ensure your ad includes enough details
- includes a link: ads with links to external websites are not accepted
- pictures with logos or watermarks: logos or watermarks on pictures are not accepted.
- exceeding the ad limit: you can post up to a total of 60 ads for free on the Jobs and Housing section. Should you want to upgrade this limit, kindly get in touch with our Sales team.

You are a professional and you want to promote your products and services among our expatriate community. Go to the Business Directory section page and click on Add a business. Fill in the required information and choose between a "Premium" account to benefit from all our features or a basic free account.

With a "Premium" account, you gain access to all the features of the Business Directory. This includes a dedicated page to showcase your services and products, complete with a logo, pictures, opening hours, and contact details. Additionally, your business is featured at the top of the listing for greater visibility.

If you would like to share a business you like with the Expat.com community, go to the Business Directory section, click "Add a business", and select "Recommend a professional". This option enables you to help promote services you value and share your recommendations with us.

If you want to modify or add information about your business, please contact us.

Your business can be rejected for several reasons. Here are some of the most frequent ones:
- Your physical address is not valid (be careful not to insert your e-mail or website address instead)
- Your e-mail address has not been validated: the registration is not automatic once the form is completed. You must validate your mail address via the e-mail we sent you to complete your registration.
- Your business does not fit with our criteria: if your activity might not interest our expatriate community, we would not be able to add it up to the directory.
We thank you for your kind understanding.

Contact us via this page. Please provide a description of the bug encountered, the link of the page concerned and the browser or device used: this would help our team to faster identify the issue and answer your query.

After following the steps to reset your password, an email is sent to your mailbox. This could take some time to reach your inbox. In case you do not receive the email, please also check your junk or spam mailbox.

Our team is dedicated to ensuring a safe and smooth experience on the website. However, if you come across inappropriate content, click the "Report" link to notify us, fill in the reason and submit: we will address it as soon as possible. You can also stop a member from sending you private messages by using the Block option in your contact list.

New users need to participate in the forum before being able to post links. This measure helps to preserve the forum from malicious content, and ensure all of the content posted is safe.

If you have questions or need help to navigate the website, the Expat.com team would be pleased to assist you. Please contact us using the dedicated contact form.

We have several local and global solutions to promote your services. Please have a look at our Advertising section and our Business directory. You can also contact us for further information.

To become a partner and increase the visibility of your business, contact us through our Partnerships page. Kindly note that we only set partnerships with non-commercial institutions. Should you want to promote your services, kindly get in touch with our Sales Team.

We invite you to get in touch with our team who would be pleased to assist you. Feel free to also post in the Classifieds section > Looking for > Testimonies to reach out to the expat community.

Follow our dedicated Jobs page to get informed of the latest vacancies available at Expat.com.