Ameerah Arjanee

Adjusting to life abroad means adapting to not only a new culture but also to a new natural environment, including its risks. How should you prepare yourself when you move to a country which often experiences natural disasters? Where to look for information and help in case disaster strikes?

Like many countries, Ireland has been suffering from a labor shortage since the pandemic. This situation is aggravated by a rapidly aging population and a brain drain of the young Irish. In response, the government has implemented new measures to attract global talent. Why does brain gain co-exist with brain drain in Ireland, and what are the state's new measures?

To solve the country's labor shortage and visa backlog, the Canadian government has recently introduced new reforms in the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) department to speed up immigration, residency and citizenship processes. The reforms cover exemption from medical exams as well as the digitalization of visa/permit applications, interviews and status trackers.

The International Workplace Group (IWG) surveyed over 1000 hybrid workers about their work expectations. Nearly 60% reported that they are planning to work from anywhere around the world this year, with two-thirds saying their productivity doesn't depend on location. Since Covid, remote working and digital nomadism have soared. Hyper flexibility and workforce dispersion are becoming normalized within companies.

The profound changes experienced by the whole world since the pandemic have made some well-established expat destinations lose their appeal, and new ones become more attractive. The strictness of sanitary measures, political stability, and the cost of living during a period of worldwide inflation are all factors affecting this change in the choice of destination. Bloomberg published a list of six cities that are emerging as expat hotspots: Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon, Dubai, Bangalore, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro.

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower has announced a new 5-year Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass (ONE Pass) for top talent who earn at least 30,000 Singaporean dollars (21,400 USD) a month or have exceptional achievements in business, the arts, sports, academia, science and tech. This visa aims to attract the cream of the crop of expats after the economic impact of the pandemic. It is needed to solve the country's labor shortage, drive economic growth and bring down inflation.

On 3 September, Australia increased its permanent migration cap for the first time in 10 years. This financial year (June 2022-June 2023), the country will welcome 195,000 instead of 160,000 new permanent residents. This measure aims to solve the acute labor and skills shortage that Australia has been facing since it closed its borders during the pandemic.

The quarterly survey of Totaljobs' Hiring Trends Index indicates that the rising cost of living in the UK, especially an upcoming 80% hike in energy bills, is making Britons keener to move abroad. 13%, who represent 4.5 million people, responded that they are strongly considering leaving the UK. Young people and Londoners are keener on relocating abroad. They cite a lower cost of living, career opportunities, a better quality of life and a desire to travel as motivating factors.

On 22 August, the British Home Office announced a new scale-up visa to attract foreign workers with sought-after skills. This visa, which is different from the existing Skilled Worker Visa, allows approved “scale-up businesses” to recruit professionals from anywhere around the world. These professionals will get a 6-month job offer. At the end of this period, they can switch to another job without any sponsorship.

New Zealand has recently increased the number of working holiday visas for the year 2022/2023 as a temporary measure to deal with its skills and labor shortage. Since Covid, some sectors like tourism and construction have struggled to recover their workforce. An additional 12,000 working holiday visas will allow foreigners to fill the labor gap in these sectors, at least in the short term. The terms of the Accredited Employer Work Visa have also been relaxed to attract foreign labor.

Finance firms in Hong Kong are prioritizing the recruitment of Chinese speakers over English speakers, reports eFinancialCareers. This might come as a surprise to those who assume English to be the most important lingua franca for working abroad. As a matter of fact, the rise of strong regional economies and the localization experienced by these economies during the pandemic has increased the importance of other languages like Chinese, French and Arabic.

The Financial Times (FT) recently published a list of issues British expats have to consider before moving back to the UK. If expats are uninformed and unprepared, they risk facing “astronomical” visas, shipping, tax and housing costs in the process of returning home. By choosing the right time to move back, becoming tax-compliant and dealing with their overseas assets and benefits in an informed way, they can make their transition back home smoother and more affordable. 

As of August 2, all new parents in the Netherlands are now legally entitled to nine weeks of paid parental leave. It applies to both mothers and fathers, biological and adoptive parents, who will receive 70% of their wage from the Employee Insurance Agency during the leave. This legislation reinforces the Netherlands' reputation as one of the best places for expats to raise a family.

Greenback Expat Tax Services, which helps Americans abroad file their taxes, recently conducted a survey on 3200 expats living in 121 countries. A quarter said that they plan on renouncing their US citizenship (6%) or are seriously considering it (20%). The leading reason is the tax burden they feel, followed by concern about their home country's political climate. Many feel that having to pay US taxes while not living in the country is unfair.

Since the 1970s, the private sector of Gulf countries has been relying on expat labor. However, as Arab Times and the Jerusalem Post report, expats are now leaving massively because of the pandemic's impact on both the oil and non-oil sectors, the lack of subsidies for non-citizens, and job nationalization. The most affected are middle-class expats, who rarely receive a support package from their employers.

The Bank of England has relaxed mortgage eligibility criteria from August 1, 2022. The affordability test to take out a mortgage now only requires the buyer to prove that they can afford a 1% rise in the variable interest rate over the repayment period. Previously, it was 3%. This is good news for expats who want to buy property in the UK, especially first-time buyers who only have a small deposit.

Six years after the 2016 referendum, the full consequences of Brexit are still unfolding. Expatriation has become complicated for UK citizens. International media report that expats are being informed by British banks that their EU-based accounts will soon be closed. In Spain, British driving licenses were also recently rendered invalid.

Financial Advisor reported in July 2022 that more Americans are moving to Europe to buy homes. The difficulty of becoming a homeowner on a middle-class salary in the US, political anger caused by issues like mass shootings and the overturning of Roe v/s Wade, as well as strength of the dollar compared to European currencies: these are all factors driving US expats to move to the other side of the Atlantic. 

Denmark's Ministry for Immigration and Integration recently announced that the number of immigrants and first-generation Danes in higher education has increased exponentially in the past decade. Notably, the enrolment of Middle Eastern and North African students rose by 16% between 2011 and 2021. What about Denmark appeals so much to international students?

According to a media report by BBC Africa, the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, recently condemned attacks on foreign workers in the country. Workers from other African countries in the Johannesburg township of Alexandra are experiencing escalating violent attacks on themselves and their businesses. They fear a repetition of the xenophobic 2008 riots, when 62 people from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe were killed and over 600 wounded.

In a globalized economy, finance professionals can gain a lot from moving to an international financial hub. It will give them invaluable work experience and add a competitive edge to their CV. Some cities, like New York and Singapore, have a long-standing reputation as financial hubs, while others like Luxembourg are only now emerging as top destinations.

Schengen Visa Info reported in early July that Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP), which is part of the ruling coalition, is proposing to make English a second official administrative language in all offices and agencies. The goal was to facilitate immigration procedures. However, the proposal has been opposed by the German Civil Servants' Association, which believes that two administrative languages will create legal confusion and excessive bureaucracy. 

According to a Quartz article published on June 13, 2022, Hong Kong is struggling to maintain its appeal as an international finance hub. Faced with an expat exodus, the government is considering new ways to attract and retain global talent.

CIC News, a leading website on immigration to Canada, reports that the country's new Super Visa for the parents and grandparents of permanent residents has come into effect on 4 July 2022. This new visa has increased the length of stay of parents and grandparents from two consecutive years to five, with the possibility of renewing for an additional two years, bringing the maximum length of stay to 7 years. 

According to Radio New Zealand, as of late June 2022, the number of residency visa applications to live in the island nation has surpassed government forecasts by over 50,000. Over 200,000 migrants and expats currently residing in New Zealand want to obtain the one-off permit to stay indefinitely. So why is the Land of the Long White Cloud, as the Maori toponym goes, so popular among expats?

Staff shortages, combined with budgetary cuts, have even directly affected the smooth running of immigration procedures at the Department of Home Affairs. There is currently a backlog of over 15,000 visas, including international student visas for those who want to move to Australia to study.