Emigrating Overseas?

Hi there: how are you? Summer seems to be receding further and further away…roll on my holiday to Morocco in October, where the weather no doubt will be lovely!

I have been chatting to a number of people recently about emigrating: many are the reason they give but one of the chief ones seems to be lack of employment here in the UK. When you hear news like social housing firm Connaught, which employs 10,000 people, going into administration on Wednesday it is food for thought indeed. But the question is: will it be any easier to find employment abroad - and how will you set about doing this?

First, the nuts and bolts. EU citizens are not required to have a work permit in order to work in the EU. However, you will need proof of residency once you do get a job. To do this you usually apply to the Immigration Department. Non-EU citizens are generally required to have a work permit and a residence permit in order to be employed abroad and can be a harder nut to crack.

There is no doubt about it: first prize is either to get a transfer abroad via your present form or to line up a job before you move. You may think of contacting the local embassy of the country you are thinking of moving to for assistance, or perhaps find yourself a blog or Internet site that deals with getting jobs in the country you are planning to move to.

If that fails, what next?

As an English speaker, the first job that springs to mind is that of teaching English – of course this only really applies in countries where the first language is not English.In most countries there is a desire to learn English, not the least as it is generally considered the business language of the world.

While still in the UK you can search for teaching jobs in publications such as the TES (Times Educational Supplement) and the Guardian EFL pages on Tuesdays. Alternatively, certain ESL (English as a Second Language) websites like ESL employment and tefl.com can be useful. Upon arrival you can try local newspapers or perhaps employment agencies or international companies. Some British Council offices are helpful too as they produce lists of local schools and can point you in the right direction.

Tourism is another promising field of employment that you could try; jobs here are mainly available in the summer. You may think that this sort of work won’t pay the bills for ever but at least you can be looking around while earning a few cents.

For business related opportunities, the bigger cities should be your focus.


How to seek out jobs:

• English periodicals. Here you will find a selection of jobs from teaching to secretarial, advertising and sales

• Job agencies, especially in the larger cities. Remember to have your CV and references to hand

• Ask around - try that friendly shop owner, or pop into an Estate Agent...if they don’t have anything, they may know someone who has. Personal contacts can be very helpful when looking for a job

• Contact working expats, either personally or through the Internet: they have been where you are and may well be able to help

• Place ads in papers, bar notice boards, at the golf course, in shops etc.

Other options:

• A large number of UK recruitment agencies have permanent bases abroad – ask large employment agencies in the UK before you move if they have an office in the country you are moving to

• Try informal methods of recruitment such as word of mouth, networking and speculative applications, especially for small and medium-sized companies.

Self-employment

If you are an EU national or a permanent resident with a residence card you can work in a EU country as a self-employed person or a sole trader. As such, you must meet certain legal requirements and register with the appropriate organisation.

Getting started in your own business

Just a few very basic points:

• If you plan to run your own business, give careful consideration to where you will be living in relation to your customers

• Make sure that you are doing something that is different, something that will benefit your potential customers and make them more inclined to deal with you

• Be sure that there is enough demand for your product or service and that there are sufficient customers to keep you in business

• There are very few businesses that are profitable from the start. It’s therefore very important that you budget for start up costs and that you have sufficient funds to keep you and your family going until the business starts to make a profit.
  

Need any help at all? The friendly team at the OCG Resource Centre chat to people moving abroad on a daily basis and may be able to help. Call them on 0207 898 0549 - there is no cost or obligation at all and you may find just the information you need.

I hope this has given you a few ideas. I’d love to hear if your plans include working abroad and, if so, what your strategy is?

In the meanwhile, I am going to get back to my job of happily tapping away on my computer in the good old UK! Take care until next week,

Carol.

Planning...Before Rather Than After Your Move!

Hello there.

What an erratic time it has been weather-wise hasn’t it? After a particularly warm day last week I set off for a long day out, only returning in the evening. I optimistically left my coat at home – MISTAKE! I have learnt the ‘umbrella lesson’ (never leave home without one…!) and I am now rapidly learning the coat one!

I was recently reminded of my move abroad in that a really good friend of mine has fallen into a trap that I narrowly avoided - he left South Africa without actually going through the emigration process. His wife has a British passport so there was no problem when it came to entering Britain, but the problem has arisen now that he wants to transfer the balance of his funds to the UK.

If he had officially emigrated this process would have been comparatively easy but since he did not do so it has become highly restricted and complex. Plus of course there is the added problem of trying to get things done from a distance. For myself, it took me a full month of visits and endless phone calls to tax and government offices before I finally had all the papers I needed to formally emigrate – I don’t want to think of the frustration and the cost of trying to do this from abroad. Quite apart from anything else, it was a personal relationship that I forged with one of the people in the tax office that finally ‘cracked the case’ – never lose sight of the personal touch and of being remorselessly pleasant and patient throughout! A few tantrums and ill temper can delay you by weeks as obstructive staff may decide that it’s payback time!

You obviously need to make sure in your own mind that you intend to remain abroad, but once you are absolutely sure of this – as I was – you need to go into all the tax implications of your move in order so that you get the most possible value from your savings.

For instance, British pensions – when paying out – are now deeply unattractive. One of the reasons for this is that the income generated by a pension is restricted by the fund it is invested in. Then only 25% of the fund value is available as a tax-free lump sum, plus of course the annual/monthly amount paid is taxed at source. And sadly the final proceeds on death often disappear back to the insurance company rather than going to loved ones.

Alternatives are available and benefits can be extremely advantageous - this is what you need to look into before rather than after your move. In 2006 new EU legislation opened up opportunities for UK pension holders to move their pension abroad, thus giving greater control to the pension holder. However, the scheme, called Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS – pronounced Crops) needs to meet certain criteria.

To get you started you can access a short guide that the Overseas Guides Company has put together which details exactly how this works. It's about what can be done about increasing the income you get, eliminating or reducing the tax you will pay and effectively ensuring that beneficiaries get ALL of the funds upon death rather than just a percentage plus lots more. This may be a good way to start the process - if you are interested in getting a copy of this guide, please go to: http://www.overseasguidescompany.com/downloads/OGCQROPSGuide.pdf

Also, Smart Currency has put out a brilliant FREE relocation report. One of the toughest lessons I learned was that I should have used a currency company to transfer my money abroad rather than my high street bank. Why? Well, this report will explain all that and tell you how to save money…always useful! Go to http://www.smartcurrencyexchange.com/emigrationreport.aspx if you want to access this.

Once again, it’s all down to planning and homework but seriously, not a minute of the planning I did was time wasted and, in the end, it allowed me to move seamlessly and with the minimum of trouble.

More next week! Please jump in and add anything that you feel may help or that you would like me to discuss won’t you?

Best,

Carol.
http://www.portugalbuyingguide.com

Living In Portugal

Hello there!

My name is Carol. I immigrated to the UK - the land of my birth – in 2006, after spending a lifetime in South Africa. I had a serious health scare and it’s funny how something like makes you reassess your priorities isn’t it? It took me a very short time to realise that I wanted to be nearer both my children and their families in London and so I packed my bags, left behind me a wonderful job and many close friends to move here.

Needless to say, the first thing on my list was to get a job. Looking back, I sometimes wonder at my blind faith that everything would turn out fine – and – do you know what? It really has. Unbelievably, a friend of my daughter’s bore my CV off to her child’s school where it was picked up by my present boss’s wife…and here I have happily beavered away at The Overseas Guides Company ever since! My friends in SA were disbelieving at first: could it be true that I had a job that entailed writing about and endlessly discussing countries that I really adore – and that includes Portugal? And they call that WORK?

Part of my job has been to travel abroad, to have a look at various property options and to meet all the property professionals that many of the OGC readers have come to use and rely upon. I know Portugal well. Years ago now I paid my first visit: taking a guide book with me, I flew into Lisbon, planning my route on a map as I flew there!

I discuss the trip in detail in the Portugal Property Buying Guide – you may want to get a copy at www.portugalbuyingguide.com. I have talked to literally hundreds of people who have decided that they want a home in Portugal. I have also contributed to the Portugal Property Buying Guide and it struck me that it may just be useful for me to share with you what I have learnt, both from my own personal experiences and from what I have picked up from listening to the many concerns, experiences and tales shared with me on a daily basis by OGC readers.

So do join me weekly as I chat about various aspects of visiting Portugal with a view to buying property or indeed just to share a few thoughts on the country that I have been visiting for well over twenty years. You never know, there may just be something that will help you, inspire you or just plain bring a smile to your face!