The magazine for expats
Finland
Since January 8, 2026, stricter requirements have been in place for obtaining permanent residence in Finland. Among the key changes are tougher language requirements and a longer mandatory residence period.
Greece
In 2025, Greece issued over 80,000 visas for non-European workers, while nearly 300,000 jobs remained unfilled. In February 2026, the Greek Parliament is preparing to welcome "tens of thousands" of expatriate workers from South and Southeast Asia. The goal remains the same as in 2025: tackling labor shortages.
Formalities
If you're reading this article, chances are you're dreaming of retiring abroad, or you are already planning to spend your golden years in another country. Whether the goal is to enjoy a better quality of life, lower healthcare costs or a warmer climate, the logistics are typically more demanding than retiring in your home country. While in general, there is nothing inherently difficult about moving abroad, the process can be complex, with many considerations, such as ensuring you'll have enough money, navigating foreign bureaucracy, and finding affordable, high-quality healthcare services.
Expat news
Qatar
Competing with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Qatar is launching a new program to attract foreign talent. Entrepreneurs and highly skilled professionals will soon be able to benefit from a 10-year residence visa.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is expected to drive more changes in 2026. One of the biggest shifts is the opening of the property market to expat residents and Emirati nationals. At the same time, authorities are tightening the tone toward self-employed expats, reminding them that being self-employed is only possible if residency rules are fully respected.
Malaysia
Malaysia has adopted a new reform that will significantly raise the minimum salary required to employ foreign workers. The government is also introducing additional measures to better regulate expatriate hiring.
Content from our partners
Tax
Living abroad brings exciting opportunities, but U.S. tax obligations do not disappear when you move overseas. Unlike most countries, the United States taxes its citizens and green card holders based on citizenship rather than residency. This means that even if you live and work permanently in another country, you are still generally required to file a U.S. federal income tax return each year and report your worldwide income.
Sponsored
Montgomery International School
Choosing the right school is one of the most important decisions a family can make. Beyond academic results, many parents today are looking for an education that prepares their children to think independently, to adapt to change and to succeed in a complex and globalised world. This is where the International Baccalaureate (IB) education stands out. Widely recognised by universities and schools worldwide, the IB is known for developing critical thinking skills, curiosity, and intellectual independence from the very first grade.
Sponsored
Comune di Mendrisio
In Switzerland, living well is often associated with efficiency and safety. But in Mendrisio, in the country's southern region, these qualities are joined by something more: simplicity. Here, Swiss precision meets Mediterranean warmth, creating a rare balance between work, nature, and everyday life. Everything is close, everything works, and the sun shines longer than almost anywhere else. For many expats, it's the ideal place to feel at home — safe, welcoming, and dynamic. A truly easy side of Switzerland, where quality of life is measured in peace of mind.
Features
Work
Recent changes in the international job market are leading expats and future expats to reassess their career choices. Should you stay on the path you originally chose, or is it time for a career change? How should you approach your international career today? Before taking the leap, it's important to take stock of where you stand. Here's some practical advice.
Work
The era of "work from anywhere" may be coming to an end, or at least, entering a new chapter. Since the COVID-19 pandemic turned remote work from a rare perk into a global norm, millions of professionals have redesigned their lives around the freedom to work from any location. For many expats, this flexibility was a game-changer, enabling them to live abroad while keeping a job back home. But in recent months, a growing number of employers and governments have begun tightening the reins, rolling back remote work policies and calling employees back to the office. From Canada to Australia, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, the trend is clear, and for the global expat community, the implications could be significant.
Everyday life
Phone scammers are increasingly targeting expats, and it's no coincidence. Fraudsters know that living abroad can mean language barriers, unfamiliar paperwork, and added pressure when something goes wrong. Here's how to recognize the most common scams, avoid the traps, and react fast if you've already been caught out.
Schools & studies
Master's degrees, MBAs, PhDs… These qualifications are often seen as a fast track to an international career. But as career paths become less linear, the real value of a degree is increasingly questioned. Is an advanced academic route still the best option, or do employers abroad care more about hands-on experience and job-ready skills, especially intercultural ones? For anyone aiming to work internationally, these questions are now shaping what it takes to build a truly borderless career.
Work
Slow working, slow management and workations have already rewritten the rules in the past years. In 2026, the international job market is evolving once again. So which trends are fading, and which ones are becoming essential?
Everyday life
Moving abroad is exciting, but it doesn't have to be expensive. With living costs rising in many countries, popular expat destinations are becoming less realistic for smaller budgets. The good news is that more affordable alternatives are gaining ground. Here are some of the best places to move to in 2026 if you want to keep costs under control.
Expat interviews
Everyday life
When Adam and Tara Short from Sheffield visited Mauritius last November, they didn't expect it to change their lives. But one afternoon on the beach in Grand Baie, they realized this was where they wanted to raise their family. Adam, who runs a car and fishing business, and Tara, who owns a hospitality supply company, wanted a simpler, safer, and more outdoor life for their two sons, Spencer (9) and Xander (4). Just months later, they turned that dream into reality. In this interview, the Short family shares what it's really like to swap the busy streets of Sheffield for island life, from choosing schools and settling in, to discovering their favourite local foods and making Mauritius home.
Spain
For many, moving abroad is a leap into the unknown. For Doug Underwood, arriving in Mallorca in 2019 turned into a journey of building community, adapting to island life, and finding a true sense of home. What started as a work opportunity grew into something much bigger, from professional projects to co-hosting Curiosity Night, a monthly gathering for expats and locals alike. In this interview, Doug shares the rewards and challenges of expat life in Mallorca, his advice for newcomers, and what makes the island such a unique place to live.
Everyday life
Moving across borders is never just about changing your address — it's about reshaping your identity, navigating new beginnings, and learning to find “home” wherever you are. For Roberta Maretti, author of Where the World Took Me, the expat life began as a teenager in Tokyo and soon became a lifelong journey spanning continents, cultures, and countless reinventions. From raising children in Asia and the Caribbean to returning to Europe after years abroad, her story is one of resilience, curiosity, and the search for belonging. In this interview, she reflects on the challenges and gifts of a globally mobile life, the friendships and food that anchored her along the way, and the lessons she hopes to share with other expats carving out their own paths.
Insights from professionals
Everyday life
Humans have been nomads since prehistoric times, over two million years ago. Men and women moved across territories in search of food, most often following animal migrations. Back then, we were hunters and gatherers. Socially, we lived in tribes or small clans, bound by meaningful connections. We've changed a lot since then… or have we?
Work
Authenticity has become one of the most important values in modern life, and for all good reasons. And these kinds of values and trends tend to spread very quickly and strongly among expats, across geographies. However, these trends, when not put in the right context, are actually eroding influence and confidence in expats' lives. At this point, “Just be Yourself” is a perfect example.
Children
Growing up as an expat child means learning, very early on, how to navigate different worlds. For some, it's a profoundly enriching experience. For others, it can raise difficult questions: Who am I, really? Where do I belong? For parents, supporting this identity-building process can feel like a real challenge, especially when a child's reference points are constantly shifting between home, school, the home country, and the host country. Cécile Solar, a certified coach and co-author of the Objectif Orientation guidebooks published by Hachette, helps us better understand what these children living “between two cultures” go through.
Expat stories
Work
Starting a business with your partner sounds like a dream, Palm trees, shared goals, flexible schedules, maybe even long lunches in the sun. But here's the truth: building a business and maintaining a healthy relationship takes intention, grit, especially when you add the stresses of doing it in a new country. I have done it with my husband—and we're still talking to each other!
Everyday life
Many aspects of life today are shaped by constant judgment and evaluation—annual reviews, performance indicators, goal assessments, skills audits, and more. But should we apply the same lens to an international relocation? Living abroad is a rich and complex experience, which raises an important question: how—and why—should we evaluate it? Is it to strengthen an application for a new role and better reflect the value of our intercultural experience? To gain clarity about future goals in an international setting? Or perhaps to make sense of the reasons behind a return?
USA
As the year 2021 comes to an end, we're hoping for this very stressful period for expatriates all over the world to be over. Expats living in the USA on an E2 visa have been faced with a particularly complicated situation. In addition to the pandemic's impact on their businesses, they will also have administrative difficulties obtaining visas or even their renewal.
Everyday life
From October 1, 2021, South Africa moved to Alert Level 1 after multiple Covid-19 peaks, and life is slowly getting back to normal. Hannah, an expat from the UK, was lucky enough to relocate to Cape Town in September following her husband's intra-company transfer. She shares her views about expat life in the country she now calls home.
Everyday life
Does being an expat mean always being the outsider? Not quite at home in your host country and a little bit of a stranger to your home country. Stephanie discusses how she navigates this identity as a Brit living in Paris.
Moving
Expatriation started as a necessity when I was looking to progress with my academic studies of a Master's degree in England. However, it was earlier in my life, when I began travelling for leisure, that I figured out moving countries is a lifestyle I would like to revel in. Since 2007, I have lived and worked in five countries in Europe, Africa, and East Asia, and I am currently preparing for my next expatriation project. I may find it easier to board a plane and start all over again than deciding what to have for dinner, but the journey is not anxiety and sorrow-free. So, if you are interested in how a life away from everything you take for granted is, please don't ask me (or any other like-minded expat for that matter) any of the following questions — here's why.
Expat of the month
Everyday life
Angelica is originally from Verbania, Italy. It's been nearly ten years since she moved to the UK, hungry for independence and new experiences. She has also spent a year in Germany for her studies before going back to the UK and is currently in the process of obtaining British citizenship. She talks to us about living in London as an expat between Brexit and the Covid pandemic.
Articles from our local editions
Mauritius
In Mauritius, padel is experiencing a spectacular boom. Courts are multiplying, tournaments are being organized, and communities are growing. But beyond the trend, this sport plays a particular role in expats' lives. More than just a leisure activity, it has become an anchor point, a catalyst for meeting people, and sometimes even a genuine tool for integration.
Mauritius
Over the last fifteen years, Mauritius's job market has evolved rapidly. As the economy opened up, new sectors emerged, and international professionals increasingly chose the island, recruitment practices naturally followed suit. Today, recruiting in Mauritius is a far more structured and digital process, shaped as much by technology as by a renewed focus on people.
Mauritius
Born in the heart of Silicon Valley, Holberton School has quickly established itself as a major international player in digital skills training. Its intensive, practice-driven model is built almost entirely around hands-on work and real-world projects, aiming to align learning as closely as possible with professional realities. Now present in around twenty countries, Holberton opened its Mauritius campus in 2025 with a clear goal: to train job-ready tech professionals locally and meet the growing needs of the Mauritian and regional tech ecosystem. In this interview, Frédéric Waeber, cofounder of Holberton Mauritius, reflects on the school's educational philosophy, the rationale for its launch on the island, the challenges it has faced since its inception, and the opportunities emerging for students in a fast-changing sector.
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