Features

Christmas is a season where expats feel the blues the most. The nostalgia of spending the season surrounded by family and friends, reliving traditions passed on from one generation to another, gift giving and the sumptuous food on the table are all enough for one to go mad when away from home. Unfortunately, sometimes expats have to stay in their host countries over the holidays. But who says this means you cannot offer presents to your loved ones?

In this feature we interview a first time expat, Mary Christianne who recently made a big move from Manila, Philippines to Pennsylvania, United States. In our Expat.com interview with her, she talks about how it is spending the holidays alone for the first time in her twenty plus years in life, her plans for the holidays and how she will cope with being away from home this Christmas.

It's been almost two years since thousands and thousands of expats in Saudi Arabia started making their exit due to the Kingdom's newest Saudi Nationalisation Scheme (also known as Nitaqat). According to the saudization policy implemented by the Ministry of Labour & Social Development, companies must hire Saudi nationals and expats on a quota basis, which favours the former. Almost two million expats have left Saudi Arabia since 2017 within the scope of a 2020 National Transformation Program, with no signs of an end to the mass exodus.

More and more qualified professionals are betting on Taiwan as an expat destination.  The country seems to be coming out of the shadows making a notable entry into the top 20 countries that are attracting more and more qualified professionals. The study published last month, and conducted by the Institute for Management and Development (based in Switzerland), looks at the capacity of states to grow, to become more attractive, and to attract new foreign talent. How can we explain spurt of attractiveness of Taiwan to foreign professionals?

On 25 November, the Kingdom of Kuwait added diabetes, a non-contagious health problem, to its existing list of contagious diseases that prevents expats from living in the country. This, however, is not an unusual move. A lot of countries deny entry to expats having specific medical conditions...

They said they would so they did. December 5th, marked the beginning of a new general strike movement in France. Causing mayhem is the pension reform announced for the end of year. The government is following the case closely. A year after the beginning of the yellow vest movement, is it regaining momentum?

The "Skilled Worker Immigration Act", introduced earlier this year by the German Federal Government, will be coming into effect as from March 1, 2020. The aim would be to cut down labour immigration to Germany regarding third-country nationals. In short, not everyone will be able to move to Germany for work or vocational training. Profiles will be screen individually to meet the country's needs.

Food has always been one of the most important and most common means of exchange between people. It is a never-ending trend as it borders between necessity and pleasure. Food represents comfort and a moment of happiness, as some even say that “love comes through the stomach”. Our fond memories of tastes and smell enable us to travel through time and space and to feel what we felt in one moment of bliss.

Perhaps second only to country of choice, one of the most important decisions we make as expats is whether to rent or buy a property. For temporary employment overseas, this is rarely a consideration, but for those relocating permanently, whether for retirement, lifestyle-change or some other reason, deciding whether to rent or buy is a major decision.

Denmark has just launched a six-month programme to help expatriates integrate. Indeed, leaving everything behind to settle in an entirely new country is never an easy thing to do. Just like Denmark, some countries seek to make things a little easier on expats by providing them with integration courses. Here are the countries that do and the different forms these programs take.

If you're planning to move abroad, driving conditions in your destination is not likely to be a decisive factor (or it might be, who knows?). Either way, it is always interesting to know what to expect. Here are the best and worst cities for drivers according to the Driving Cities Index 2019.

Lyon is France's oldest and second largest city, a leading silk producer in Europe and was also known for its printing presses and mercantilism. To this day, this French city is still a financial and business hub as recognized by Arthur Loyd Law Firm when it ranked it top most attractive city in France for the third year in a row. For expats searching for a place to settle, Lyon is an excellent option to work and reside.

Turn on a television, open a newspaper, click on social media and it feels as though everyone is talking about terrorism. As the Institute for Economics & Peace releases its Global Terrorism Index 2019, we take stock of the situation and we ask the question: “Should the prospect of terrorism deter anyone from settling abroad?”

Moving to a new place can be stressful. Juggling between a new job, the feelings of homesickness, a -sometimes difficult- integration to a new environment. Here are a few tips on how to take care of your mental health.

Are you thinking of spending your golden years outside your home country, but all the glossy brochures about retiring abroad are demonstrating unrealistic lifestyles for someone with your budget? We believe that finding your retirement heaven shouldn't be a privilege for the rich only. Many countries offer a good quality of life at a reasonable cost, and even if you don't have a ton of savings, you can still enjoy a happy retirement. Let's find them out (in alphabetical order)!

Singapore regularly tops the list of the most expensive cities in the world. In 2023, it tied with Zurich in first place among the most expensive cities in the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The same year, a report by Mercer called Singapore the best city for expats in Asia. However, in recent years, Singapore has been experiencing a continuous exodus of expats. Even those who have called it home for a long time are starting to reconsider.

The tech world, already shaken in 2022-2023, is still in turmoil. As AI continues to develop, other sectors will come under the scrutiny of multinational corporations. What does this mean for aspiring expats? Should this be seen as a risk for international recruitment?

To stand out on the international job market and further strengthen the position of the European Union, the European Commission announced the creation of a European diploma. What does this mean for potential international students in Europe?