If you plan to move abroad and you want a successful, trouble-free adventure, local knowledge is crucial,
says Hannah Beecham
Tattooed across Angelina Jolie’s shoulders are the eternal words, “Know Your Rights”. Unfortunately, thousands of British expats don’t, and are losing out on significant local benefits.
Take the island of Menorca. Official figures record 4,700 British expatriates living there, but estimates put the real figure at over 6,000. Similar discrepancies are repeated in other expatriate locations around the world. Yet by formally registering in a new country, an expatriate and his or her family can become full members of the community with access to local health and education systems, help in the case of emergencies as well as entitlements to all the other facilities that community membership brings.
Menorca’s Honorary British Consul Deborah Hellyer confirms that by registering with the local authorities on arrival in all EU countries and those with reciprocal arrangements with the UK, expats become classified as ‘resident’ and find themselves with the same rights and obligations as a local inhabitant. Staff at the local British Embassy or Consulate are there to help expats. Ms Hellyer describes it as a service which “signposts” expats to the right local government departments and relevant sources of information. The two notable exceptions where the FCO abroad cannot help are getting you out of jail or lending you money.
Read more in the October 2010 edition of Living Abroad Magazine
FCO Consular Officer Phil Lord, back in Whitehall, urges those Brits on the brink of moving abroad to “know before you go”. He invites all expats to check up on their rights in a new country via the FCO’s travel information pages or the country-specific sites at www.fco.gov.uk/travel
says Hannah Beecham
Tattooed across Angelina Jolie’s shoulders are the eternal words, “Know Your Rights”. Unfortunately, thousands of British expats don’t, and are losing out on significant local benefits.
Take the island of Menorca. Official figures record 4,700 British expatriates living there, but estimates put the real figure at over 6,000. Similar discrepancies are repeated in other expatriate locations around the world. Yet by formally registering in a new country, an expatriate and his or her family can become full members of the community with access to local health and education systems, help in the case of emergencies as well as entitlements to all the other facilities that community membership brings.
Menorca’s Honorary British Consul Deborah Hellyer confirms that by registering with the local authorities on arrival in all EU countries and those with reciprocal arrangements with the UK, expats become classified as ‘resident’ and find themselves with the same rights and obligations as a local inhabitant. Staff at the local British Embassy or Consulate are there to help expats. Ms Hellyer describes it as a service which “signposts” expats to the right local government departments and relevant sources of information. The two notable exceptions where the FCO abroad cannot help are getting you out of jail or lending you money.
Read more in the October 2010 edition of Living Abroad Magazine
FCO Consular Officer Phil Lord, back in Whitehall, urges those Brits on the brink of moving abroad to “know before you go”. He invites all expats to check up on their rights in a new country via the FCO’s travel information pages or the country-specific sites at www.fco.gov.uk/travel
