Expat Australia News

Latest 10 news items tagged Australia

14 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Expat Hongkongers protesting in Oz now fearing Chinese surveillance

Hong Kong expats who’re organising anti-Chinese events in Oz are now at risk from the new law. Three Australian expats are risking everything by speaking out over China’s controversial new security law as part of a growing resistance movement. A collective of Hong Kong expats hailing from New South Wales in Australia and calling themselves NSW HongKongers are now fearing their events have been the subject of surveillance by agents of the Chinese state. When interviewed by local media, the three insisted on anonymity including...
13 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Japan to allow expats trapped overseas to return in August

Expats and students trapped outside Japan will be allowed to re-enter in August. Expat residents and students who left Japan before April 3 and are now stranded overseas will be allowed to re-enter in August. In a majority of world countries, sudden governmental reactions to the grim reality of the coronavirus have left literally millions of travellers, expats and students locked out of their countries of residence and unable to get back to their home countries. Japan is no exception, with some 90,000 still stranded all over the...
9 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Reports of frozen expat bank accounts in Saudi are fake news

Saudi Arabia is now reassuring expats their bank accounts are safe from being frozen. Expat professionals began to panic after social media reports suggested the Kingdom is planning to freeze all foreign-owned personal bank accounts which show monthly incomes larger than account holders’ official salary payments. According to the Saudi Monetary Authority, the reports are fake news and expat professionals should ignore them as no such plan is in the governmental pipeline. The government spokesperson also stated that Saudi banks...
8 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Expats in Dubai raise money for sick kids by long-distance running

Caring expats living and working in Dubai are running every day in order to collect donations to be used for financing treatments for sick children whose parents aren’t able to afford the cost. One expat who’s always enjoyed running has helped turn his passion for the sport into a way to help the less fortunate by volunteering and raising money, with his latest challenge aimed at raising money for the Al Jalila Foundation’s Farah Programme. The charity funds life-saving treatment for children afflicted with cancer, heart disease...
7 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Saudi to extend expat residency and work permits

In order to mitigate the negative economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia is extending expats’ visas including work and residency permits. The move is aimed at the high number of working expatriates who found themselves stranded outside the kingdom when the lockdown was announced and all international flights were grounded. The Saudi government hopes the move will mitigate the chaos being caused to residents, private and public companies, investors and the Kingdom’s economic activity by the pandemic....
2 Jul at 6 PM 2020

ulf States worst hit by pandemic as expat professionals leave

Out of all world economies affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the Gulf States are considered to be the worst hit. Due to the region’s reliance on oil prices, the Gulf States are seeing a free fall in their economies as well as an unprecedented expat exodus. According to the International Monetary Fund’s bleak predictions, the six Arab states of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain are expected to lose 7;6 per cent of their revenue, in both the non-oil and oil sectors. Of course, the major impact on the...
25 Jun at 6 PM 2020

Stranded expat professionals disallowed return to Saudi Arabia

Yet another group of stranded expats is outside its country of residence with no obvious way in. Expats living and working in Saudi Arabia who were outside the country when the pandemic struck are now trapped and unable to return until further notice is given by the authority. According to the Directorate of Saudi Passports, the earliest date for the return of such expats is after the pandemic has been declared as ended. The authority will then officially announce permission to return. This way of dealing with expatriates whose...
18 Jun at 6 PM 2020

UAE now banking on air bridges to stimulate its economy

The United Arab Emirates is now planning to establish air bridges between the emirates and a number of European countries. With more than one eye on tourism as well as business travellers, the UAE is now in the planning stages for air bridges linking its airports with their counterparts in Europe. Should negotiations go well, both residents and expats should be able to travel without the fear of two-week quarantine periods. Australia and New Zealand were the first two countries which saw the value of this arrangement, and Cyprus is...
17 Jun at 6 PM 2020

Where to now for expats forced to leave Saudi?

Is Saudi Arabia finished as a favourite destination for expatriate workers? Those who predicted expat life as it’s known and loved would be snuffed out by the pandemic were ridiculed at first, but developments over the past several months have proved the doom-sayers may well be right. International media outlets are now reporting a massive exodus of both skilled and unskilled workers from countries formerly regarded as stable both politically and economically. Even the oil-rich Gulf States are losing talent at an unprecedented rate,...
11 Jun at 6 PM 2020

Lawsuit against FPI IOM and Quilter set to expose illegal IFA techniques

The multi-million pound lawsuit against Isle of Man insurers Friends Provident and Quilter International may open up a huge can of worms involving illegally working, unqualified IFAs across most major world expat destinations. The scam which is now unravelling in the world’s financial media is linked to the crash of Australian property investment LMIM and its spectacular failure during which thousands of expats lost their entire life savings. For some time before the crash, online financial experts in Asia were warning the so-called...