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Expat Citizenship News
Latest 10 news items tagged Citizenship
15 Jul at 6 PM 2020
Trapped expats in Thailand now dumped by their embassies
As if things weren’t bad enough already, Bangkok embassies are now refusing their trapped expats the necessary visa extension letters. For those expats trapped for months in Thailand and now under threat of fines and deportation as the visa amnesty ends, the last hope of an embassy letter supporting another extension of stay has now been snatched away by their own people. Both the British and USA embassies have now dumped their troubled citizens in the mire, as the letter is a mandatory requirement for trapped foreigners needing a...
13 Jul at 6 PM 2020
Hongkongers and expats mourning the loss of Hong Kong’s soul
As the Hong Kong crisis escalates, Hong Kong expats living in the UK are welcoming Britain’s offer whilst mourning the loss of the city’s soul. The British government’s offer to millions of Hong Kong residents of a pathway to UK citizenship is being welcomed by those expats already in the UK, but it’s being criticised for not being open to many of those desperate to leave. Coincidentally – or not, those Hongkongers born after the then colony’s return to rule by China in 1997 were those most active in the 2019...
13 Jul at 6 PM 2020
Second passports at bargain-basement rates offered by Caribbean nations
Now’s the time for expats to bag a discounted second passport as the Caribbean nations are having a fire sale due to the coronavirus. The tropical island nations in the Caribbean are highly reliant on tourism for their GDP and are suffering due to the pandemic-induced flight bans and lockdowns. As a result, they’re now offering steep discounts on their second passport schemes simply in order to bring in more cash. At the same time, second passports are being seen as one way to avoid being stranded whilst riding out the pandemic....
10 Jul at 6 PM 2020
Expats on Facebook protest dual pricing at Thai national parks and attractions
One long-term issue roundly disliked by Western expats as well as tourists in Thailand is the long-term practice of charging non-Thai visitors to attractions and national parks at least twice the amount paid by Thai citizens. Known in the country’s large expatriate community as ‘farang price’ – ‘farang’ being the Thai for Western foreigner – the practice has always caused controversy as well as anger as it’s been seen as discriminatory at best and indefensible at worst. Many tourists as well as expats living and...
9 Jul at 6 PM 2020
Accidental Americans take French banks to court over FATCA
An ‘Accidental American’ group at present living and working in France are now taking legal action based on the claim that FATCA is being used by French banks as an excuse to turn away USA expats’ bank account applications. The group’s complaint isn’t the first time certain worldwide banks have been accused of using FATCA as a basis for expat account refusals. The FATCA legislation includes swingeing penalties for foreign banks which refuse to comply with the new American regulations, and has caused refusals ever since FATCA...
8 Jul at 6 PM 2020
Kuwait plans mass deportation of expat workers
Expats in Kuwait are being warned over new plans to deport over two million expats. The threat of Kuwaitisation has been at the back of expats’ minds for the past few years, but the actuality may be closer than many believe. Pressure to drastically reduce expat numbers at all levels has been the main activity of a group of parliamentarians, but has mostly been focused on making it more difficult and less pleasant as an expat destination. News from the emirate’s manpower development division would suggest time is now running...
3 Jul at 6 PM 2020
Survey shows increase in US citizenship renunciations due to FATCA
A recent survey has revealed even more US expats are considering renouncing their citizenship. The USA is the only world country which taxes non-resident expat citizens on their world earnings, using a regime which causes confusion as well as anger amongst those it affects. Amazingly, this rule also applies to those known as ‘accidental Americans’, individuals who were born in the USA but had never lived there. Many attempts have been made to persuade the USA taxman to cancel the unfair ruling, but no action has been taken....
3 Jul at 6 PM 2020
Kuwaitisation and the pandemic causing chaos in Kuwait’s expat property sector
Kuwaitisation and the coronavirus are set to wreck the emirate’s real estate sector. Kuwaiti government measures to drastically reduce the numbers of expat workers in the emirate plus the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the housing market are set to wreak havoc on the emirate’s real estate market. The rulers’ attempts to reverse the ratio of expats and citizens to 30/70 has already had an effect on rentals and house prices, with the pandemic sending the sector into negative territory. To date, some 100,000 expatriates...
2 Jul at 6 PM 2020
Brit expats on Corfu divided over opening up
British expats on Corfu are not overjoyed by the government’s air bridge tourism start-up. In all of Greece, the island of Corfu is the most popular with foreign tourists and has suffered economically from the coronavirus pandemic. However, expats and citizens alike aren’t best thrilled at the prospect of hordes of Europeans arriving and bringing a second wave with them. The holiday island has been open for some seven days to date and is struggling to recapture its norm, but the thought of flights bringing in hordes of Brits is...
1 Jul at 6 PM 2020
