Expat India News

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...

6 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Expat retirees in Spain warned over cold calling internet scam

British expats living in Spain are at risk from scamming cold-callers originating in Indian call centres. Yet another internet scam is targeting British expats living, retiring or working in Spain’s Costa del Sol region. The cold-calling crooks pretend they’re from Microsoft as regards fixing a non-existent computer issue. Many thousands of expatriates are receiving the calls, which either claim the recipient’s Windows programme is an illegal copy or it’s infected with a computer virus. The expat recipients, mostly elderly...

25 Jun at 6 PM 2020

Expats in luxury Dubai homes warned to increase security after double murder

Expats in the UAE are concerned about their safety and security after dual murders in Dubai. Dubai’s reputation as a safe haven for expats and their families has been one reason for its popularity with professionals deciding which job to take. However, as the coronavirus changes the way foreign residents live and severely affects those who’re losing even the most basic of unskilled jobs, expats even in gated communities are being urged to take care. Last week, Dubai police reported an Indian couple had been found murdered in...

7 May at 6 PM 2020

Expats in Prague love the city’s varied international food stores

Expats living and working in Prague may be forbidden to travel but can still buy food favourites from across the world. Travel bans and lockdowns have become the norm for expat professionals living and working in Prague, but the city’s international food stores can provide the ingredients for a truly international taste thrill. The Czech Republic is now lifting its quarantine regulations, causing expats as well as locals to venture out to favourite food stores and either stock up on supplies or arrange home deliveries. Being...

4 May at 6 PM 2020

Brit government warns would-be expats to postpone their departures

If you’re a British would-be expat planning to take a reconnaissance trip to your potential overseas expat haven, the government would rather you stayed at home. The warning comes from Transport Minister Grant Shapps, who’s begging would-be expatriates not to book a flight just yet in case the destination is still on the ‘high risk’ list for the virus. Shapps added it’s nothing to do with social distancing, but those in charge have no real idea when it will be safe to cancel the present lockdown. A review of its status is...

28 Apr at 6 PM 2020

UK finally gets its act in order as regards repatriation flights

Thousands of stranded British expats and tourists are finally being repatriated from the Indian sub-continent. After huge numbers of British citizens stranded overseas took to social media to complain about the UK government’s lack of action as regards getting them home, it seems the message is finally getting through. Over the next week or so, thousands trapped in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India are to be flown home using a fleet of 311 chartered planes. The much-needed air bridge is expected to provide transportation for over 7,000...

22 Apr at 6 PM 2020

Embassies advising expats to go home rather than risk infection

Now that the coronavirus has reached the Gulf States and Indonesia, governments are having a more difficult time getting expats to follow emergency laws. Oman’s huge expat community comprises Western expat professionals and Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi blue collar workers in the private sector. Whilst expat professionals are either working from home or have returned to their home countries for the duration of the pandemic, those from the Indian sub-continent are living in shared houses being used as dormitories, putting them at...

6 Apr at 6 PM 2020

Expats in Kuwait now facing lockdown of foreign residence areas

As coronavirus infections soar within Kuwait’s expat community, the state government is mulling a total lockdown of all foreign residence areas. As the emirate reports 77 new cases, 74 of whom are expatriates, its first death was declared on Sunday and its total of confirmed infections increased to 556. The vast majority of the new cases involve expats from India, with Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Iranians and Egyptians. To date, no Western expatriates have been reported as having the virus. In addition to possible lockdowns in expat...

16 Mar at 6 PM 2020

Fight to end Brit expat frozen pensions gets tougher as campaign ramps up

Brit expat retirees in Commonwealth countries to remain on frozen pensions whilst those in the EU will get uprates. As British retirees living in EU member states post-Brexit sigh with relief at the news their state pensions will be uprated, their equivalents in Commonwealth countries are being denied parity yet again. The British government’s press release on last Monday’s Commonwealth Day hit a sour note with its hollow message of a ‘common future’ coupled with its ignoring of the financial plight of retired Britons in...

25 Feb at 6 PM 2020

How are expats in Singapore coping with the coronavirus crisis?

Is the coronavirus epidemic wrecking Singapore’s record on safety? One of the major plus-points of Singapore as an expatriate professional destination is its long record of overall safety. Due to its geographic location, the risks of natural disasters are very low, as tsunamis and tropical cyclones seem to avoid the city state and volcanic eruptions aren’t close enough to cause anything more than ash clouds. Another positivity for expat residents on the island is the openness which allows the harmonious multicultural existence of...