Expat South Africa News

16 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Expat dog owners in Malaga thrilled by its new doggie play parks

Lucky dogs in Malaga can now take their expat and local owners for a refreshing walkie in two large, brand new doggie-designated recreational areas. Malaga’s city council has allocated a total of 13,000 square metres in two sections for dog-owners to get exercise along with their furry best friends. The two dog-walking parks are located close by the Society for the Protection of Animals and Plants shelter and within the grounds of the Municipal Animal Health Centre, with the two areas together costing some 73 thousand euros and...

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....

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...

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....

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...

30 Jun at 6 PM 2020

Expats trapped outside Thailand can now return home

Expats trapped outside Thailand by the anti-coronavirus measures have been exchanging information via their own Facebook page. Now that the long wait is almost over, Western expats with jobs as well those with Thai wives and families will be permitted to return to their homes. Some have been trapped outside the country since the first measures to control the pandemic were introduced almost six months ago, guilty of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Facebook ‘Farangs Stranded Abroad Due to Lockdown in Thailand’...

26 Jun at 6 PM 2020

Expat owned Thai tourism businesses unhappy about government strategy

Expat SME owners and locals in Thailand's tourism sector are unhappy at government plans to target big-spender tourists. Thailand’s hospitality sector has been more than hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, losing up to 75 per cent of its annual visitor totals and forcing the permanent closure of large numbers of mid- and lower-range accommodation and eateries as well as top-end hotels and restaurants. The bulk of tourists who arrived before the outbreak were from China, travelling on package tours and using Chinese-owned...

26 Jun at 6 PM 2020

UAE expats on reduced salaries can survive by spending sensibly

Redundant or cash-strapped expats in the UAE can still get by if they adjust their payment habits. Whether you’re affected by redundancy or by your employer’s latest cost-saving measures including pay cuts , a few adjustments can get you through the hard times. Firstly, rental charges in the UAE are usually the major expense for expats, but an exploratory meeting with your landlord and a plea for clemency might just get you a rent reduction until you can find a new, better-paying job. If your landlord isn’t impressed, the next...