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Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Talk to me about relocating packages

22 replies

Boshi · 05/05/2023 15:50

Thinking about relocating to a well paid/tax free location. Reasons are complex.

I know packages aren’t as attractive as they used to be, anyone with any recent experience of what’s on offer? We have DC - do accommodation and school fees still come as standard?

OP posts:
MayBeeJuneSoon · 05/05/2023 15:51

You can move and someone pays? And private education too? Is this a new thing?

Boshi · 05/05/2023 16:12

@MayBeeJuneSoon if you are willing to move abroad and work in a relevant industry you can get expat packages - some help you relocate, pay for school fees, etc etc. I was just wondering what the current climate is with regard to that. It can in the Middle East, US, the downside (or upside) is that you would uproot your family for x years.

OP posts:
Cupcakequeen75 · 05/05/2023 16:13

A think just a little more information is required here as your question is just waayyy too vague!
I would say you are looking to relocate out of the UK as you mention a tax free location?

I had a house move (within the UK) paid for by my employer and it was great (the whole process cost me nothing and they even paid the difference in price for a similar house as they were moving me to a more expensive area) but I think you are looking for a bit more than that.

coxesorangepippin · 05/05/2023 16:14

Big thing in US is insurance obviously

Boshi · 05/05/2023 16:25

Apologies I mean abroad! Tax free locations like the ME. The objective would be to save as much as possible and return to the UK when dc are older.

My DH works in finance and I teach.

OP posts:
MayBeeJuneSoon · 05/05/2023 16:32

Oh! I fancied the Cotswolds..

HundredMilesAnHour · 05/05/2023 16:49

I'm in Finance and re-located to Asia a decade ago. Packages were already a lot worse then (compared to the 'old days') and myself and other expats I spoke to got one way flights (Business) out there, moving expenses (so container - based on your family size, plus some air freight if required) and 6 weeks paid for in serviced accommodation. After that you were on your own. This was a well know global bank. More longstanding expats were being moved off their expat deals and on to local contracts (so no perks) or asked to leave.

Some consultancies I've worked for only pay a premium economy flight, moving costs (within reason) and 2 weeks accommodation.

I don't know anyone who got school fees paid (or annual return flights etc). Those days seem to be long over in my field.

produ · 05/05/2023 16:54

@Boshi I know a teacher who went to the ME on an excellent salary & had the school fees fees as a "free" education was included.

produ · 05/05/2023 16:55

Also know a relative who went to Singapore & had the fees & accommodation paid

HundredMilesAnHour · 05/05/2023 16:55

@Boshi You might be better off asking for this thread to be moved to the Living Overseas board. A little less traffic there but you'll reach an audience with expat experience.

LilyMumsnet · 05/05/2023 17:02

We're just moving this thread over to the overseas topic for the OP. Flowers

Boshi · 05/05/2023 20:03

@produ was that recently? @HundredMilesAnHour that’s worrying as DH is in finance. It wouldn’t be worth moving if we had to spend it all on the lifestyle, not interested in the glitzy lifestyle more the ability to save more of our salaries

OP posts:
produ · 05/05/2023 21:34

the teacher went years ago but is still there. Singapore was about 4 yrs ago.

HundredMilesAnHour · 05/05/2023 23:46

Boshi · 05/05/2023 20:03

@produ was that recently? @HundredMilesAnHour that’s worrying as DH is in finance. It wouldn’t be worth moving if we had to spend it all on the lifestyle, not interested in the glitzy lifestyle more the ability to save more of our salaries

I don't know anyone in banking who gets school fees etc paid as expats. There are lots of people these days who want to work overseas so the banks don't need to attract people for expat roles by paying added benefits anymore.

I'm aware that free schooling is more common/usual for the children of teachers (at the school they're working at).

Maybe it's different in the Middle East but I don't know many expat bankers who moved there are it's not a great career move if you want to come back to London at some point. Asia is the more common move in Finance.

Be aware that accommodation costs can wipe out much of the tax savings.

produ · 06/05/2023 05:02

@Boshi my relative is in engineering something quite niche.

useitorlose · 06/05/2023 05:24

Ex-teacher in UAE here. DH not in teaching and has a role where he could work anywhere in the world, but we first moved here for a role with a logistics company that was based here (2018). DC grown up so not here. As a teacher, I would have had 2 free school places in the school I worked in. Bear in mind though, that you could be offered a job in a school that your child cannot attend, or that you would prefer them not to attend. By this I mean a charter school in AD (UAE nationals only, a Ministry of Education school (UAE nationals only) or a school that offers a curriculum you can teach but you don't want for them (perhaps US or IB). So, you've immediately narrowed your options and you're going to cost the school money because your DC are occupying places that paying customers cannot have, which can make single/childless teachers more attractive when recruiting.

Not all companies offer housing, flights and school fees. They will offer medical insurance, which is compulsory here. A poor offer would be visa for DH, medical cover for him, repatriation flights for him. That would mean you'd have to pay for your visa if not working/not covered by school, DC's visas, medical insurance for you and DC, flights for you and DC when leaving for good, plus of course any incidental travel. Some pay relocation expenses such as flights and shipping goods.

As a teacher who is married, the school can offer different employment packages to you than they would offer to single teachers. They may give you salary only as local hire and no benefits, so your DH or his company have to pay for your visa and medical insurance. They would still offer places for DC, if they meet the admissions criteria. A single teacher would have accommodation or an allowance, visa, medical cover, annual flights home, repatriation flight. There's a grey area between the two, and it's at the school's discretion, so sometimes they will have a married teacher on a school visa and provide medical insurance etc.

My DH's benefits include his visa (mine too if needed, but I'm sponsored by my employer instead), annual flights to UK for him and me, medical and dental cover for us both (I could have mine with my employer but his cover is better, so I don't), accommodation allowance and transport allowance. My employer provides my visa and a further accommodation allowance.

The core message here is that there's no such thing as a standard package. I know teachers whose accommodation is a tiny, dark studio barely bigger than a hotel room and others who have a lovely 1 bed apartment in a building where many colleagues also live, with a gym and pool. Teachers usually have to pay for their utility bills in staff accommodation.

It's up to you to see what offers you can get and whether it's worth it, but teacher recruitment for UAE posts is mostly completed between Nov - Feb. Anything available now is due to drop out, unexpected expansion or poor planning. Most advertise on TES but there are a lot of international teacher recruitment agencies too. Definitely don't come here unless you both have jobs though, the chances of DH getting a job once here are very slim.

Boshi · 06/05/2023 17:15

Thank you, it looks like it’s not as attractive as it used to be. My DH is making enquiries now, he used to get offers all the time but less so now. I’ll have a look at whether the dc school places could be covered from my side but I’m guessing it would only be in the school that I would be teaching at.

Thanks, lots to think about here

OP posts:
illiterato · 08/05/2023 18:12

With finance, it massively depends on which area and how senior, and exactly which country (because some ME countries/ emirates are a harder sell than others). If he's an MD in M&A at a major investment bank who's prepared to come and head up M&A for a banker SWF looking to grow its reputation in that area/ buy a bunch of stuff, that's a completely different kettle of fish to more routine FC/ country FD roles. One of the issues is that in Asia (Singapore in particular) and many ME countries, you're competing for the middle ranking roles with well qualified people from India and now SE Asia who leave families in home counties, live very frugally in country, but send a lot of money home. But they can make it worth it at a lot lower price than you could. Same is true of tech roles.

When we moved to Dubai in 2008 we got a full package (investment banking, equity sales) as still considered a hardship post - that is definitely no longer the case. When we moved to HK in 2009, we lost the package as HK was considered a desirable posting and they were like "pay the rent out of the tax you've saved- have fun kids" and tbh that was justifiable. Increasingly, they can hire locally in HK.

illiterato · 08/05/2023 18:14

*bank or swf - sorry- fat fingers

Oriunda · 09/05/2023 09:47

HundredMilesAnHour · 05/05/2023 23:46

I don't know anyone in banking who gets school fees etc paid as expats. There are lots of people these days who want to work overseas so the banks don't need to attract people for expat roles by paying added benefits anymore.

I'm aware that free schooling is more common/usual for the children of teachers (at the school they're working at).

Maybe it's different in the Middle East but I don't know many expat bankers who moved there are it's not a great career move if you want to come back to London at some point. Asia is the more common move in Finance.

Be aware that accommodation costs can wipe out much of the tax savings.

Yep, I concur. DH’s job had to move to an EU country post Brexit. He’s on a local contract. The only help we received was one month rental when he moved there first, help finding us a house, and our removal costs. On the plus side, he benefits from the excellent protected working conditions, and we have access to the excellent national healthcare system.

I know many expat families in our area; a mix of military and oil/energy type firms. They are true expats that remain on UK contracts and will be moved every 5 years or so. They therefore get their international school fees paid, rental etc.

Elvisrockstar · 11/05/2023 14:10

We are ex pats and I would say that most people we know are on a package to begin with but it usually - though not always - finishes after about three years when they get moved into local contracts.

AngryAndUnapologetic · 12/05/2023 16:13

As a teacher it is pretty standard to have free/heavily subsidised school places at your school, usually capped at 2 kids. Insurance should be included (for dependents, too). Flights home every second year (every year if lucky). Accommodation provided or an allowance offered, though not always enough for what you might want so some people top up out of their salary. Assistance with finding accommodation and, if necessary depending on the rental market rules in the country, assistance paying rent and deposits up front. These are the standards I would stick to, although packages are becoming more limited and I see teaching posts all the time with no offers for dependents, shared housing or none at all etc. Obviously those roles are not aimed at someone at your life stage!

Your husband's situation is different and both opportunities and packages for him could vary wildly. People do move abroad to work with just a job offer (and some go without even that) but an 'expat package' is designed to attract foreign talent and would typically include some assistance relocating and insurance at the very minimum. School fees, flights, and very attractive salaries are for higher end or more niche roles, generally.

I believe in the ME most places don't let you 'double dip' on benefits, meaning that if one partner has insurance/ schooling/housing then the other cannot also claim this.

Hope this helps. If your husband could work there then Malaysia is also worth considering. There are some great schools with decent packages and the pension fund basically means you leave after a stint of time with a decent lump sum, tax free. If you both work, that could be really significant.

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