The Office for National Statistics in the UK has produced its latest International Passenger Survey, which is a survey they conduct on a random sample of passengers who are entering and leaving the UK by air, sea or the Channel Tunnel. Data from the survey is used to, among other things, estimate the numbers and characteristics of migrants into and out of the UK.
Over a quarter of million face-to-face interviews are carried out each year with passengers entering and leaving the UK, and the latest detailed figures from the survey show that 310,000 people left Britain to live abroad in the 12 months to September 2010, which is 50,000 down on the previous year and well down from the peak of recent migration which was seen in 2008 when 409,000 left to live abroad, mainly in Australia and Spain.
So why are fewer Britons moving to live abroad? We decided to get back in touch with a sample of 50 readers who had contacted us over the last eighteen months advising Shelter Offshore that they were in the planning stages of relocation. We asked them whether their plans had come to fruition or changed, and if they hadn’t moved abroad, what was holding them back…
Money Matters
41 of our sample of 50 readers told us categorically that financial worries were the number one concern for them when they were in the final stages of planning their relocation. Issues specifically cited included whether an investment income (from a pension for example) was going to be sufficient for respondents to live on abroad because of a) inflation b) cost of living and c) currency exchange. Also, the cost of living overseas was specifically cited as of concern to 24 of our 50 readers.
It seems that money matters are uppermost in would-be expatriates minds – perhaps now more so than ever. This is of course of little real surprise. Economically the UK has been badly impacted, as have many of the most popular relocation destinations such as Spain for example. Furthermore, sterling is continuing to suffer badly next to currencies such as the euro – which can literally cost expats heavily.
How Many Made the Move?
Bearing in mind that when they contacted us originally our sample 50 readers had all stated categorically that they were planning on relocating aboard, it is interesting to note how things have changed for them over the last 18 months. 37 respondents have gone ahead and made the move happen, 7 still intend to move in the next 6 – 12 months, but the remaining 6 have changed their plans and are staying in the UK.
Of the 7 still intending to move, all 7 advised that they had been forced to delay their plans. 4 because of property related problems (i.e., not being able to sell or rent out their UK home) and 3 because of work related issues, identified as work or business plans falling through or changing in the interim.
So Why Have Plans to Move Abroad Been Abandoned?
We got back in touch with the 6 respondents who advised us that they had changed their plans and who were now no longer committed to moving abroad, because we wanted to understand what had led them to changing their minds. The responses were universally related to economic fundamentals.
Some did not have the financial security they felt they needed to commit to a relocation, others didn’t feel the time was right, economically speaking, for them to take such a risk. 2 of the 6 were of retirement age, 4 were working age Britons.
The retired Britons advised that they had shelved their plans permanently and were instead committed to retirement in the UK. One explained that there were just too many uncertainties that all came back to the bottom line which was affordability.
In terms of the working age Britons, all had families to support and the impression we were left with was once again the fiscal uncertainty being too great a burden to risk.
In Conclusion
The statistics from the ONS clearly demonstrate that fewer Britons are making the move abroad – and our own findings reveal that economic instability and fiscal uncertainty are responsible for undermining people’s plans and ambitions of expatriation. Even when people have made the bold decision to start a new life, some are still scuppered at the last moment by the weight of uncertainty they will now face if they make the move because of everything from job insecurity to a weakened property market, and from currency concerns to worries about investment returns.