UK immigration was high on the agenda as a

Lloyds TSB International’s Global Mobility Seminar on 2 February brought together Joanne Haslehurst, director of global employer services at Deloitte, and Dr David Crawford, partner at Fragomen, to update delegates on UK immigration and expatriate tax issues. The recently published Lloyds TSB International Expat survey provided a timely backdrop to proceedings.

John Campbell, of Lloyds TSB International, highlighted some interesting insights into the way expatriates are currently thinking. Perhaps unsurprisingly in the present economic climate, UK expats are not rushing to come home and are extending their stays overseas where possible, with 85% of respondents falling into this category.

The survey clearly revealed that lifestyle factors are most important when considering a move abroad, and, as Mr Campbell underlined, this could be a valuable pointer for HR and those managing global mobility, if you can make that work for your employees.

Overall, 68% of those asked said that they felt happier where they were than in the UK, although this figure was much higher for some countries. There is certainly a case to be made for employee engagement and good communication to help ensure companies have their talent in the right overseas business locations.

On the financial side, the survey revealed that financial wellbeing is an important consideration for expats, but that the cost-of-living benefits were not overwhelming in many of the countries considered. Interestingly in these economically challenging times, there was low understanding of offshore banking and potential benefits.

Tax and immigration insights

International assignment managers are well aware that, for expats today, it is not all about the money. Joanne Haslehurst emphasised in her presentation on expat tax planning that it is important for HR to know what is behind a move and apply the appropriate policy. She observed that companies are moving in the direction of seeing the assignment itself as a benefit.

Included in her list of 10 essentials for creating the perfect international assignment was, of course, a relocation policy of substance, which was also flexible. She made the useful point that country specifics can be added as appendices to the policy as the need arises, covering, for example, how tax will be treated in a particular country.

Ms Haslehurst also highlighted the importance of keeping engagement with the individual throughout the assignment, to ensure there were “no shocks along the way”, such as breaking residence, with tax implications or compliance issues. A valuable reminder, too, when sending employees to the USA, to ask if they have a Green Card, because of the tax consequences.

David Crawford covered immigration to the UK. On the day that Immigration Minister Damian Green revealed that those wishing to settle in the UK could have to command a salary of more than £31,000, Dr Crawford explained the Points Based System and shed light on the tightrope the Government walks on immigration. It has pledged to cut net migration from 242,000 to ‘tens of thousands’. Details are expected soon from the Migration Advisory Committee, which reported recently that, for every 100 migrant workers, there were 23 fewer jobs for UK nationals. The selective-migration debate rumbles on.

Dr Crawford also explained the importance of being prepared for a UK Border Agency audit. As the UK gears up for the Olympics, he reminded the audience that we don’t know what the impact of the Olympics on immigration may be, and that companies could be impacted by a higher demand for Tier 2 spots.

We will be covering in more depth some of the issues raised in this valuable seminar, both on the website and in Re:locate magazine.

There are useful tools for your expats, providing global property prices, international schooling fees and cost of living for popular locations, at www.lloydstsbexpat.com