Brits Abroad Losing Out on Rights and Benefits

Thousands of British expats are losing out on significant rights and benefits by not registering in their country of residence according to The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). By formally registering in a new country, an expatriate and his or her family can become full members of the community with all the entitlements to local health and education systems as well as the other facilities that membership brings. In EU countries that have reciprocal arrangements with the UK, expats registering on arrival become classified as ‘resident’ and find themselves with the same rights and obligations as a local inhabitant. In some of the more popular locations, such as Spain, the FCO now has Spanish civil servants working alongside its Embassy colleagues advising on property issues, accessing local health facilities and registering with local authorities.

However thousands of British expatriates are missing out on these rights and benefits by not registering. British Honorary Consul, Deborah Hellyer, who is based in Menorca estimates the size of the British expatriate population in her neck of the Spanish woods to be 6,000. But the official figure records only 4,700, which means there are more than 1,000 Brits living in Menorca who have chosen not to register their presence. The FCO confirms a similar scenario is repeated in other popular expatriate locations around the world.

According to Hellyer, spurning such rights can make it much more difficult in emergency situations if assistance is needed when, say, a partner dies or if an injury or illness necessitates hospitalisation. Once registered, expats can be directed to find out about their rights via the regular briefings and pamphlets readily available from host country’s government departments.

Expats can find out more about relocation rights and information on setting up a business, retiring and buying property in Menorca by clicking on our Life in Menorca special report.  

Also, the FCO has lots of useful information pages and country-specific sites accessible via www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/