Planning a Relocation Home to the UK or Europe from Singapore
Your boss is planning your farewell party and your head is full of lists of how to seamlessly move yourself and your family home after a few years enjoying a comfortable ex-pat lifestyle in Singapore. While heading home to the UK or Europe after living in Singapore is a daunting prospect, the process doesn’t have to be. Whatever the reason for your move back to your country of origin, moving internationally requires careful planning and a hands-on team to take care of the process.
Communicate with Your Moving Specialists
This is not something to leave until the last minute. Contact your removalist company with plenty of time up your sleeve. At Allied, we understand many of the difficulties you’re facing and therefore make it our priority to ensure the actual moving process isn’t one of them. Our experience with international removals allows us to create a detailed plan for each of our clients. To understand the moving process more easily, we have published articles on this very topic, which it is recommended you take a look at to put your mind at ease.
Moving internationally means dealing with customs and the possibility of facing bureaucratic issues in different countries. Leave this to the professionals while you focus on shopping around for souvenirs to take back to family and friends. Allied has experience with registration and documentation for moving overseas so we can help you with this process.
Singapore enjoys an amazing, rich and colourful culture so you will probably want to take goods that remind you of your time in Asia. If you’ve developed a taste for certain Singaporean delicacies, you may want to take home some edible items. If you’re planning to carry food in your luggage, make sure it isn’t a restricted item and have a look on the internet to check customs regulations.
Taxes and Benefits
There are many financial aspects involved during an international relocation and there are a few things to keep in mind when moving back home. The UK and Singapore have an agreement in place to avoid double taxation on income. Taxes are to be paid in your country of residence thereby making the process to notify authorities fairly straightforward. If you continue to own properties or business interests in Singapore, it is important to talk to an accountant to ensure you pay the right amount of tax. There might be significant differences in other European countries, so do your research.
If you are returning to the UK, you are entitled to health cover. Those who need assistance settling in can apply for benefits by taking the Habitual Residence Test for Returning Expats. Other countries might require citizens to work for a certain period before they can claim benefits or receive health cover so it pays to be well acquainted with the rules.
Readjusting to Your Big Move
Even though you’re coming home if you’ve lived abroad for many years everything will most likely seem quite foreign. Even with frequent visits back to your country of origin, it’s likely you’ll need time to adjust after you’ve settled in. Go gently and don’t put pressure on yourself to get back into the swing of things by planning your social reunions all at once. You may feel like being a hermit until the surroundings become more familiar to you.
The cold chill of the UK and especially a European winter will seem very different to the constant heat and humidity of the tropical Singaporean climate. If you’ve never been a fan of the high humidity, you may even start to look at Singapore’s searing temperatures through rose-coloured glasses and long for the languorous lifestyle yet again.
To find out more about Allied's moving services, or to book a consultation, visit www.alliedpickfords.com.sg or call +65 6862 4700.
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