Reasons why people move abroad from the UK

Brexit. After Brexit, UK citizens no longer have a special status in other EU countries. Now the UK is a nation outside the EU and is defined as a “third country”.

Britons can still stay in one or more EU member states for up to 90 days in any 180 days, but to move to Europe, they need a residence permit. Also, the professional qualifications of UK citizens aren’t automatically accepted anymore. 

Cost of living crisis. The rising cost of energy bills, interest rates, council tax, and food and petrol prices push Britons to find cheaper places to live. 

Tax policies are constantly changing and increasing costs. For example, from April 2022, the main rate of national insurance contributions pushed up for employees from 12% to 13.25%, and for employers — up to 15.05% from 13.8%.

An opportunity to work remotely. About two-thirds of UK workers are considering moving to other countries to work remotely. Portugal’s Cascais tourism board has introduced a campaign to bring a more significant number of Britons to the country through the Digital Nomad Visa to live in Portugal while working remotely for companies or clients outside the country.

According to a report by GlobeTrends, with a total of 35 million digital nomads worldwide, searches for such a visa have increased by 376% in the last two years.

Competitive job market. Many skilled professionals find that they can earn more outside the UK with better working conditions, fewer working hours, lower taxes, and a private healthcare system. 

Most Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy have flexible working hours, and workers often enjoy siesta during the hotter time of the day. Eating out and daily living is usually less expensive in many of these countries than in the UK.

Safety. London has high crime rates compared to other European cities. Between 2015—2016 and 2019—2020, the crime rate in London increased each year. In 2019—2020 the sudden drop was seen due to the Covid-19 pandemic causing a sharp reduction in certain types of crime such as robbery and theft.

Compared with 2013—2014, there were around 211 thousand more crimes in 2019—2020, a total of just over 912 thousand offences overall. Homicide offences accounted for 144 of these crimes in 2019—2020; this is about 1.3 times more than in 2015—2016 and 2016—2017. 

The recent rise in crime in the capital has happened alongside a decline in personnel and funding for the London Metropolitan Police. Compared with 2010, there were 3.2 thousand fewer police officers in 2020.

Move to retire. Senior people are hoping for a warmer and relaxing climate to live in. About 20% of Britons living in Europe are retired. 

An example of Portugal property for sale

Properties (ourhomeportugal.com)