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20 | HSBC Survey
Having children and marrying into the local
population
More than a third of expats in Belgium had children since moving there,
followed by 32% of people living in Germany. Interestingly, a third of
Indian expats had children since moving away from India, in contrast with
just 4% of people from Hong Kong. Overall, the majority of expats who
have had children are in the 35-44 years old age category and this group is
third most likely to marry someone from the local country (over 65s are
the most likely to marry someone from the local community followed by
expats aged 45 - 54 years old).
People living in China are the least likely to add to their families – just
8% reported taking this step – followed by expats living in India (9%) and,
despite scoring highly for buying property and setting up a business, France
(10%).
Germany and the Netherlands are the best locations to find love, with a
quarter of expats in Germany (24%) and the Netherlands (23%) having
married a person from the local community.
Changed citizenship
Almost a quarter of South African and 16% of Indian expats were most
likely to change their citizenship once they had moved away from home.
Australians, Brazilians and Germans were least likely to take this step with
just 4%, 3% and 3% respectively deciding to change citizenship.
Expats in Australia and North America scored highly here – almost a
quarter (22%) of expats in Australia decided to adopt its citizenship, fol-
lowed by 20% in Canada and 14% in the US.
However, very few expats chose to take this step – with just 6% of those
surveyed overall permanently changing their
citizenship.
The age factor
Expats over the age of 55 reported that they face different and markedly fewer challenges settling in a new country than their younger respondents. The
hardest aspect for this group was learning the local language – with over half (54%) saying that they struggled with this aspect of making a new life abroad.
Surprisingly, overall, 18 - 34 year olds found making new friends the most challenging aspect of moving somewhere new – almost half claimed to struggle
with this – followed by finding somewhere to live, which was ranked by 39% of 35 - 54 year olds as the biggest obstacle when settling.
Further information
Please visit www.offshore.hsbc.com/expatsurvey for
further information.
HSBC Bank International
HSBC Bank International is an award winning
provider of offshore financial services, with its head
office based in Jersey, Channel Islands. It also has rep-
resentation in the Isle of Man, Dubai, Hong Kong,
South Africa, Singapore and affiliate offices in Malta
and London. Being a part of HSBC Holdings plc,
HSBC Bank International has the experience to offer
customers living and or working abroad, tailored off-
shore financial solutions. For more information visit:
www.offshore.hsbc.com
June 2009 Investment International www.investmentinternational.com
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