19 November 2019
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A UK-based financial services firm - headed by former Guardian Wealth Management Middle East boss Hamzah Shalchi - has launched a specialist advisory service for expat workers relocating to the UK from countries in the Middle East and Far East.
Shalchi's new venture UK-based financial services firm Shalchi & Partners has launched the ‘Expat-Repat' service in a bid to capture a share of the repatriated expat marketplace where tax compliance, repatriation of foreign currency, mortgage broking and pension contributions are items of concern.
The company said in a statement that every year, a portion of the estimated 5.5 million UK citizens living overseas repatriate to the UK. The number of people returning
"Returning to the UK after time working overseas as an expat can be a big decision, filled with mixed emotions and financial unknowns," Hamzah Shalchi
home is rising as many of the Gulf nations, for example, are scaling back expansion plans.
Shalchi (pictured left) - who personally moved back from Dubai to the UK last year to launch his own firm - points to his first-hand experience of the complications involved in shifting his savings and assets in accordance with the British tax system. He believes that his new venture can help British workers negotiate the many financial challenges involved in repatriating to the UK.
"Returning to the UK after time working overseas as an expat can be a big decision, filled with mixed emotions and financial unknowns," he said. "Having been through it ourselves, we are perfectly positioned to address concerns over cross-border taxation liability, holdings in multiple currencies, the validity of insurance contracts, and much more.
"Just as you would hire a haulage company to move your physical belongings, we're offering a service that moves your financial assets smoothly and seamlessly."
The most recent figures published by the UK Office of National Statistics suggest that 784,900 British citizens live in EU countries, excluding Ireland and the UK itself. Millions more earn a living in Asia, Africa and the Americas, often enjoying tax free status. In the UAE, Britons represent the largest of any western community.
Brexit
Despite the UK economy suffering from Brexit-related uncertainty, numerous UK citizens return home every year, with many attracted by the UK's schooling and health system.
"The UK is a fantastic country to live in and a lot of people want to come back," said Shalchi. "Half of all British expats will repatriate at some point, typically after about six years living overseas. This gives us a huge potential market and we're very excited for the future of our service."
Shalchi & Partners was launched in the UK this year and offers a full suite of advisory services in such areas as pensions and retirement, savings and investments and wealth management, from its new London headquarters.
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