Guides — expatriation news
All our news in the Guides section: reforms, conditions and figures, with their sources and dates, newest first.
Guides
United Arab Emirates: a cap on vehicles per resident in 2027
A new federal traffic regulation, applicable from 1 January 2027, caps the number of vehicles registered per individual resident. Additional fees will apply beyond the first two vehicles.
· Editorial team
Guides
Thailand: visa exemption proposed for Colombia and Mexico
Thailand's Ministry of Tourism wants to propose visa-free entry for travellers from Colombia, Mexico and Uzbekistan. The committee in charge of visa policy is due to examine the file at a meeting on 9 November.
· Editorial team
Guides
European Union: ETIAS could be delayed even further
The ETIAS travel authorisation system is not in operation, and the official portal has removed its 2026 launch date. According to the source, implementation could slip to spring or the last quarter of 2027.
· Editorial team
Guides
Tax treaties: why they change everything when you leave
Leaving France is not enough to stop being taxable there. Domestic law sets four alternative criteria; the tax treaty, where there is one, then settles the matter. Understanding the order of these two steps avoids most unpleasant surprises.
· Editorial team
Guides
Tax residency: the pitfalls of years “between two countries”
The year of a departure or a return is when two states can claim the same taxpayer. The rules that then apply are not intuitive, and this is where tax reassessments are concentrated.
· Editorial team
Guides
Crypto: where to declare capital gains after leaving France
After leaving France, the question is not where you would like to declare your gains on digital assets, but where the law attaches them. Three rules decide, and the date of sale is only one of them.
· Editorial team
Guides
Exit tax: the three most costly timing mistakes
The exit tax is rarely lost on the substance and often on the timing. Three date mistakes are enough to turn a deferred, then cancelled, tax into a tax that is payable immediately.
· Editorial team
Guides
French schools abroad: the AEFE network in figures
The network of French schools abroad is one of the most concrete arguments for moving abroad as a family. It is also one of the heaviest items of expenditure, and its geographical coverage is very uneven.
· Editorial team
Guides
Exit tax: automatic deferral reserved for the EU
Deferral of exit tax payment is automatic for moves within Europe and conditional elsewhere. This asymmetry makes the choice of destination a cash-flow decision as much as a life plan.
· Editorial team
Guides
Expat health insurance: what to check
Health insurance is the item that most often decides whether a move abroad is viable, and the one examined last. Five points determine its real value, and none of them appears on the first page of a quote.
· Editorial team
Guides
Tax residency: the four criteria of Article 4 B of the CGI
Article 4 B of the French General Tax Code (code général des impôts) sets out four criteria for tax domicile, and they are alternative. Just one is enough to make you a French tax resident, however many days you spend elsewhere.
· Editorial team
Guides
Holding companies: why and where to domicile one
Domiciling a holding company abroad moves nothing if its management stays in France. The deciding criterion is not the commercial register but the place where decisions are made.
· Editorial team
Guides
Banking abroad: opening an account before you leave
Opening an account abroad before leaving is rarely possible, and rarely useful. The right question is not when to open it, but in what order the residence permit, local ID and bank account follow one another.
· Editorial team
Guides
Leaving without mistakes: the checklist for the six months before departure
A departure is prepared in a precise order, and several deadlines are mandatory. Here is what you need to have done six months before, three months before, and on the day of the transfer.
· Editorial team
Guides
International removals: the six-month timeline
An international move is organised around practical constraints that administrative procedures ignore. Three of them determine the timeline: the container, pets and the vehicle.
· Editorial team
Guides
Nationality and double taxation: common misconceptions
Changing nationality does not change which State has the right to tax you. Three misconceptions account for most of the mistakes made on this point, and they can be corrected in a few lines.
· Editorial team
Guides
Form 2074-ETD: don't miss the departure return
The return declaring unrealised capital gains in the year of departure is a formality nothing can replace. Forgetting it, or the follow-up returns, makes the tax immediately payable.
· Editorial team
Guides
How to choose your expatriation country: the 5-step method
Choosing a country to move to by starting from taxation almost always ends in disappointment. Here is the order in which the five questions should be asked, and why taxation comes last.
· Editorial team
Guides
Choosing your country: five criteria beyond taxation
Taxation is the easiest criterion to compare, which is why people stop there. Yet five others more often decide whether a move succeeds or fails.
· Editorial team
Guides
CBI or residency: which route for your plan?
Citizenship and residency meet two different needs, and one never replaces the other. Asking the questions in the right order rules out most plans before they cost anything.
· Editorial team
Guides
Moving abroad as a family: check the schools first
For a family with school-age children, the availability of a place in a suitable school decides the destination. It is the only variable in an expatriation project that cannot be negotiated.
· Editorial team
Guides
2025 in review: the year of major tax reforms
A single logic runs through recent reforms: incentive regimes are tightening, no-tax jurisdictions are demanding real presence, and transparency is spreading. Three movements, one direction.
· Editorial team