Recession still driving expats home

A new survey has revealed that over two-thirds of British expats living across the European Union are contemplating a return home thanks to the ongoing economic downturn.

The findings were announced in a poll undertaken by British foreign exchange specialist Moneycorp and discovered that the weakening pound, falling property prices and concerns for overseas job security were the main reasons behind the prevailing mood. Job security was given by one-in-three of those polled in what Moneycorp termed an ‘in-depth’ telephone survey which surveyed people over the last month.

The decline of property prices overseas was given as the second most common reason to consider packing up and coming home, closely followed by the continued weakening of the British pound. The latter was of particular concern to retirees who receive their pensions in sterling. Income streams generated from within the UK and the cost of money transfers have also impacted greatly on earnings.

The recession has been felt most strongly amongst expats in Spain, where the high unemployment rate (18%) has sparked fears of widespread job losses. 41% of Britons in Spain cited this as the main reason to return home whereas 28% said the pound was the major concern, which rose to 33% for those living in the stronger German market.

While some 70% of expats said they are contemplating a return, around one-third said they would definitely be back soon. As European businesses seek to reduce costs a surge of returning expats could well be nigh.