What is expatriates

Example: Michael grew up in the U. He started making significant income in a foreign country with a lower tax rate. Now that Michael is a high-income earner, he has a dilemma. In the U. Michael never visits the U. As a result, Michael does not want to pay the hefty additional tax to the U.

This is becoming more of an issue, as the International Tax and Reporting rules continue to become ever increasingly complex. Example: Ingrid came to the U. A few years later, she because a green card holder and has been in the U. Now it is and Ingrid wants to move back to Peru, but has amassed significant assets. Her children and grand-children are grown, and Ingrid wants to enjoy her sunset years in her home country.

From a U. If Ingrid wants to relinquish her green card, she must do more than just let her green card expire — she must file a Form I or pursue other relinquishment options and submit a Form Because Ingrid has been a green card holder for at least 8 of the last 15 years.

She may no longer be a valid green card holder but that will not eliminate her U. Rather, the person must take proactive action. In other words, the green card holder must take an affirmative step in order to remove the taint of U. The fact is, however, that most companies get anemic returns on their expat investments.

Over the past decade, we have studied the management of expatriates at about U. We asked both the expatriates themselves and the executives who sent them abroad to evaluate their experiences. In addition, we looked at what happened after expatriates returned home. Was their tenure worthwhile from a personal and organizational standpoint? Overall, the results of our research were alarming. Of those who stayed for the duration, nearly one-third did not perform up to the expectations of their superiors.

And perhaps most problematic, one-fourth of those who completed an assignment left their company, often to join a competitor, within one year after repatriation. If getting the most out of your expats is so important, why do so many companies get it so wrong? The main reason seems to be that many executives assume that the rules of good business are the same everywhere. Take the expat assignment process. Executives know that negotiation tactics and marketing strategies can vary from culture to culture.

Most do not believe, however, that the variance is sufficient to warrant the expense of programs designed to select or train candidates for international assignments.

Further, once expats are in place, executives back home usually are not inclined to coddle their well-paid representatives. Finally, people at the home office find it difficult to imagine that returning expats need help readjusting after just a few years away. As a result of such thinking, the only time companies pay special attention to their expats is when something goes spectacularly wrong.

Of course, some companies do engage in serious efforts to make foreign assignments beneficial both for the employees and the organization. Very often, however, such companies consign the responsibility of expat selection, training, and support to the human resources department. As a result, they often get bogged down in the administrative minutiae of international assignments instead of capturing strategic opportunities. Over the past several years, we have concentrated on examining the small number of companies that have compiled a winning track record in the process of managing their expats.

Their people overseas report a high degree of job satisfaction and back that up with strong performance. These companies also hold on to their expats long after they return home. The companies that manage their expats effectively come in many sizes and from a wide range of industries. Yet we have found that they all follow three general practices:. When making international assignments, they focus on knowledge creation and global leadership development. Many companies send people abroad to reward them, to get them out of the way, or to fill an immediate business need.

At companies that manage the international assignment process well, however, people are given foreign posts for two related reasons: to generate and transfer knowledge, to develop their global leadership skills, or to do both. They assign overseas posts to people whose technical skills are matched or exceeded by their cross-cultural abilities. Companies that manage expats wisely do not assume that people who have succeeded at home will repeat that success abroad.

They assign international posts to individuals who not only have the necessary technical skills but also have indicated that they would be likely to live comfortably in different cultures.

They end expatriate assignments with a deliberate repatriation process. Most executives who oversee expat employees view their return home as a nonissue. The truth is, repatriation is a time of major upheaval, professionally and personally, for two-thirds of expats. Companies that recognize this fact help their returning people by providing them with career guidance and enabling them to put their international experience to work. For as long as companies have been sending people abroad, many have been doing so for the wrong reasons—that is, for reasons that make little long-term business sense.

Foreign assignments in glamorous locales such as Paris and London have been used to reward favored employees; posts to distant lands have been used as dumping grounds for the mediocre. But in most cases, companies send people abroad to fill a burning business need: to fight a competitor gaining market share in Brazil, to open a factory in China, to keep the computers running in Portugal.

Immediate business demands cannot be ignored. But the companies that manage their expats effectively view foreign assignments with an eye on the long term.

Even when people are sent abroad to extinguish fires, they are expected to plant forests when the embers are cool. They are expected to go beyond pressing problems either to generate new knowledge for the organization or to acquire skills that will help them become leaders. Imagine a large Canadian company that wants to open a telephone-making plant in Vietnam. It would certainly send a manager who knows how to manufacture phones and how to get a greenfield facility up and running quickly.

Companies that manage their expats effectively, however, would require more of the manager in Vietnam. Once the plant was established, he would be expected to transfer his knowledge to local professionals—and to learn from them, too. Together, they would be expected to generate innovative ideas. New Word List Word List. Save This Word! We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Words nearby expatriate expansively , expansivity , ex parte , expat , expatiate , expatriate , expatriation , expect , expectancy , expectant , expectation. What does expatriate mean? Where does expatriate come from? Did you know How is expatriate used in real life? Try using expatriate! Warren Commission 5 of 26 : Hearings Vol. Our Southern Highlanders Horace Kephart. There are a number of requirements needed to become resident and not all expats will qualify.

However, following Brexit, the number of younger professionals is expected to rise, and a large number of British nationals are expected to return to the UK. With its unique culture and customs, Hong Kong is one of the most intriguing places to live as an expat.

Expats in the UK have plenty of choice when it comes to bank accounts. We take a look at the options. What is an expat? Call us Get a Quote. Brexit Expat life. Home Blog What is an Expat or Expatriate? Avin Talabani Transformation Manager. What is an expat or expatriate? How many expats are in the world? What are the best places to live in the world for expats? Becoming an expat There are many reasons why people become expatriates. Why do people become expats? What are the top international jobs for expats?

What is the difference between an expat and an immigrant? What is an expat life like?