The Blacktower Group obtains Cyprus licence

What do you miss most as an expat?

Of course, there will be no shortage of new experiences available to you in your expat environment, especially if you are moving overseas to retire, but sometimes, it’s the smallest things that might bring a lump to your throat…or a rumble to your stomach, maybe.

Perhaps this was the case for one group of British expats who chartered a plane to fly in a large delivery from their favourite curry house in Portsmouth.

James Emery, an aviation assessor for trainee pilots in France, piloted the small aircraft which flew 89 meals from Solent Airport all the way to Bordeaux.

“I’m a chilli addict, “he said, “and an aviation geek, so I thought I would combine my two hobbies to get my favourite meal to me in France.”

Living as an expat in Spain, or indeed in any other country, brings particular and sometimes very complex wealth management requirements because managing personal finances across multiple jurisdictions is inherently complex and invariably requires specialist advice.

This goes some way to explain why thousands of British expats have recently been caught and penalised for either failing to pay taxes or unlawfully claiming British pension and other social security benefits while living and, in some cases, working abroad.

Cross-border taxation for expats is a notoriously confusing area of wealth management and can seem especially onerous with new data sharing and enforcement rules in place. Unfortunately, not all asset managers are as familiar with tax reporting requirements as they should be. This may seem inconceivable, but wealth management professionals in Spain, across Europe and indeed the globe have an obligation to clients to ensure that they understand and follow all the rules.