Share your experiences about expat life in this survey

Life as an expat can be incredibly rewarding, allowing you to sample various different ways of life and broaden your horizons by meeting new people and adapting to new environments. But expat life can also be a challenge, as families around the world encounter various hurdles when attempting to start a life and career in a new, and most likely unfamiliar environment.

If you’re a spouse or partner of an employee who works at an international company, or if you work in HR or recruitment for an international business, you can participate in Permits Foundation’s International Dual Careers Survey 2021. Your help and feedback could provide valuable information that will allow for improved support for other expat families and their access to employment opportunities around the world.

Update: Sadly, the survey is now closed to responses. Thank you to all that participated!

Take this survey to help other expats around the world

This year’s survey features questions relating to the types of jobs and positions currently on offer for expats, the willingness of families of expats to travel, concerns around health and safety, and the impact of moving on their mental health. The survey also looks at the assistance that companies provide and whether there is an increased duty of care pre-assignment.

Your participation and feedback will play a key role in Permits Foundation’s work, and will help them to understand how the expat experience has evolved in recent years as a result of the pandemic, and will allow the Foundation to build an effective case for international dual careers’ policies in nations around the world. Take part in the survey here!

The International Dual Careers Survey will be available online until November 30. All survey responses will be confidential, and no persons will be individually identified in the results collected.

Learn more about what Permits Foundation does to help support expats

This year, Permits Foundation celebrates 20 years of advocacy in support of international dual careers. While you may not have heard of them before, if you’re a member of an expat family and you or your partner work outside of your home country, there is a good chance that the Foundation’s advocacy has had an influence on your experience as an expat.

Based in The Hague, Permits Foundation is a non-profit organisation that works to enable access to employment for spouses and partners of highly-skilled international employees in countries all around the world. Approaching the issue at a government level, the Foundation engages with key policymakers, providing evidence-based advice and recommendations for improved legislation.

Permits Foundation is the only organisation carrying out advocacy solely and specifically on this issue. Since the Foundation was formed, over 30 countries have implemented new legislation enabling partners of international employees to access work via their dependant status, including the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. The Foundation’s advocacy has contributed to work authorisation for family members of intra-corporate transferees and Blue Card holders EU-wide.