Many feel that UK financial advisers do not have enough offshore experience to give the right advice, while many others look in vain to their banks to come up with solutions, only to find they can't or won't help.

This troubleshooting guide aims to help expats through those first unnerving weeks overse4as by answering some key financial questions.

Offshore bank accounts have a bad name - should I open one?

Don't believe the hype about offshore banking. It's not the banks but the customers who try and hide their cash offshore without telling the taxman that have the bad reputation.

Most offshore banks are perfectly reputable and expats should have an account in the country where they are living.

Do I have to move all my cash and investments abroad as an expat?

No, although where you live may affect interests rates and tax reliefs on some savings and investments. For example, tax relief on UK ISAs and pensions is only payable to UK residents.

Should I pick a place to live for tax reasons?

No. You should choose to live where you want and then structure your financial affairs in the most tax-effective way you can. Do you really want to live in Bulgaria because capital gains are only taxed at 10%?

What about my UK pensions?

You can't do anything about the State pension - you can receive payments overseas but you can't move it. You should consider consolidating the rest of your retirement savings in to a qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme (QROPS).

These offshore pensions are tax effective and offer more investment flexibility than a UK pension.

Where do I go for advice?

Expats fall in a black hole for financial advice. UK banks tend to shun helping because their products are designed for the UK market and are often uncompetitive with those offered by overseas banks. Qrops pension transfers are a specialist product so need experts advice

Standards for financial advice depend on the country you want to move to. A firm like QROPS.net can certainly help with pensions advice and our consultants will talk to you about health cover, life insurance and other savings and investments besides pensions.