India in top 10 places for expats in terms of family aspects

New Delhi: India features among the top ten destinations for expats in terms of 'family aspects of living' in the adopted country and 58 per cent of them believe the country is getting better as a place to live and work, says an HSBC survey.

In the HSBC 'Expat Explorer 2015' survey, India ranked 10th on the family league table, which ranks each country using a score that summarises the expats' views concerning the family aspects of living in the adopted country.

"The close-knit family culture in India is very dominant and expats find that countries with such strong family values bring them closer to their own families," HSBC India Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management S Ramakrishnan said.

Ramakrishnan further said that "in addition to providing a good environment for children to grow up in, a fulfilling work life and rich culture are some of the other reasons why 58 per cent of expats believe that India is getting better as a place to live and work".

Meanwhile, Singapore emerged as the best place overall for expats to enjoy an excellent quality of life, financial wellbeing and improved career prospects.

After Singapore, New Zealand was ranked as the second best place for expats followed by Sweden and Bahrain in the third and fourth place respectively.

Others in the top ten include, Germany (5th) Canada (6th), Australia (7th), Taiwan (8th), UAE (9th) and Switzerland (10th).

India ranked 17th on the country league table considering all parameters like economics, experience and family.

The report further said that India is seen as a good destination to relocate to as expat parents enjoy greater opportunities to make significant financial savings.

Around 51 per cent of expats in the country find their new job more fulfilling, with only 13 per cent less content in their career after moving. Expats in India also learn new skills and 82 per cent believe that the country is as good as or better for learning new skills than their home country.

One of the biggest challenges for expats in India is integrating into the Indian culture, with almost a quarter (24 per cent) in the country finding it difficult to do so, compared with the global average of 18 per cent.

Expats also felt that organising finances is harder than elsewhere as only 21 per cent found this easy to do as compared to 39 per cent of expats globally, the report added.