Relocation and residence
Moving to, from or between countries, and what changes for your pensions, property and tax position when you do.
IFA.AE · Private Office
A Private Office for an International Life
Your financial life is more than a collection of investments.
Where you live, the property you own, the people who depend on you, your business interests and the future you want to create are all connected. We help internationally mobile individuals and families see the whole picture, and put the right expertise around it.
Our approach
We begin with your life, not a financial product.
IFA.AE provides an experienced first point of contact for individuals and families managing complex international circumstances.
We help you explore your priorities, organise the questions that matter and identify where specialist professional support is needed.
From retirement and relocation to property, family protection and estate planning, our starting point is always the same: understanding you.
Where regulated financial, investment, mortgage, legal or tax advice is required, it is provided by appropriately qualified and authorised professionals, and we coordinate the introduction so nothing is lost between them.
The moments that bring people to us
Life events, viewed together
Retirement and independence
Bringing UK, offshore and workplace pensions into one clear view, so you know what you have and what your options are.
Family and protection
The people who depend on you, and making sure they would be looked after whatever happens.
Property and borrowing
Homes and investment property in more than one country, refinancing and borrowing, with introductions to appropriately authorised lending specialists where required.
Business and succession
Your business, your family and your plans for an exit, considered together rather than in separate rooms.
Marriage, divorce and change
The life events that reshape your finances, approached calmly and with the right specialists alongside you.
Wills and powers of attorney
UK Wills and lasting powers of attorney that reflect an international life, prepared by specialist estate planning professionals, with solicitors involved where the matter requires it.
Estate and inheritance tax
UK inheritance tax considerations, including the April 2027 pension changes, for families with assets in more than one country.
QROPS and UK pensions
Pension planning for British expats in the UAE, and those returning home
Whether you hold a QROPS, a SIPP, a frozen workplace pension or several of each, the right decision depends on where you live now, where you will retire and how the rules in each country treat your money.
Where pension advice is needed, including on QROPS and pension transfers, it is provided by an appropriately authorised UK adviser. We confirm who they are and how they are regulated, in writing, before any work begins.
QROPS reviews and transfers
Whether to retain, restructure or transfer, with charges, performance and tax treatment set out clearly.
Returning to the UK
Timing, UK tax residence and how to bring your pensions together before and after you arrive.
UK pensions while living in the UAE
SIPPs, frozen workplace schemes and the April 2027 inheritance tax changes, reviewed as one plan.
Transferring a pension is a significant decision and is not right for everyone. The value of investments can fall as well as rise. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change.
Private Office
Your financial life is not a collection of products.
Private Office begins with understanding the whole position: what you own, what you owe, who depends on you and what you are trying to achieve, before any single decision is taken.
Explore Private OfficeEstate and legacy
Your estate is the investment. Planning is how it performs.
The pension, the property, the savings, the investments: none of it protects itself. Without the right structure it is vulnerable to inheritance tax, to the wrong people receiving it, and to your family being left without the legal authority to manage it when they need to most.
Estate planning is not a task to complete. It is the framework that ensures everything you built survives your lifetime, your succession and the generations that follow.
Business owners
Personal and business wealth, considered together.
For entrepreneurs, the business is often the largest part of the financial position. We help you set out what matters for the business and the family, and bring in the corporate, tax and legal specialists needed to protect and grow its value.
International
International planning, from a UK base.
From the United Kingdom, one of the world's most established financial centres, we work with British and international families whose affairs cross borders.
Dedicated regional desks serve clients across the Gulf, as well as in the United Kingdom and other international jurisdictions.
Regional desks
How it works
Clear at every step, and nothing happens without your agreement
- 01
A free consultation
Your circumstances, what prompted you to get in touch, your priorities and the countries involved.
- 02
Clarity on what you need
Where you need financial advice, and where tax, legal, mortgage or estate planning expertise is required.
- 03
Scope and fees in writing
Who will act for you, what they will do, what it costs and any introduction arrangement, agreed before work begins.
- 04
Advice and coordination
Advice from the right professional, with IFA.AE keeping every part of the plan connected.
Frequently asked
QROPS and UK pension questions returning expats ask most.
Once you regain UK tax residency, your QROPS is treated very differently. Withdrawals can become subject to UK income tax and HMRC reporting obligations begin immediately. The structure that suited you offshore often works against you on return — which is why most returning expats benefit from a review before they land.
Not automatically. A UK SIPP and a QROPS can differ in fees, investment choice and tax treatment. Whether a transfer is appropriate depends on your circumstances. An appropriately authorised professional should advise you directly; IFA.AE coordinates an introduction where needed.
Typically six to twelve weeks once paperwork is in. Some QROPS providers process quickly, others drag their feet. Starting before you land in the UK almost always produces a cleaner timeline.
The transfer itself is generally not a taxable event when structured correctly. Tax usually arises only when you start drawing from the pension, at your marginal UK rate. The timing of your UK arrival relative to the transfer can have a significant impact.
Almost never. Even clients who have been UK resident for several years can usually still consolidate, switch or restructure their QROPS. The earlier we look, the more options remain open — but later is rarely too late.
You may be able to keep it. UK residence can change its tax treatment, and costs and benefits depend on the scheme and your circumstances. An appropriately authorised professional can advise you directly on retaining or transferring it; IFA.AE does not recommend a pension product.
Execution-only means you make the investment decisions yourself and they are carried out by the authorised firm you instruct, through its regulated platform. There is no advice, no recommendations and no advice fee. It suits experienced investors who know what they want but need a regulated firm to action it.
If you are an experienced investor who knows exactly what you want, execution-only saves you advice fees while keeping transactions inside a regulated framework. If you need a recommendation on the right path, advice from an appropriately authorised professional is required. A private consultation helps us understand which professional introduction you may need.
Free consultation
Start with a conversation
Your consultation is a no-obligation video call by Zoom or Teams, at a time that suits you wherever you are in the world.
The first conversation is about understanding you. Any regulated advice is provided directly by the appropriately authorised professional you are introduced to, following their review of your circumstances.
In your consultation we will
- Understand your circumstances and what prompted your enquiry
- Discuss your objectives and priorities
- Establish which countries and jurisdictions are relevant
- Identify the professional advice you may need
- Explain the next steps, fees and any introduction
Important information
IFA.AE provides private office coordination, general planning information and professional introduction services. Information on this website is general in nature and is not a personal recommendation. You should not act on it without taking advice based on your own circumstances.
Regulated advice is provided by an independent, appropriately authorised UK financial adviser. Their firm name and FCA registration details are confirmed to you in writing before any advice is given. Other specialist services, including legal, tax and mortgage advice, are provided by appropriately qualified or authorised professionals under their own terms of engagement.
Before any introduction, we will confirm in writing who the professional is, how they are regulated and whether IFA.AE receives any payment for the introduction.
The .ae domain and references to the UAE describe where many of our clients live. They do not mean that IFA.AE holds a UAE financial services licence.