Dreams of expat life left in limbo

Many Brits are also facing a race against time, as visas secured for the move abroad must be activated within a year of them being granted, according to currency specialist HiFX, otherwise the procedure must start all over again.

The firm, which helps about 30,000 people buy place abroad each year, has seen the figure of people enquiring about moving abroad rise by a third in the first half of this year, compared with the same time period last year. But there has been a 10 per cent rise in the figure of people actually devising the move.

Mark Bodega, director at HiFX, said: "Bearing in mind that 2007 was a record year for out-migration, the fact that even more people are look to move abroad this year shows that there is now a very real desire to flight some of the job in the UK economic system.

"However the job many people are being confronted with is a simple one - they cannot sell their UK place and, without this equity from the sale of a house, they don't think they can fund their dream move and so are putt their move off."

John Payne from Anglo Pacific Ocean, an international removals company, added that contempt a rise in the figure of people enquiring about long-haul removals rise significantly over the same time period "our actual bookings for removals year to date are down on last year".

To get over this trouble, HiFX recommends that "frustrated Brits consider remortgaging and then lease out their place in the UK, releasing enough equity to fund the first 12 months of their move abroad".

Mr Bodega added: "This also has the benefit of allowing émigrés the opportunity to decide which area of the new country they want to live in, prior to making a commitment to purchase.

"Also, if for some reason things don't work out as expected and émigrés want to return home, it is simpler to return to the UK and avoid all the purchase costs such as stamp duty and estate agents costs, of buying a new home.

"For a rented property to 'pay for itself' then émigrés need to secure a rental income of at least 1.25 times the mortgage payments; however some deals allow as little as 1.1 times.

"They should also change from a residential to a buy-to-let mortgage, which is fairly straightforward as long as you have 25 per cent equity in the property, although some lenders will allow as little as 15 per cent on some products.

"However buy-to-let mortgages can sometimes have higher fees so émigrés need to seek independent financial advice to check that remortgaging is the best option for them and the mortgage product best fits their needs."

He added that although there is a lot to think about when you are emigrating, if you can be flexible in your thinking, then you may be able to get around some of the problems by deviating from your original plans.