Where we are

Fourteen branches, run by volunteers

Branches begin where someone volunteers to start one. That is the honest description of how a volunteer-run organisation grows, and it has taken us to fourteen countries in under three years.

Asia-Pacific

Eric Jordan & Ceri Weaver

Thailand has no reciprocal agreement with the UK, so every British pensioner here receives a state pension frozen at the rate first paid. It is the first thing raised at every event we run in the country, followed closely by the family visa rules affecting British citizens with Thai spouses.

Leads with: Frozen Pensions

Edward Vickers & Colin Mason

Japan has a substantial population of long-settled British citizens with Japanese spouses and children, for whom the minimum income requirement is the dominant concern. Fee status for children applying to UK universities follows closely behind.

Leads with: Spouse and Family Visas

John Shardlow

Malaysia combines a retired British population affected by the pension freeze with working families weighing UK university costs — the two dominant concerns raised with our coordinator here.

Leads with: Frozen Pensions

Nick Lord

Singapore’s British community is largely working professionals with UK financial affairs to maintain and children approaching university age. Fee status and bank account closures are raised more often here than anywhere else in our network.

Leads with: Higher Education and University Fees

Colin Singer

Family visa rules dominate here, including the adult dependent relative rules that assume a narrower definition of family than the one most Indonesian-British households actually live by.

Leads with: Spouse and Family Visas

Ben Vickers

A younger British population, largely in work and education, for whom family visas and university fee status are the live concerns rather than pensions.

Leads with: Spouse and Family Visas

Kevin Liu

Our Taiwan branch grew out of a joint event with BritCham Taipei, and reflects that origin: professionals and business owners, concerned with fee status for their children and with keeping UK banking relationships open.

Leads with: Higher Education and University Fees

Graeme Lamb

Australia has one of the largest concentrations of frozen-pension recipients anywhere in the world. The branch was effectively created by demand, from people searching for an explanation of why their pension had not moved in a decade.

Leads with: Frozen Pensions

Coordinator needed

As in Australia, the pension freeze applies and dominates. Distance from the UK also makes the postal ballot timetable particularly unforgiving.

Leads with: Frozen Pensions

Europe

Clarissa Killwick

Post-Brexit status and representation lead here. Italian citizens abroad elect 12 deputies and 6 senators of their own, a comparison our members make early and often.

Leads with: Overseas Constituencies

Jo Darrington

A community shaped by the loss of free movement, where questions of status and of who actually represents a British citizen in Europe come up before anything else.

Leads with: Overseas Constituencies

Africa

Iain Brewster

A regional branch covering several countries, where the pension freeze applies and where bank account closures have been particularly disruptive for people dependent on UK income.

Leads with: Frozen Pensions

David Crowley

A long-established British population, much of it retired, affected by the pension freeze and by the practical difficulty of returning a postal ballot within the election timetable.

Leads with: Frozen Pensions

Americas

USA

Forming

Coordinator needed

The USA is an agreement country, so pensions are uprated here — one of the few places where that is true. Fee status, banking and the mechanics of voting are the live concerns instead.

Leads with: Higher Education and University Fees

No branch where you live?

If you would consider starting one, get in touch. The commitment is smaller than people expect — most branches began with one person willing to answer emails and organise an occasional meeting.