Expat students and young professionals extremely satisfied with their experience in Belgium

These are among the revelations of a survey by the Belgian bank BNP Paribas Fortis. The survey was executed by the ThinkYoung think tank, among expats in the 18–28 age group residing in seven European countries.

Many people dream of living and making a career in a foreign country. Every expatriate has his/her own reasons for relocating and will have specific expectations of the host country. The purpose of the study was to find out what those expectations are and also the drivers and barriers expats experience during their stay.

“Millennials are the driving force behind this contemporary intra-European mobility, with more and more young expats in Europe seeking new academic and professional experiences elsewhere,” says Salvatore Orlando, head of expatriates at BNP Paribas Fortis.

The BNP Paribas Fortis-ThinkYoung survey focuses on expats between 18 and 28 years of age living in Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Italy or France. It enquires into the expectations they had before leaving their home country and their subsequent experiences during being an expat.

Reasons why students and young professionals relocate to Belgium

Students

The most common reason for expatriate students to leave their home country and come to Belgium—given by 53 percent of those polled—is that there was an opportunity provided by their university or school in their home country, while 39 percent said they wanted to experience another culture. Also 39 percent of the respondents gave the desire to learn another language or improve their language skills as a major reason for leaving, and 37 percent of the young interviewees said they went to study in Belgium in order to improve their CV and thus maximise their career opportunities. 

Young professionals

More than 80 percent of the expatriate young professionals polled moved to Belgium because of the career opportunities available, while more than 50 percent had taken up the challenge for reasons of personal development. Other reasons for leaving were the opportunity to learn another language, the standard of living and the quality of life in the host country. Contrary to what one might have expected, less than 10 percent decided to relocate for mainly financial reasons. Salvatore Orlando: “Financial motives are the least important ones for expats to move to another country.”

Andrea Gerosa, founder of ThinkYoung, agrees: “It’s a meaningful move, driven not by the desire to have fun but by the willingness to learn more, improve skills, and enhance career opportunities”. 

Experiences in Belgium

Students

Once in Belgium, expat students experience above all a more developed social life (63 percent). Nearly six out of 10 praise the quality of the Belgian education, and half of the polled people pretend that they have a better quality of life. Affordable education (30 percent) and affordable living costs (21 percent) are important benefits that expatriate students get in Belgium. Only 7 percent talk about an increase in financial savings.

Young professionals

Asked about the benefits of their relocation to Belgium, 82 percent of the young professionals stated that they had been able to advance their careers as a result of the move. Some 43 percent said that they have a better social life, while 42 percent have a bigger personal spending and disposable income. About 36 percent of the young professional expats in Belgium state that their quality of life improved. Other advantages of their relocation are affordable living costs (26 percent) and an increase in financial savings (17 percent).

Students and young professionals

Although 96 percent of the young expats polled reported being generally satisfied with their expatriate life, only 28 percent stated that the living costs in Belgium are lower than at home. The same trend is discernible for the cost of renting or buying property. The monthly disposable income is higher than EUR 200 for nearly 20 percent of the young expats. For 16 percent that is even more than EUR 1,000.

Focus on banking

The survey also focused on banking customs of young expats in Belgium. Some 48 percent of them have a current account in Belgium. For savings accounts that number is significantly lower (30 percent). Fully 68 percent described the process of opening the account as ‘easy’. The most common difficulties encountered were nevertheless the amount of paperwork (27 percent), the duration of the process (19 percent) and the lack of clear information (18 percent).

For almost 40 percent of the young expats in Belgium, the reputation of the bank is a key determinant for opening a bank account in the country of residence. An online banking system and special offers for young expatriates are also elements that encourage them to open an account in their host country. Many of them esteem the transparency on bank charges as very important.

Methodology

The survey was administered to 6,349 young expatriates between the ages of 18 and 28. It focused on seven countries—Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom—with the intention of finding out what life is like for expatriate students, early graduates and young professionals living abroad.

The enquiry focuses on both the drivers of and the obstacles to migration, revealing why students and other young people move to European countries, how long they intend to stay, why they chose a particular country or destination, and the economic impact this has on the host country.

Contributed by BNP Paribas Fortis and ThinkYoung