Open the first page of any British passport and you will be met by a request on behalf of the King to give its ‘bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary’. These words are a great source of pride: they symbolise the privilege any Brit abroad has to approach a British embassy and ask the government for help, be that with a lost passport, trouble with foreign law or even being evacuated from a warzone.

At the moment, that privilege is essentially universal: whether or not you live in the UK permanently or pay taxes to the Treasury, as long as you remain a British citizen, you can demand that the government help you in your hour of need. But should this really remain the case?

The fallout across the Middle East from the sudden outbreak of war between the US, Israel and Iran at the start of the month saw thousands of Western holidaymakers and expats scrabble to return home. According to government figures, more than 176,000 British citizens located in the Middle East had registered their presence with the Foreign Office in the first half of March; over 100,000 have now returned to the UK. 

Few people would feel sorry to see expat influencers finally forced to cough up for the Exchequer

Few people would feel sorry to see expat influencers finally forced to cough up for the Exchequer

Disappointingly, the government doesn’t track how many of those returning to the UK are tourists versus those who live in the Middle East permanently. There have already been reports of wealthy expats itching to leave the UK again so as to avoid being lumped with huge tax bills for overstaying their allotted number of tax-free days in the country.

Approximately 240,000 British citizens live in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) alone. Many will have been attracted to the country due to its essentially non-existent tax........

© The Spectator