Living, working and doing business abroad

This factsheet provides links to useful organisations and guidance on importing and exporting, doing business abroad, living and working abroad.

Import/Export general guidance

Import finance (IoD guide)

Export finance (IoD guide)

• Research your export markets (IoD factsheet)

Further sources of information:

• Starting to import (GOV.UK) – Government guide to procedures to follow when starting to import goods to the UK.
• Import controls (Dept. for Business, Innovation & Skills) – notices to importers and information on import licensing.
• Exporting and doing business abroad (GOV.UK)
• Get help researching export markets (GOV.UK)
• Export (Department for International Trade) – Government campaign to encourage export – guide to exporting, diary of export events and details of expert advice.
• Open to Export – Open to Export is the UK’s online export community where people come together to help each other become smarter and more confident doing business abroad. OtE have launched a new online Export Action Plan tool.
• Institute of Export & International Trade ­- Professional membership body representing and supporting the interests of everyone involved in importing, exporting and international trade.
• British Exporters Association – Trade association representing all sectors of the export community.
• Enterprise Europe Network – London – Operates to support small and medium enterprises based in the Greater London area to increase their competitiveness through internationalisation and innovation.
• Department for Business and Trade home page
• Department for International Trade teams in the English regions (see also the equivalents for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) See also the Find a Department for International Trade office tool which covers all the UK.
• Exporting country guides – Department for International Trade guides for British businesses who are interested in developing their overseas trade and doing business oversea.
• Department for International Trade – services for exporters
• Department for International Trade – Find overseas customers and export opportunities
• UK Export Finance (Exports Credits Guarantee Department)
• Import and export procedures (GOV.UK)

Doing Business Guides

• Economies ranked on their ease of doing business (World Bank) – Rankings for the ease of doing business in individual countries + links to economic profiles.
• Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 – Annual Global Study, rates trust (in companies, government etc) in countries around the world.
• Country Reports (Atradius) – Atradius publications provide you with their view on the economic situation in more than 40 countries and the trading outlook of major industries.
• Tax Guides (EY) – Browse in-depth guides covering corporate tax, indirect tax, personal taxes, transfer pricing and other tax matters in more than 150 jurisdictions.
• Doing Business Guides (UHY) – Guides covering the country specific business information you need to consider should you wish to pursue business interests. 84 countries covered.
• International Tax Guides (Deloitte)

Living & Working Abroad

• UK and the World (Foreign & commonwealth Office) – foreign affairs information, travel advice, guides to living abroad and other help for British nationals including overseas missions and DIT contacts.
• ‘Living in’ Country Guides (Foreign & Commonwealth Office) – guides to living in 73 different countries.
• Foreign embassies in the UK (Foreign & Commonwealth Office)

Cost of Living

• Cost of Living City Rankings (Mercer) – ranking of over 200 cities worldwide based on a basket of goods and services frequently purchased by expatriates.
• Numbeo cost of living comparison calculator – Tool allowing the comparison of the cost of living by various indicators for two cities.
• Expatistan Cost of Living Index – Compare the cost of living between 2,241 cities in 221 countries.

Etiquette

• Intercultural Management Guides (Commisceo Global) – valuable advice and tips of being a manager in one of 101 countries.

Country profiles

• BBC News country profiles
• CIA World Factbook – Information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities.
• Economist Intelligence Unit country profiles (registration required for some content)

Statistics

• • Statistics by country or topic (OECD) – Wide range of indicators on agriculture, development, economy, education, energy, environment, finance, government, health, innovation and technology, jobs and society.
  • Directory of National Statistical Office Websites (World Trade organisation) – national statistical offices are the holders of data on individual countries like the Office for National Statistics in the UK.
  • Trade Market Access Database (European Commission) – Overview of trade flows in goods between EU and non-EU countries for specific products.
  • Eurostat (European Commission) – European statistics.
  • UKTrade Info (HMRC) – Current UK import and export statistics.
  • Global Competitiveness Report (World Economic Forum) – Ranking of national competitiveness — defined as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity. Covers 137 economies.
  • Nation Master – Compilation of data from hundreds of sources allowing country comparison.

• Statistics & Insights (Visit Britain) – Data on inbound visitors.

Legislation & Regulation

• EUR-Lex (European Legislation) – Summaries of EU legislation.
• Import & Export (HMRC) – Information on customs declarations, duties and tariffs.
• Import and export of manufactured goods (GOV.UK) – international trade regulations for materials, equipment, goods and appliances, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, aerospace and defence.
• Consolidated list of strategic military and dual-use items that require export authorisation (Department for International Trade) – List of ‘controlled’ military and dual-use items that require an export licence issued by the Export Control Organisation.
• Trade Tariff: look up commodity codes, duty and VAT rates (GOV.UK) – Search for the import and export commodity codes plus the tax, duty and licenses that apply to your goods.
• Access2Markets (European Commission) – All content previously on the Trade Helpdesk and on the Market Access Database is now on Access2Markets. Find information on requirements, tariffs, statistics, preferential arrangements and trade barriers.
• Sanitary and phytosanitary measures (European Commission) – Sanitary and phytosanitary measures (i.e. to protect human, animal and plant life / health) by country and section.
• Import Procedures & Documents (European Commission) –  Information on import procedures and documents required by specific countries.
• World Customs Organisation – Information and news on the nomenclature and classification of goods, valuation and origin.
• Model contracts for international trade (International Trade Centre) – Eight generic contract templates aimed to help small firms secure international business. (Nb. The IoD Business Information Service is also able to supply a number of international trade contract templates)
• Protecting your UK intellectual property abroad (Intellectual Property Office) – To protect your intellectual property outside of the UK, you usually need to apply in each country you want protection in.
• IP protection abroad: country guides (Intellectual Property Office) – Guides to applying IP protection in Brazil, China, India, Turkey, South Africa, South Korea, the USA and Vietnam.
• World Intellectual Property Organisation member state contacts (WIPO) – Contact details for Intellectual Property bodies (trademarks, copyright, patents etc) in member countries including links to further information on national IP laws, etc.
• Overseas registries (Companies House) – List of company registries located around the world, grouped by region.
• Law firms, lawyers by country (HG.org) – Directory of overseas lawyers, searchable by country and specialism.
• Martindale directory – Search for law firms and lawyers worldwide by country and/or specialism.
• Lists of lawyers abroad – (Foreign & Commonwealth Office)  – Lists of English-speaking lawyers abroad for British nationals who may require legal advice and assistance.
• Index of Corporate Governance Codes (European Corporate Governance Institute)

Directories

• • World telephone directories (Infobel)
  • Sea-web directory – (IHS Global) Comprehensive directory of maritime industry contacts such as shipping brokers. (Subscription service)
  • British Exporters database – Features 13,000 British exporters and 100,000 British products.
  • Factors Chain International – Worldwide directory of FCI member factoring banks and companies.
  • Foreign embassies in the UK (Foreign & Commonwealth Office) – The London Diplomatic List contains the addresses and contact details of all embassies and High Commissions.
  • Worldwide organisations (GOV.UK) – UK High Commissions, Consulates, Embassies, UKTI offices and DFID offices.
  • Central banks and monetary authority websites list (Bank for International Settlements)

​© Institute of Directors. All rights reserved.