Expat Financial Advice UK 2026: Residency, Local Regulation and the Limits of FCA Authorisation

If you are a British expat, or planning to leave the UK, the most important question about financial advice is not whether a product is British. It is where you are resident when the advice is given. Your country of residence decides which rules apply and who is legally permitted to advise you. This guide explains how UK financial regulation actually works across borders, why FCA authorisation on its own does not allow an adviser to advise you while you live abroad, and how to check that an adviser is regulated for your specific situation.

TL;DR

• The decisive factor in cross-border advice is your country of residence, not whether the product (a UK pension, ISA or mortgage) is British.
• FCA authorisation governs regulated activity carried on in the UK. On its own it does not permit an adviser to advise you while you are resident in another country.
• To advise a resident of another country, a firm generally needs authorisation from that country's regulator, or must rely on a narrow exemption such as reverse solicitation. Some countries do not permit this at all.
• Reverse solicitation is a narrow, fact-specific exception, not an operating model. An adviser or directory that markets to expats can lose the ability to rely on it.
• FOS and FSCS protection, and the adviser's professional indemnity (PI) cover, may not extend to advice given to you while you are resident abroad. Confirm this in writing.
• FCA authorisation remains the correct test for a UK resident advised in the UK. Verify any UK adviser at register.fca.org.uk.

How UK financial regulation applies across borders

UK regulation is territorial. Under section 418 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the regulatory perimeter applies to a regulated activity that is carried on in the United Kingdom. The trigger is the location of the activity, not the nationality of the product. Where an adviser based in the UK advises a client who is in the UK, that is a regulated activity carried on in the UK and requires FCA authorisation. Where both the adviser and the client are located overseas, the activity is generally not carried on in the UK at all.

This is the point that is most often misunderstood. Holding FCA authorisation does not, by itself, give an adviser the right to advise you while you are resident abroad. FCA permissions are about UK activity and UK consumers. They confer no rights in relation to a client who lives in another jurisdiction. For a resident of Dubai, Spain, Australia or the United States, the FCA register entry is not the test that determines whether an adviser may lawfully act for them.

What this means if you live abroad

If you are resident outside the UK, the controlling question is whether the firm holds authorisation in your country of residence, or can rely on a recognised exemption there. Since the UK left the EU, UK firms lost EEA passporting, so they can no longer advise EU and EEA residents on that basis. The remaining routes are:

• Local authorisation: the firm is regulated by the relevant authority in your country of residence (or operates through a locally regulated entity).
• A narrow exemption: in some jurisdictions, advice provided at the client's own unprompted initiative may fall outside local licensing. This is commonly called reverse solicitation.
• Advice given while you are physically in the UK: some firms will only advise expat clients during the client's visits to the UK, which keeps the activity within the UK perimeter.

Reverse solicitation is frequently overused. It is a narrow, fact-specific exception rather than a scalable way to service overseas clients. It generally requires that you approached the firm without being solicited, and any marketing aimed at expats, including an expat-facing directory listing, can defeat it. Critically, some countries do not permit reverse solicitation at all, regardless of whether the asset being advised on is a UK product.

Protection: FOS, FSCS and PI cover

Consumer protections do not automatically travel with you. The Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme are tied to FCA-regulated activity. Where advice is given to you while you are resident abroad through an FCA-only structure, FOS and FSCS cover may not apply, and the adviser's PI insurance may not extend to that advice either. The safe assumption is that you should confirm, in writing, whether these protections apply to your specific arrangement before you instruct anyone.

When FCA authorisation is the relevant test

FCA authorisation is exactly the right thing to verify in one scenario: a UK resident receiving advice in the UK, including someone preparing to leave or having recently returned, while they are here. In that situation the established UK rules apply in full:

• Advisers must be on the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk, with permissions that match the advice you need (for example, 'advising on investments').
• Since the Retail Distribution Review (2012/2013), advisers cannot take product commission on investment advice; fees must be disclosed and agreed upfront.
• Advice on transferring safeguarded (defined benefit) pension benefits worth more than £30,000 must be given by a qualified Pension Transfer Specialist.
• QROPS transfers also require the receiving scheme to appear on HMRC's Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes notification list.

Indicative UK adviser fees in this domestic context are commonly reported in the region of £150 to £400 per hour, or 0.5% to 1.5% of assets a year for ongoing management, though figures vary and should be confirmed with the firm. These ranges describe the UK-resident market and should not be read as confirmation that a UK adviser can act for you once you are resident abroad.

What to ask before you instruct anyone

• Are you authorised to advise me in my country of residence, and by which regulator? Ask for this in writing.
• Given that I live abroad, on what legal basis are you permitted to advise me, and does that basis depend on me approaching you?
• Do FOS, FSCS and your PI cover apply to advice given to me while I am resident here? If not, what protection do I have?
• Do you hold relevant qualifications and authorisation in both the UK and my country of residence?
• If you can only act while I am physically in the UK, how will that work in practice for documentation and ongoing service?

Sources used in this guide

Verified June 2026. Readers should confirm current rules with the cited primary sources or a suitably authorised adviser in their country of residence before acting.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, legal or regulatory advice. Kaeltripton.com is not authorised or regulated by the FCA. Rules differ by jurisdiction and change over time; verify with the primary sources cited or a suitably authorised adviser in your country of residence before acting.

FAQ

Can an FCA-authorised adviser advise me if I live abroad?

Not automatically. FCA authorisation governs activity carried on in the UK and covers UK residents. To advise you while you are resident in another country, a firm generally needs authorisation from your country's regulator, or must rely on a narrow exemption such as reverse solicitation, which some countries do not permit at all.

Does it matter that my pension or ISA is a UK product?

Less than people assume. The location of the asset is not the test. What matters is where you are resident when the advice is given, because that determines which regulator's rules apply and who is permitted to advise you.

What is reverse solicitation, and can it be relied on?

It is a narrow exception that may apply where you approach a firm entirely on your own initiative, without being solicited. It is fact-specific and not a business model. Any marketing aimed at expats, including a directory listing that targets overseas residents, can remove the ability to rely on it.

Is there FSCS or FOS protection on expat advice?

Not necessarily. FOS and FSCS cover are tied to FCA-regulated activity. Advice given to you while you are resident abroad through an FCA-only structure may fall outside that protection, and the adviser's PI cover may not extend to it. Confirm in writing before instructing anyone.

When is checking the FCA Register the right step?

When you are a UK resident being advised in the UK. In that case verify the firm at register.fca.org.uk and check the permissions match the advice you need.