Are you trying to find someone in another country and facing a frustrating time?
Overseas tracing can be an exasperating experience for people in the UK who are attempting to find someone internationally.
Vilcol provides a fast, efficient and compliant method of finding someone abroad who you need to reconnect with.
We are one of the UK’s leading tracing agents with expertise in international people tracing, debtor tracing, debt recovery, process serving (handing over a legal notice or court order), employment tracing, probate searches and private investigations. If you need to trace a person for any reason, Vilcol can help.
You might be wondering how to find someone overseas. Trying to find someone overseas can be more difficult as there are many factors to consider. The processes and legalities may be a bit different from normal, let alone potential language barriers.
It also depends if the person has always lived in the country or if they have just recently moved there. However, we have a great deal of experience of tracing people internationally with over 40 partner offices around the world.
Whether you are looking for someone in Europe or Asia, we have the expertise, and depending on what information you have, we can help you find them.
Vilcol can help trace people like family members, long lost relatives and friends. Or it may be a witness or debtor you are trying to trace. We also work with companies who need to find international shareholders who are overseas. We also work with companies who require international searches for commercial reasons.
Vilcol have conducted successful searches in every continent.
Vilcol are trusted and reliable international people tracing experts with more than 40 years’ experience.
We draw on extensive resources so that wherever you need to track someone overseas, we can help. To find out more about our tracing services, get in contact.
Say, for example, you asked us to trace someone in Australia. Our first step would be to ask what methods of international search you have carried out already.
Usually people who approach us will have some sort of data on the person they want to find – a date-of-birth, name, previous name, job details, phone number or a last known address. They may already have looked on Facebook, LinkedIn or a mobile phone app like Signal, Whatsapp or Telegram.
However, sometimes people instruct us to find someone abroad without any information at all. In these cases we would assign the case to one of our award-winning, experienced in-house investigators to research your subject.
Our agents would then conduct a thorough enquiry using the relevant methods in that specific locality. On your behalf they would carry out enquiries and follow leads based on the information supplied by you and as a result of any other information gained along the way.
We charge for this service if our United Kingdom sources confirm the subject’s address. All successful traces have a free 30 day re-trace policy.
Trace fee - A retainer of £125.00 will be required. If we are successful with our UK enquiries a further fee of £100.00 is due. Our report will be emailed to you when we receive payment. Fees not inclusive of VAT.
Re-trace policy – Vilcol will re-check free of charge any information supplied by us if the request is received in writing within 30 days of the date of our report.
The fee for this service is £225.00. A retainer of £125.00 will be required. If we are successful with our UK enquiries a further fee of £100.00 is due. Our report will be emailed to you when we receive payment.
We have over 40 partner offices around the world all with a wealth of experience in tracing people. So, if you’re looking to trace someone in the USA, Australia, Spain, South Africa, Thailand or any other country, we have the expertise to help.
We can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to trace someone in all cases and trying to find someone overseas can be a lot more difficult than conducting a UK search.
Therefore we operate on a success only basis for finding someone internationally. Vilcol has access to valuable resources that significantly increase the chances of a successful trace. To find out more about our tracing services, get in contact.
While we always ask for as much information as you can provide, we realise your information can be scant or quite old.
The ideal search of someone overseas would include name, date of birth and place of birth. If you have details of their mobile phone number, email address or social media account then even better. The more information that you have the better the chances of we have of locating the subject.
We regularly only get given the last known address and often even this is unavailable. So please don’t let lack of data put you off.
We have a number of sophisticated tools and techniques we can utilise to help us trace people internationally in cases where there is hardly any information to go on.
Yes. As well as being international tracing specialists, our team can track assets by using advanced tools and resources that find assets no matter what location. Whether it's a car in Spain or a property in Australia, Vilcol can help find it.
Yes, in many cases we can trace individuals using limited information such as a partial name, approximate age, and their last known country of residence.
Our international network and data partnerships allow us to follow movement patterns and update residency across borders to track individuals who relocate frequently.
Yes, we can conduct in-depth investigations to locate individuals attempting to avoid contact, including those in legal or financial disputes. This includes finding possible criminals.
We utilise deep research methods and partner with local investigators abroad to trace individuals who have changed names or are deliberately avoiding detection.
Yes, we trace business debtors worldwide, including directors of dissolved companies and former business owners with outstanding obligations.
Absolutely. We can locate co-signers or guarantors internationally to help you enforce loan agreements or pursue legal recovery.
Our clients include financial institutions, private lenders, family offices, law firms, property management companies, and telecom providers.
Yes, we specialise in locating hidden or undisclosed assets including offshore properties, bank accounts, art, and vehicles (like boats and classic cars).
We can investigate land and property registries worldwide to trace ownership of homes, commercial buildings, or investment properties.
Yes. We conduct searches across international marine registries and ports to trace ownership and movement of yachts and boats.
We have access to art registries, customs data, and insurance records that can help track down missing or stolen high-value collectibles.
While physical jewellery is harder to trace, we can investigate customs records, auctions, pawn brokers, and financial disclosures to trace luxury goods.
Yes, we assist with asset discovery in family law cases and probate matters to ensure a full financial picture.
We can investigate both corporate and personal asset transfers abroad, including equipment, vehicles, and IP rights.
It depends on the type of asset, jurisdiction and complexities involved in the case. Typically, property and business ownership tracing takes 1–4 weeks, while complex hidden asset cases may take longer.
An international locator service is a professional investigation solution used to find individuals or entities whose whereabouts are unknown. In the context of international tracing, a locator service is designed to track down people who may be living, working, or hiding in another country.
These services are commonly used to:
International locator services rely on a combination of global databases, partner investigators, public records, and local intelligence. At Vilcol, we work with a trusted international network covering over 40 countries, ensuring a compliant and thorough approach to locating individuals across borders.
Whether you need to reconnect with someone for personal reasons or pursue legal or financial matters, a professional locator service provides the expertise and reach required for successful results.
Yes, we regularly assist individuals in finding long-lost family members who may have relocated to another country. Whether you're looking to reconnect with a sibling, parent, or extended relative, we use international databases and local sources to help locate their current whereabouts and facilitate contact where possible.
Absolutely. Many people wish to reconnect with someone from their past, such as a former partner or significant other. Our tracing services can help locate individuals you’ve lost touch with — even if all you have is a name and the country they were last known to be in.
Yes. If you're trying to track down an ex-colleague for professional or personal reasons, we can help. Whether it's for networking, business opportunities, or simply catching up, we can trace individuals using employment history, past addresses, and other available records.
Yes, we often help clients reconnect with childhood friends, former neighbours, or old classmates who have emigrated. With just a few details — such as a name, old school, or last known location — our experienced team can begin a global trace to find their current contact information.