Long-term WFH - moving abroad

[roses2]

Those of you who are working from home long term and will continue to do so - I would be interested in your views on wfh for a UK company and moving abroad.

My company have advised from next year we will me home based 70% and in the office a handful of days per month. This opens up a whole world of opportunity on where to live. Some of our team now live a 5 hour commute away from the office (although still in the uk).

Has anyone broached the subject of moving abroad whilst remainimg a uk employee? Assuming you can meet the uk residency rules of x many days in the UK and a uk address - does your company allow this? If yes or no would you mind feedback on their reasons?

[user1471528245]

Something else to add to the problem is that it depends on your Job, Many jobs especially government can’t have their data going offshore, won’t allow access From outside the U.K., And you may not get any IT support for company devices

[IrmaFayLear]

Barbados have introduced a special one-year visa for those who are wfh in other countries. I think you have to be earning at least £40k to qualify.

Concur with others on thread. You are likely to face double tax. And why not? Your firm is liable for uk tax, and you will be using the facilities of another country, eg police, roads, maybe education etc etc. Did you expect to just sit there and get it free?

Furthermore, unless you have a new contract specifying your home working status, you could be asked to go into the office at any moment or even on a regular basis.

[aquicknamechange2019]

@ilovebrie8 I have spent weeks unravelling the absolute carnage caused by someone deciding to work remotely from Turkey without their UK based employer's knowledge so yes, it is definitely not straightforward!

[ilovebrie8]

Am not sure if the employer is aware I was shocked as they seem to say it’s no problem. I think it’s a mine field and not as straight forward as they are telling people ! They are doing it anyway...

[timeisnotaline]

I feel like most people on this thread don't get it will remain the UK with a permanent UK address and spend the majority of each year in the UK. So I don't see what the tax or employment issues are - it will purely come down to HR policy and how risk adverse they are.
I thought earlier in the thread you got it but seemingly not. You can remain uk resident by being there over 183 days a year, but it seems quite possible you can also be tax resident in Cyprus, who don’t necessarily give a damn if you’re tax resident elsewhere, that’s not their problem. A quick google says they can designate tax residence for spending over 60 days a year there, you can easily spend 60 days a year there and 180 days in the uk and have a few days to spare for wherever you like. That info might not be current (no idea) but it shows the potential issues and why you need an advisor. To claim some not a local tax benefits in the uk a few years ago I had to do a work diary so there may be requirements to establish the set up you want. Your company is also a taxable entity and the number of days a year you work in another country can affect them, whether it works for you or not. They don’t want to be deemed as taxable by Cyprus suddenly, that would make you unpopular with management.
Also you will want to run scenarios on what happens if borders close or travel options disappear or there are quarantine requirements with coronavirus. You don’t want a lovely plan in place but you suddenly can’t spent the days you planned in the uk and it’s all gone to pot.

[roses2]

@22timeisnotaline thank you for very sensible advice rather than statements with no explanation. As mentioned earlier pre covid I was planning on resigning and it looks like I'll still be going down this route however will ask my company anyhow.

My husband works for a global tax advisory firm by the way so I have plenty of legitimate tax advisors to hand.

[aquicknamechange2019]

if you're getting your tax advice from your husband's company, I'm not sure they're as good as you think they are seeing as you don't seem to be aware of the issues here...

[timeisnotaline]

My husband works for a global tax advisory firm by the way so I have plenty of legitimate tax advisors to hand.
You would think so, but i was big 4 professional services when I moved around. We have a global tax advisory business, the quality of the tax team supporting staff relocations and the service they provided was rather different from what we would provide to clients! If you mean your husbands actual colleagues/friends will advise you that’s different