Moving to a different country.

Sutekh

Sutekh

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I was curious if anyone had some experience with this. I've been doing some research about moving from the US to a different country, just for a new experience or forever, who knows?! It seems as though I'm really SOL though. I work from home so where I go my job would move with me (theoretically) and I'm out of school. Is there really no way for someone in my position to do that?
 
Jysin

Jysin

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The problem is your visa. If I understand correctly, you intend to move somewhere else for the experience while maintaining your current work from home job? Many countries have rules against this. You would be traveling on a tourist visa, not a work visa. While you could get away with doing your own work thing just fine, a tourist visa usually precludes you from getting other necessary services, depending on location. ie: driving license, opening bank accounts, etc. Also consider your medical coverage. I am willing to bet your current employer provided health insurance (assuming you have it) does not cover you outside of the US. Conversely, even in "free healthcare" countries like England, you can not just drop into the NHS on a tourist visa and get any service.

It is possible, but for your situation would require quite a bit of planning.

If you were actually working for a US company based outside the US or even directly for a foreign company, it would be a lot easier.

Again, YMMV depending on where you want to go.
 
Sutekh

Sutekh

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Yeah I currently work for a US based company, I assume if I were to get established somewhere else I would end up paying double the taxes, once to the US and once to the country where I'm living. I'm completely oblivious when it comes to that though, which is why I figured I would ask here to see if anyone had done this before or knew any information related to it.

Technically I could go back to school if it allowed for it, but it would probably be completely illegal for me to continue working my current job, on a student visa or something.
 
McCheese

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Sutekh_sl said:
Technically I could go back to school if it allowed for it, but it would probably be completely illegal for me to continue working my current job, on a student visa or something.
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It would technically be illegal, yeah. However, if you're simply teleworking with a U.S. company from abroad, I seriously doubt anyone would know/care that you have a job while studying on a student visa. It's not like they're going to monitor your internet usage and make sure you're not doing freelance work/telework/whatever (unless you move to North Korea or China, maybe). Just don't go around talking about your job and you'd be golden.

Honestly, going the student visa route is probably your best bet. It's insanely hard to (legally) move into a country where you have no anchor in the form of a job or family.
 
Jysin

Jysin

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Most countries do have no double taxation laws in place. But that would be more along the lines if you worked for a company in the UK, paid in british pounds, you would obviously have to pay UK tax. You, as a US citizen, are also required to file a tax return regardless of where or who you work for. There are outright exemptions and "tax home" laws in place under US Tax law to prevent you from paying both.

Like I said earlier, you can surely go under other than work visas but you will possibly face issues getting medical, banking, etc set up.
 
Frenzied Wombat

Frenzied Wombat

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Sutekh_sl said:
I was curious if anyone had some experience with this. I've been doing some research about moving from the US to a different country, just for a new experience or forever, who knows?! It seems as though I'm really SOL though. I work from home so where I go my job would move with me (theoretically) and I'm out of school. Is there really no way for someone in my position to do that?
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Well, I moved from Canada to the US. Before you even get started you need to decide where you want to move, since countries have varying immigration and work laws. Six month work visas generally aren't hard to get in most countries, but staying longer than that can be challenging depending on your education, job, and whether you have any sponsor in the country you are moving to.
 
Eomer

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Sutekh_sl said:
Yeah I currently work for a US based company, I assume if I were to get established somewhere else I would end up paying double the taxes, once to the US and once to the country where I'm living. I'm completely oblivious when it comes to that though, which is why I figured I would ask here to see if anyone had done this before or knew any information related to it.
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You get a credit from the IRS for foreign taxes you've already paid, and most other countries will have a higher tax rate than the US (with some exceptions for flat tax countries like Singapore, Chile, and several others). So in the end, you'd most likely not end up having to pay a cent to the IRS, just file a return saying "fuck you, I already paid France" or whatever country you're living in. There's just about no situation where you'd end up paying literally "double". Even in the flat tax countries, all you'd have to do is top up whatever extra taxes you might owe to the US/IRS if your tax rate in Singapore/Chile was lower than what it would have been in the US.

I think anyways. I have no personal experience with it. I know fuck all about visas, work permits and the like, which is really where the biggest issues lie.
 
Sutekh

Sutekh

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Eomer_sl said:
You get a credit from the IRS for foreign taxes you've already paid, and most other countries will have a higher tax rate than the US (with some exceptions for flat tax countries like Singapore, Chile, and several others). So in the end, you'd most likely not end up having to pay a cent to the IRS, just file a return saying "fuck you, I already paid France" or whatever country you're living in. There's just about no situation where you'd end up paying literally "double". Even in the flat tax countries, all you'd have to do is top up whatever extra taxes you might owe to the US/IRS if your tax rate in Singapore/Chile was lower than what it would have been in the US.

I think anyways. I have no personal experience with it. I know fuck all about visas, work permits and the like, which is really where the biggest issues lie.
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Neat! I was willing to pay extra, but it seems like the hard part will be getting the visa.
 
Xarpolis

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My wife moved from Japan to the US some 10 years ago now. She came over initially on a student visa, which allowed her to work for a limited number of hours per week and only where she attended school. For example, she worked at the school's book store, then helped out with cleaning classrooms and shit.

After a student visa, she got a working visa, but that has a shorter duration. I believe it's like 1 year maximum, or something similar. They didn't offer back to back working visa's either, so she had to apply for a second student visa after the working visa expired. What sucks about this, is she was becoming a nurse, making a decent amount of money and paying taxes, but the government refuses to let you work and pay taxes without a working visa, and they're limited. She fought that battle for a while until I came into the picture and eventually got married. It was a real pain in the ass until that point, though. The US makes shit really difficult if you want to be completely legal here. It's easy if you're illegal, though. Stupid how that works.

I couldn't comment on moving from the US elsewhere, but I'm sure it would be similar. Maybe not as severe as that, but you never know.
 
Frenzied Wombat

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Xarpolis_sl said:
My wife moved from Japan to the US some 10 years ago now. She came over initially on a student visa, which allowed her to work for a limited number of hours per week and only where she attended school. For example, she worked at the school's book store, then helped out with cleaning classrooms and shit.

After a student visa, she got a working visa, but that has a shorter duration. I believe it's like 1 year maximum, or something similar. They didn't offer back to back working visa's either, so she had to apply for a second student visa after the working visa expired. What sucks about this, is she was becoming a nurse, making a decent amount of money and paying taxes, but the government refuses to let you work and pay taxes without a working visa, and they're limited. She fought that battle for a while until I came into the picture and eventually got married. It was a real pain in the ass until that point, though. The US makes shit really difficult if you want to be completely legal here. It's easy if you're illegal, though. Stupid how that works.

I couldn't comment on moving from the US elsewhere, but I'm sure it would be similar. Maybe not as severe as that, but you never know.
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It took me seven years, a stack of paperwork, and multiple in-person interviews to get my green card/citizenship. This was with a uni degree and an established job in the US.
 
lurkingdirk

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I have lived and worked in several different countries, and the hard part is always the visa. Getting it nailed down in a timely fashion is usually what is the hardest part. For the most part, if you're a law abiding citizen, have the money to get the visa process happening, and can coherently answer questions, you're going to get your visa. Making it happen in a timely fashion...no guarantees.

Get your visa, enjoy living abroad. Your company can apply to pay you legally regardless of where you're working, that's not hard, either. My advice is to hire a lawyer to make it happen. It will really save you a lot of headaches.
 
Sutekh

Sutekh

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lurkingdirk_sl said:
I have lived and worked in several different countries, and the hard part is always the visa. Getting it nailed down in a timely fashion is usually what is the hardest part. For the most part, if you're a law abiding citizen, have the money to get the visa process happening, and can coherently answer questions, you're going to get your visa. Making it happen in a timely fashion...no guarantees.

Get your visa, enjoy living abroad. Your company can apply to pay you legally regardless of where you're working, that's not hard, either. My advice is to hire a lawyer to make it happen. It will really save you a lot of headaches.
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Hm, I never really thought about a lawyer handling the process but that makes sense. Thanks.
 
Frenzied Wombat

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Yes, definitely get a lawyer unless you want to be buried in paperwork where one typo will set you back months in the process.
 
lindz

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Even through marriage it took me four years to get a green card. The whole process is fucking retarded. I wanted to have my sister come down and stay with me for six months to a year while she worked just to get her out of the funk she's in, but there was just no way we could make it work.

Moving from the US however is way easier. My husband (American) went to school in England and he never had to do much of anything for a student visa. It was not much beyond a stamp in his passport that said he was a student and would be there for however many months. May have changed some in the past ten years.
 
O

Obtenor_sl

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I've done it twice, first from Venezuela to Canada and then to the US where I am now.

From Venezuela to Canada I got a permanent resident card (maple leaf) from my background in engineering and english/francais skills; after 3 years in Canada I got my Canadian citizenship. I was then offered an opportunity for a masters in the US with the possibility of working afterwards, so I took it, I met my now husband, and we applied for a marriage green card, which I now have, 2 more years and I can apply for american citizenship.

I also have a european passport (spanish) from my grandfather, although I've never lived in Europe, just visited.

It's definitely not easy to move, I moved with only two bags; but if you're smart and work hard you can make a living anywhere.
 
Xarpolis

Xarpolis

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I'll say that once my wife and I got married, it was EASY to get her a green card/permanent residence. Granted, this was 7 years ago, but we simply filed the paperwork and they said yes. Then a year or two later we had to go to the American Embassy in Philadelphia to renew the green card, now it's hers forever, no questions asked. Keep in mind that my wife does not ever want to become an American citizen. While I don't think that question was ever asked, she wants to remain a Japanese citizen with a Japanese passport. *shrugs*. If we ever move to Japan upon retirement age, I'll forsake my American citizenship as well, so that the US will have no claim on my property (in Japan) upon my death. As it stands, they assume control over that shit for whatever reason. I guess so they can tax you and/or take your 50% cash if you have over $500,000 in assets.
 
O

Obtenor_sl

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Xarpolis_sl said:
I'll say that once my wife and I got married, it was EASY to get her a green card/permanent residence. Granted, this was 7 years ago, but we simply filed the paperwork and they said yes. Then a year or two later we had to go to the American Embassy in Philadelphia to renew the green card, now it's hers forever, no questions asked. Keep in mind that my wife does not ever want to become an American citizen. While I don't think that question was ever asked, she wants to remain a Japanese citizen with a Japanese passport. *shrugs*. If we ever move to Japan upon retirement age, I'll forsake my American citizenship as well, so that the US will have no claim on my property (in Japan) upon my death. As it stands, they assume control over that shit for whatever reason. I guess so they can tax you and/or take your 50% cash if you have over $500,000 in assets.
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Why not? I thought Japan looks the 'other' way when it comes to dual citizenship. I looked on Wiki (haha) "A renunciation of foreign citizenship made before Japanese officials may be considered by a foreign state as having no legal effect as is the case with, for example, United States citizenship" (Japanese nationality law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Also, you should acquire another citizenship before you renounce to another one, you can't be stateless. I hold 3, venezuelan, spanish (european) and canadian, I can renounce to any if I want to because I have others.



Picasso_sl said:
Going from us to Canada easy peasy if you're an engineer?
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For the most part yeah, you can do a TN-1 visa which you get at the border that allows you to work in certain fields for a couple of years. Canada also has the 'Federal Skilled Worker' program that allows certain people from certain professions with degrees and english/french language a 'Green Card' (Maple leaf) by just applying, that's how I got mine and the process took almost 2 years.
 
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