Moving business out of the country

[squarepeg]

I'm an EU national. I don't think I will be able to contract through my UK LTD company in the UK after Brexit, possibly well before that. Given this uncertainty I am thinking of incorporating a new company in Ireland, Switzerland, or Hong-Kong. Not interested in tax-doging, but being able to continue earning a living after Home Office sends me a letter to piss off within 30 days from the date of the letter.

My question is has anyone incorporated in any of the jurisdictions mentioned above and continues contracting through such companies within the UK? What reporting needs to be done? Can you recommend accountants (preferably based in London) who are familiar with such structures?

Feel free to point me to other forums I should be asking these questions in.

[SueEllen]

You are allowed to use a UK limited company even if not a UK citizen.

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You are allowed to use a UK limited company even if not a UK citizen.

That may change if I get classified as an illegal immigrant. Which may happen after Brexit. The new "hostile environment" laws coming into effect in 2017 will require banks to check immigration status of non-Brits and will give them the powers to freeze assets of illegal immigrants. Should I no longer be classified as a legal immigrant after the two-year period from the moment Britain invokes article 50, that may create a very difficult situation for me and I want to plan ahead.

[SueEllen]

Makes no difference. Anyone can open a limited company registered in the UK unless they have been banned from being a director.

Having business banking is a separate and different matter.

[sal]

I'm an EU national.~snip~Given this uncertainty I am thinking of incorporating a new company in Ireland, Switzerland, or Hong-Kong.

Why not your home country?

being able to continue earning a living after Home Office sends me a letter to piss off within 30 days from the date of the letter. ~snip~ My question is has anyone incorporated in any of the jurisdictions mentioned above and continues contracting through such companies within the UK

Thought home Office kicked you out... how are you going to keep on contracting in UK?

Not interested in tax-doging

Are you sure, given the above?

[squarepeg]

Why not your home country?



Thought home Office kicked you out... how are you going to keep on contracting in UK?



Are you sure, given the above?

I am here legally. Have not been kicked out. Have never broken any laws. I pay taxes, always have. The advice I have been given so far is that if I am resident in the UK and own a company registered outside of the UK that company will still have to pay UK tax, because it is managed from within the UK. Also, any pay/dividends paid to myself will be taxed here. That's fine by me. I have no time for tax dodging schemes. What I am looking for is advice/real life stories from people who have incorporated in the jurisdictions mentioned in my original post.

As for my own country, I've spent enough time there and wanted a change so not interested in going back anytime soon.

[Sub]

If you living in UK for 3-4 years already in two years you will be eligible for UK Permanent Residence (well, in fact you will get it automatically as EEA citizen under current rules after 5 years being here). Being PR you will be able to work in UK as any British Citizen.

It may be quite funny as in case of hard Brexit (no work rights for Britons in Europe and vice versa) EEA citizens with PR will have advantage over British citizens in Britain for jobs involving travel/work within EU.

[eek]

I am here legally. Have not been kicked out. Have never broken any laws. I pay taxes, always have. The advice I have been given so far is that if I am resident in the UK and own a company registered outside of the UK that company will still have to pay UK tax, because it is managed from within the UK. Also, any pay/dividends paid to myself will be taxed here. That's fine by me. I have no time for tax dodging schemes. What I am looking for is advice/real life stories from people who have incorporated in the jurisdictions mentioned in my original post.

As for my own country, I've spent enough time there and wanted a change so not interested in going back anytime soon.

You really are paranoid. An awful lot has to happen before anyone decides that they will kick you out of the country (and to be blunt it will never happen as you are a skilled worker).

You can't use a non UK limited company to work in the UK no agency (or sane company would allow you to do so) so its not exactly going to be an easy thing to do..

[jbond007]

I'm an EU national. I don't think I will be able to contract through my UK LTD company in the UK after Brexit, possibly well before that. Given this uncertainty I am thinking of incorporating a new company in Ireland, Switzerland, or Hong-Kong. Not interested in tax-doging, but being able to continue earning a living after Home Office sends me a letter to piss off within 30 days from the date of the letter.

My question is has anyone incorporated in any of the jurisdictions mentioned above and continues contracting through such companies within the UK? What reporting needs to be done? Can you recommend accountants (preferably based in London) who are familiar with such structures?

Feel free to point me to other forums I should be asking these questions in.

I think you are jumping ahead. If I were in your shoes, I would wait at least for a year. As it stands today:
- Article 50 hasn't been officially triggered. There are talks about doing it by March end, but expect a numerous lawsuits before then
- Once it does gets triggered, there will be even more lawsuits and on-going discussions which will definitely involve the situation of EU nationals in the UK and UK nationals in the EU

I would wait for those discussions to officially begin and see the options being put on table before considering moving out of UK

Also, there seems to be a bit of contradiction in your statement. You seem to say that due to Brexit you will not be able to operate a Ltd company though be allowed to work in the UK. Like SE pointed out, you do not have to be a UK citizen (or even EU citizen) to operate a UK limited.

Shouldn't the main concern be whether EU nationals can continue working without a visa in the UK after Brexit.

[Lance]

That may change if I get classified as an illegal immigrant. Which may happen after Brexit. The new "hostile environment" laws coming into effect in 2017 will require banks to check immigration status of non-Brits and will give them the powers to freeze assets of illegal immigrants. Should I no longer be classified as a legal immigrant after the two-year period from the moment Britain invokes article 50, that may create a very difficult situation for me and I want to plan ahead.

All very speculative these points. Probably to the point of trump-style paranoia.

You'll certainly NOT get classified as 'illegal' overnight. No new laws will be in force until at least 2018, and Brexit cannot happen until at least 2018 in any case.

I'd suggest that you chill for at least 18 months. Probably 2 years. Your suggestions of different countries are based on an assumption that is more speculative than your panic if you think they'll help you in any case. Who knows what our relationship will be with HK, Ireland or any other country in the world after 2018.