Working under Ltd Co from Hong Kong OR Intl Umbrella Co?

[ForBajor]

Work visa required?

Definitely. All being well I'm on a dependant's visa in tow with my other half who starts on 1st Dec in HK.

If her visa hits problems then, well we'll be in Plan B territory all round.

[ForBajor]

If you are actually working remotely in Hong Kong, then your company will be totally "Hong Konganese".

I would suggest here almost certainly you shouldn't be arranging this through a Hong Kong company that you set up, when you get there.

It's basically a Hong Kong export business.

The dual tax treaty is irrelevant in this case.

As you suggest an alternative might be an international umbrella company and declare the income in Hong Kong.

I've done some digging and spoken to an international umbrella company, and my accountant.

You're right in that as I'm a 1-man company, as soon as I'm working in HK then my company has essentially moved.

However I am also told that there is significance in the length of time I continue to trade under my UK Ltd Co when in HK. If it goes over 6 months then a can of worms opens, including complex tax issues. If it's less than 6 months, and thereafter my Ltd Co is closed down / dormant, that's different.

Accountant and INTL umbrella co say that a nice clean transition contract would be for 3 months, winding down Feb / March 2016. Possibly additional HK income tax on that (15%) but if that's acceptable impact for a contract I can work on as soon as I'm there. I'm just waiting to hear from QDoS on this, as they say they can offer some advice.

It means that after March 2016 I need to operate in a more standard way via HK agencies (simplest) unless there is some good reason to create a Ltd Co in HK.

[stek]

Work visa required?

[BlasterBates]

If you are actually working remotely in Hong Kong, then your company will be totally "Hong Konganese".

I would suggest here almost certainly you shouldn't be arranging this through a Hong Kong company that you set up, when you get there.

It's basically a Hong Kong export business.

The dual tax treaty is irrelevant in this case.

As you suggest an alternative might be an international umbrella company and declare the income in Hong Kong.

[ForBajor]

Hi,

I am currently a contractor in the UK under my own limited company.

My wife and I will be moving to Hong Kong at the end of November as she is starting a new job.

My currently client contract will expire on 6th November, but they would like to explore ways in which I can support them from Hong Kong via remote working during the transition to someone else. I'm fine with this.

Options appear to be:

1. Another contract via my UK Ltd.

My client says this would be fine for them, and as long as I have connectivity they are not concerned about my personal location on the planet, be it in the UK or elsewhere.

My accountant says that I need to check what the tax implications are, as I might have to pay another layer of
income tax when I'm in HK.

I understand there is a dual tax treaty between the UK and Hong Kong which might make this less complicated than it sounds to me. Can anyone substantiate this? I am still researching.

I also know the tax rate in Hong Kong is up to around 15%, so this would not be a disaster for a contrct that could be put in place very quickly.

Although I believe I would need to change the address of my UK Ltd, because my wife and I will be renting our house. I can change to a PO Box address, and there appear to be lots of providers of such a service.

2. New contract under an International umbrella company

This seems feasible, and would be relatively easy to set up according to my client, for they would have an agreement with the umbrella co.

Which of these two poses less risk of complications for me? Does anyone have experience of Ltd Co contractnig in HK under their Ltd?

Thanks in advance