Working for a UK company but living in Rwanda

[laramaree]

Hi,

I have a somewhat unique situation and would like some advice. I was conctacting in London, but have now started a job for a US company based out of Rwanda. So for the next year at least I will be living and working in Rwanda.

The London company I used to contract for have asked to keep me on in a consultant type role. So I have negotiated an hourly rate but the work will be on an adhoc basis (so no fixed hours a month rather I will bill for the time taken to resolve issues when and as they arise). So the work is only likely to be part time (squeezed around my other full time position in Rwanda). All of the work will be completed in Rwanda but supporting the UK operations of my old company.

My old company needs to pay into either an umbrella company or a ltd company and I need advice as to the best way to go. The umbrella company that I was using when living in London can no longer assist as I am no longer based in London.

Thanks for all your help

[DeludedAussie]

Hi,

I have a somewhat unique situation and would like some advice. I was conctacting in London, but have now started a job for a US company based out of Rwanda. So for the next year at least I will be living and working in Rwanda.

The London company I used to contract for have asked to keep me on in a consultant type role. So I have negotiated an hourly rate but the work will be on an adhoc basis (so no fixed hours a month rather I will bill for the time taken to resolve issues when and as they arise). So the work is only likely to be part time (squeezed around my other full time position in Rwanda). All of the work will be completed in Rwanda but supporting the UK operations of my old company.

My old company needs to pay into either an umbrella company or a ltd company and I need advice as to the best way to go. The umbrella company that I was using when living in London can no longer assist as I am no longer based in London.

Thanks for all your help

Set up offshopre company and pay no tax - You are now non domiciled

[Sysman]

Set up offshore company and pay no tax - You are now non domiciled

Not non-domiciled until out of the UK. Days outside the UK need to be counted to make sure you qualify for non-domiciled status. Could also go self-employed, if the US company will allow it.

Regarding the London client, make sure that you will have affordable internet access out in Rwanda before signing anything.

[Clare@InTouch]

If you've moved abroad on an employment contract that lasts at least 1 year then you're non-resident the day after you leave - this is different from being non-domiciled, which is much more difficult to change. The rules are complicated though, as Sysman points out above the days you return to the UK have an effect too.

Residence and Domicile | Property Tax | 1 Minute Guides


You need to know what the tax situition in Rwanda is like before making any decision too, if it's as harsh as Germany or the Netherlands then that could have a bearing on how you proceed - there's no point saving money here only to pay 75% abroad because you weren't fully aware of the tax system there. Is there a local accountant you could approach in Rwanda?

[Sysman]

Residence and Domicile | Property Tax | 1 Minute Guides

You need to know what the tax situition in Rwanda is like before making any decision too, if it's as harsh as Germany or the Netherlands then that could have a bearing on how you proceed - there's no point saving money here only to pay 75% abroad because you weren't fully aware of the tax system there. Is there a local accountant you could approach in Rwanda?

Thanks Clare, I'd forgotten about that bit. For long term residents it was 80% on your worldwide income in one place I worked, and you needed a certificate to say that you didn't owe any tax in order to leave the country. Needless to say there was an official way around that, otherwise nobody would have gone, but it needed doing properly.

[laramaree]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your replies and advice. I am already living and working in Rwanda (and the internet access although slow is actually really cheap and readily available over here). My work in Rwanda is a full time position and my salary for that is already tax free because I am working for a not for profit organisation, so the the main problem I am facing is that the London company is unable to pay into an overseas bank account, they need a UK bank account to pay into. I am not planning on transferring or accessing any of the money earned into Rwanda. I am an Australian citizen so eventually I would plan to transfer the money from the UK to Australia. The scheme I was using when in the UK was transferring my money through Singapore (a nice little 10% tax rate) but they are no longer able to help me because the intermediary company (with the UK bank account) can only help me if I am a UK resident.

So I am really just looking for the simplest legal way to get the consulting work paid into a UK bank account. I am not expecting it is going to amount to a large sum of money as I am really only doing this as a personal favour to my old boss (who has been left in the lurch when my trained replacement quit a month after left).

Thanks again for all your help