Working in Finland - visas, taxes, NI?

[chucklz]

Hi,

I have been offered an assignment in Finland for initial 3 months, likely extensions.

I am UK Citizen, my partner is Australian Citizen. We are in UK applying for fiance visa for myself, so we can return to Australia to get married. This will take up to 6 months to approve. We have lived together in Australia for over a year.

She is concerned that she is only allowed 90 days as a tourist in Finland/EU, which apparently applies to UK citizens too, though I believe that I will be granted a visa to work, and she will be given a partner/spouse visa. although we can't confirm this until I speak to the agency tomorrow. Can anyone offer any information on how this would be handled by immigration departments, and whether the agency is likely to organise visas for the both of us?

I have not earned or paid tax/NI for over two years, but I have been claiming benefit in the UK for the last 6 weeks. Previously, I was living off savings.

Can anyone suggest what will be the best situation regarding umbrella companies (onshore or offshore, UK or Finnish) to reduce any liability to UK and Finnish government/tax departments?

Thanks for any help/advise.

[SueEllen]

Are you really unable to use the search facilities?

There was a recent thread on tax in Finland and there is the Finnish tax website which is in English.

Another thing you should note is don't try and scam Scandinavian governments when it comes to tax. Their rules are very clear and easy to understand.

[chucklz]

Are you really unable to use the search facilities?

My apologies, I used search and found many threads on working in Finland, but nothing that suited my particular situation, and hoped someone may have a similar experience they could share.

There was a recent thread on tax in Finland and there is the Finnish tax website which is in English.

Could you perhaps please point to such thread, as it appears I wasn't quite accurate enough with my search terms?

Another thing you should note is don't try and scam Scandinavian governments when it comes to tax. Their rules are very clear and easy to understand.

I am not sure why you would suggest I am trying to "scam" any government.

Neither am I sure why you would apparently discourage new members posting their questions, asking advice, or looking for discussion on a discussion forum?

Thanks for your "help", though!

[Sysman]

She is concerned that she is only allowed 90 days as a tourist in Finland/EU, which apparently applies to UK citizens too, though I believe that I will be granted a visa to work, and she will be given a partner/spouse visa. although we can't confirm this until I speak to the agency tomorrow. Can anyone offer any information on how this would be handled by immigration departments, and whether the agency is likely to organise visas for the both of us?

I don't have any knowledge of Finland, but one of my colleagues was in a similar situation in Switzerland. His wife to be was from the Far East so she couldn't stay in the UK for extended periods either. What they did was that she would come to Switzerland for 3 months and then go either to the UK or her home country for the next 3 months.

Immigration agencies can be pretty tough and it's important that you observe their rules, including entry and exit dates. Above all, be patient and don't annoy them by pestering, as your paperwork can hit the bottom of the pile pretty swiftly.

[camfish]

Hi,

I have been offered an assignment in Finland for initial 3 months, likely extensions.

I am UK Citizen, my partner is Australian Citizen. We are in UK applying for fiance visa for myself, so we can return to Australia to get married. This will take up to 6 months to approve. We have lived together in Australia for over a year.

She is concerned that she is only allowed 90 days as a tourist in Finland/EU, which apparently applies to UK citizens too, though I believe that I will be granted a visa to work, and she will be given a partner/spouse visa. although we can't confirm this until I speak to the agency tomorrow. Can anyone offer any information on how this would be handled by immigration departments, and whether the agency is likely to organise visas for the both of us?

I have not earned or paid tax/NI for over two years, but I have been claiming benefit in the UK for the last 6 weeks. Previously, I was living off savings.

Can anyone suggest what will be the best situation regarding umbrella companies (onshore or offshore, UK or Finnish) to reduce any liability to UK and Finnish government/tax departments?

Thanks for any help/advise.

Dont' know about your other half, but you can work for up to 6 months through a UK umbrella or ltd company, and pay UK taxes. You are meant to register with the police after 3 months. You don't need any sort of visa as an EU citizen.

If you stay over 6 months, you then have to pay back ALL Finnish taxes for the first six months and claim back your UK taxes at the end of the tax year. Obviously, if you know you're going to be there for a while, you might as well pay Finnish taxes from the start. And to do that you'll need a management co or similar, or possibly set up a ltd co in Finland (but I don'tt know how you go about that).

For more info:
Verohallinto - Tax Administration*»*Employee
and
In to Finland Front page