Freelancing From Hong Kong as an Expat

[scrambler]

gonna bein payin tax at the airport... all that fuel... no doubt those late night codin sessions require frequent trips to mini bar wit red bull... might be splashin cash in wanchai... all money comin thru here that otherwise wouldnt...

ideally he would get a legit biz goin - but tax if he got a good accountant - is gonna be smaller than his bar bill...

the way of the warrior... stand aside all ye doubters ( now where's my can of tetleys? )

[bibbju]

not if he's workin in a hotel in thailand...

and I never met any member of the HSBC ( or insert other local bank ) who could be described as even remotely awake...

You'd be surprised. The threat of prison hanging over staff tends to wake them up a bit. HSBC especially as they insist staff meet UK and US compliance laws, as well as HK law. Every employee is trained on this on an annual basis and has it repeatedly rammed down their throats. Why do you think HSBC HK has so many staff checking and re-checking everything? Because they're terrified.

As for overseas income for UK residents, read HMRC's website. If the OP wants to go ahead with his somewhat naive plan, he's opening himself up to be bent over in a variety of ways if he returns to the UK.

[thatandyrose]

@all hey guys, I really appreciate the input, it's incredibly helpful!!

@howardcoomb, sorry Howard (is it ok if I call you Howard?), yeah I don't think I'm getting it, I know it may be frustrating since you feel you're repeating yourself! but I guess I don't get it?

Let me try an clarify as simply as possible, maybe you can pick up on my main point of confusion.

Ok so i totally get you on all the illegalities of some of the activities suggested. So, lets leave them aside for now.

What I hear you say is that setting up a company in the UK has no advantage, AND I could set up a company anywhere else. That's what I'm hearing, but I've possibly got it wrong.

However, following this thread, it seems that, unless I get married, sponsored, special skills visa, or have HK$1 million then I can't actually set up a company here.

I'm assuming that, actually, I can't set up a company anywhere in the world that I don't have residency in. I mention the UK because that's the only place I have residency in.

I'd love to set up a company in a tax "friendly" environment, but that seem impossible for MY situation. It's entirely possible of course. But not for me.

Does that make sense?

[thatandyrose]

btw I knew an Andy Rose, family from Donnie or somewhere near, you are not thatandyrose are you?

haha, no not me unfortunately.

[thatandyrose]

As Howard rightly says, OP what you're suggesting is illegal.

Also, you will be still legally be a UK resident (since you won't be legally resident anywhere else, you can't claim to be non-resident) which means that if you bring the proceeds of overseas work into the UK, you are still liable to be taxed by HMRC on it.

I don't know how to say this in a nice gentle way but you need to do a lot more research - and maybe become a bit more mature Just because the rules don't suit you, it doesn't mean you can just ignore them. You need to find a legal way of achieving your end goal or it will, without doubt, end badly for you.

Hey bibbju, no I'm taking things a bit lightly in the forum, but really I'm trying to gather as much info as possible. This is so new to me that I need some context to start my research.

In all seriousness I am looking for the legal route, which is why I'm thinking I'll just incorporate in the UK, and be done with that I think.

[thatandyrose]

You won't have any tax benefit here on a tourist visa.

I hope you have health insurance to cover extended stays away from the UK.

Thanks emx! yeah I've only been in HK for 3 weeks so setting all that up.

I've been always from the uk for 7 years! :-) All my previous insurance is in Australia, where I used to call home...

[bibbju]

OP, or rather notthatandyrose as we should probably call you now lol, just as an aside, UK tax for a Ltd company if you're freelancing and paying yourself dividends rather than salary isn't that bad at all. Have you checked this out? If you do decide to go down this route, I can recommend you a UK accountancy firm that specialises in looking after ltd company freelancers. Maybe it's an option to consider. That way you can work part of the year (legally!!) and travel the rest of the time (but still receive an income from your limited company while you're travelling). It's a way you could earn legally but gives you the opportunity to look for visa-sponsored work in HK, Thailand or wherever. Just an idea!

[thatandyrose]

OP, or rather notthatandyrose as we should probably call you now lol, just as an aside, UK tax for a Ltd company if you're freelancing and paying yourself dividends rather than salary isn't that bad at all. Have you checked this out? If you do decide to go down this route, I can recommend you a UK accountancy firm that specialises in looking after ltd company freelancers. Maybe it's an option to consider. That way you can work part of the year (legally!!) and travel the rest of the time (but still receive an income from your limited company while you're travelling). It's a way you could earn legally but gives you the opportunity to look for visa-sponsored work in HK, Thailand or wherever. Just an idea!

Hey bibbju, wow that's super useful! Yeah I find all this tax stuff so complicated. But getting there

Yeah I would LOVE to talk to a recommend accountant in the uk. I've actually got a holdings ltd pty and trust in Australia, so I'm talking to an accountant in sydney tomorrow. It'll be good to weigh up my options in terms of oz vs uk.

This just started because i wanted to see what the options where to open up a company here without being a resident, but I think it's pretty clear now that's not possible.

[HowardCoombs]

What I hear you say is that setting up a company in the UK has no advantage, AND I could set up a company anywhere else. That's what

That is correct. I cant think of any good reason why you would want to setup a company in the UK. You could also set one up in the USA or Canada, equally, neither make much sense based on the information you've given.

However, following this thread, it seems that, unless I get married, sponsored, special skills visa, or have HK$1 million then I can't actually set up a company here.

WRONG.
You (or anyone else for that matter) can setup an HKG company. Its relatively cheap and easy. If you set one up, it (generally) will need to pay profits tax (about 15-17%).

I'm assuming that, actually, I can't set up a company anywhere in the world that I don't have residency in. I mention the UK because that's the only place I have residency in.

Wrong. I have 2 BVI companies that I setup in the last 5 years, I havent been to BVI in more than 25 years.

I'd love to set up a company in a tax "friendly" environment, but that seem impossible for MY situation. It's entirely possible of course. But not for me.

WRONG. You can setup a company practically anywhere. Lots of local companies around to help you do that or you can try doing it yourself.

Note: I've said nothing about getting a work visa in this message. Its a different topic.

[bibbju]

Hey bibbju, wow that's super useful! Yeah I find all this tax stuff so complicated. But getting there

Yeah I would LOVE to talk to a recommend accountant in the uk. I've actually got a holdings ltd pty and trust in Australia, so I'm talking to an accountant in sydney tomorrow. It'll be good to weigh up my options in terms of oz vs uk.

This just started because i wanted to see what the options where to open up a company here without being a resident, but I think it's pretty clear now that's not possible.

These are the accountants I used for my UK Ltd co when I freelanced. I did a lot of research (I'm sad like that lol) before picking them. Great guys, top of their game and reasonably priced.

http://www.danbro.co.uk/

You'll probably also find this UK freelanding group really useful. These guys are pretty full-on and know their stuff:

https://www.pcg.org.uk/