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Will my own government know if I "emigrate"?

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  1. #1

    Will my own government know if I "emigrate"?

    Hi,

    I hold a passport from a developed Asian country (let's just keep it at that...).
    I already declared permanent departure to my home country's government and declared that I will be living in Hong Kong. , I have given up on pretty all my previlages as a national during that process (seriously, even expats in my home country enjoy more benefits than I do), but still hold their passport (my only passport).

    I am considering to relocate to UK, but strongly don't want my home country to know that I moved out of Hong Kong.
    I currently do not pay any taxes in my home country, and only to HK. I do not have any criminal records or "flaggings".

    My concern is... would the UK government share that they "approved a visa" or have "Taxable income" to my home country's government?

    (I see that my home country has TIEA agreement with the UK).
    Open to consulting a lawyer... (British lawyer specializing in tax, I assume?)


  2. #2

  3. #3

    Ah crap.... Thanks!!
    Saved me in thousands of lawyer's fee.

    I guess I will be living in Hong Kong in the foreseeable future then


  4. #4

    Join Date
    May 2021
    Posts
    1,733

    So your decision to move to another country was solely based on whether the Govt actually shares information with the country it has TIEA agreement with!! Its an interesting threads day..


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Dec 2002
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    薄扶林
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    47,968

    I get the whole tax avoidance thing.. but there is also an opportunity cost that often outweighs tax issues (esp if thats an emotional thing as it is with a lot of people).


  6. #6

    Honestly not a tax issue at all... Was wondering about tax info shareing (And visa info sharing) as I suspected they might find out that I moved out of HK through that.

    Happy to pay taxes... a bit more complicated issue....


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Sep 2022
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    1,371

    This setup is too tempting to resist throwing in a guess. Engaged by home country employer to cover a HK based role that you've figured the work can be done remotely elsewhere so long as employer doesn't ever find out you're no longer physically based in HK.

    Edit - ahah see how arrogant our Singaporean asses are. Ooh just assume developed Asian country must be sg. I apologize, lifetime wip.

    Last edited by sarsi; 28-09-2022 at 04:19 PM.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by sarsi:
    This setup is too tempting to resist throwing in a guess.
    haha my bad...
    actually my employer would have to sponsor the visa so they would definitely know... they actually explicitly said it's okay to work elsewhere as long as it doesn't complicate the tax jurisdiction issue.

    If I chose to get HK/developed city/country salary and live elsewhere... I would choose SEA countries and live like a king

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Wanchai
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    5,063

    How long have you been in HK? If you are PR here then you are currently tax resident here and may have already lost your domicile in your home country. In that case i would think the UK revenue would report to the HK IRD.

    But this is all very speculative without knowing the tax treatment of passport holders from your country of birth.


  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Posts
    182

    If you're from "Five Eyes" country it's possible that they will, since they share such data among themselves. However unlikely that they would bother unless your profile would be flagged for some reason.


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