Does Imm follow up on 'illegal workers'

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  1. #1

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    Does Imm follow up on 'illegal workers'

    My company in it's infinite incompetence did not realise that moving us to HK and paying us in HK from the HK entity prior to our visas arriving was illegal. Not only that, they declared the income on the tax form that employers have to fill in .... anybody any idea what I should do about this? Is it better just to keep quiet? Do I compound the error by putting the same amount on MY tax return? Is it the employee or the employers 'fault' if it all comes out? (bearing in mind this was an internal company transfer, so there was no need at all to be illegal, but they were just stupid)


  2. #2

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    My company in it's infinite incompetence did not realise that moving us to HK and paying us in HK from the HK entity prior to our visas arriving was illegal.
    Get them to talk to a lawyer. Both are at fault given that ignorance of the law is not really a defense.

  3. #3

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    As far as I can see you haven't broken any tax laws, if any its immigration laws that you've inadvertently broken. Being an illegal worker doesn't negate your duty to pay tax. Immigration and Inland Revenue aren't joined up in a way that might highlight this as far as I know. Moreover, it is the annual tax returns for the year that they will look at and match. If the employer and employee ones don't match then they will dig. If they do then I doubt that they will.

    Moreover, it's only the moving you to HK before you had a visa bit that's illegal. There's nothing wrong per se in being paid by the HK entity if you are employed outside HK (the reverse of the situation many expats are in where they are paid outside HK but employed in it - tax is driven by place of employment, not location of the company paying you). since these were all internal transfers I can't see that the IRD is going to dig to discover exactly when you moved from one office and one home to the other, particularly if the effect might be to lower the amount of tax you would pay here.

    If they were external recruits it might be different.


  4. #4

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    Simply put, Immigration and Revenue dont talk to each other.

    I happily worked and paid taxes for 3 years without having a work visa before becoming "legal".

    I wouldnt sweat it too much, but I would hurry up and get it fixed up "just in case"

    HC


  5. #5

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    Thanks. I think that answers my question - I will put the same number on my tax return as the company put on it's form and be done with it. HK gets more tax this way (unfortunately for me!) and the company again gets off scott-free for being incompetent. (They would have continued doing this if I had not pointed it out once I realised. At least our new joiners/transferrees are legal).


  6. #6

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    >> Simply put, Immigration and Revenue dont talk to each other.

    Yes, they do. Inland Revenue does not pull Immd records if I recall, but Immd does pull Inland Revenue / Police and a few other records on demand. Software systems to do this have been in place for a decade+ (1995/6?)


  7. #7

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    Yes, that's true - hence ImmD picking people up when they try to visit several years after doing a runner without paying off their tax bill.


  8. #8

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    >> ImmD picking people up when they try to visit several years after
    >> doing a runner without paying off their tax bill

    That one is proactively flagged (I think 8-9 months once you're overdue) by IRD, around the same time they send an order to your bank to freeze your account / employer if any to garnish wages.


  9. #9

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    Classification of work

    My company opened a branch office and moved some of us from the headquarters earlier this year - needless to say, we also arrived before formal approval for the branch office and work visas arrived.

    We were given strict instructions by our lawyers what we were "allowed" to do and not do - for example, attending business meetings is not classified as "work"

    Perhaps you could follow up on that with your legal counsel?


  10. #10

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    But surely if your company pays you, by definition you must be working? All I did was attend meetings for most of the first few months, that and fill in forms for banks/telecoms/ etc etc and find somewhere to live....


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