A what would you do....

[GT03ROB]

creampuff said:

Haven't talked to HR yet but they have suggested in an email that I can live in Bahrain or Saudi and Bahrain is about a 45 min commute.

Is living in Bahrain feasible if you work in Saudi? Does it really take 45 mins or is it longer? Is living in Bahrain any cheaper than living in Al-Khobar? Is long term car rental reasonably priced?

On a good day yes.....Thursday night no. People do commute between the 2 so it is perfectly possible. Thursday's evenings are the worst but if you hit the causeway by about 3 - 3:30 its no problem. A bad day though will be a 4hr crossing. Long term car rental is reasonable by European standards, but i suspect Bahrain is more expensive, leaving aside the fact you have bars, which will drive the cost up!

Crossing the causeway is quite painless, I used to fly into Bahrain to get to Jubail.

[creampuff]

^
OK maybe I'll cancel the Bahrain idea then.

They have confirmed I'd be getting a resident visa which does not require an exit visa.

[GT03ROB]

Creampuff, YHM.

[Carl_Manchester]

GT03ROB said:

Carl_Manchester said:

Unless the whole family moves to Saudi and you sell your house (assuming you own) Hmrc will charge you uk tax on Saudi earnings to pay for the public services your family uses in uk.

Bull st,

HMRC no longer use just the 183 day rule for Tax residency, they also consider other factors such as if you are still married and wife is in UK, whether you own a house in UK, where your kids are, do you send the money back home to UK on a monthly basis etc.

Seek advice from a chartered accountant in this area before making a decision, assuming you are not already one yourself. From personal experience it is harder to 'dodge' the HMRC Tax residency rules these days unless you cut all ties and sell your house or, enter some kind of scheme.

On the other hand, some peeps just do the move blindly and save up problems for later when HMRC come a knocking.

[MarshPhantom]

OP, I don't think you'll be able to imagine what staying away from the family is like until you do it. What will your situation be if you want to come home early and have to return to the UK?

[GT03ROB]

Carl_Manchester said:

GT03ROB said:

Carl_Manchester said:

Unless the whole family moves to Saudi and you sell your house (assuming you own) Hmrc will charge you uk tax on Saudi earnings to pay for the public services your family uses in uk.

Bull st,

HMRC no longer use just the 183 day rule for Tax residency, they also consider other factors such as if you are still married and wife is in UK, whether you own a house in UK, where your kids are, do you send the money back home to UK on a monthly basis etc.

Seek advice from a chartered accountant in this area before making a decision, assuming you are not already one yourself. From personal experience it is harder to 'dodge' the HMRC Tax residency rules these days unless you cut all ties and sell your house or, enter some kind of scheme.

On the other hand, some peeps just do the move blindly and save up problems for later when HMRC come a knocking.

So the fact I am still married, wife living in the UK, own my own house in the UK, remit all money into the UK monthly, have health club memberships in the UK, bank accounts in the UK, credit cards in the UK, cars in the UK all make me a resident? HMRC disagree with you & say I am non-resident.

Unfortunately you forgot the automatic overseas test, which if you pass, all others (sufficient ties test) which you put above become redundant.

Most of us that work overseas, including creampuff if he goes to Saudi, will pass the automatic overseas test which is "Works full time abroad, and spends less than 91 days in the UK in the tax year, and less than 31 days where work in the UK for more than 3 hours"

Now none of this should be undertaken without advice, however for most of us whilst HMRC have tightened up, the fundamentals have not changed. It's those that existed on the margins before that the clampdown went for.

So yes your advice whilst given in a well meaning manner was unduly alarmist & frankly bullst.

[creampuff]

MarshPhantom said:

OP, I don't think you'll be able to imagine what staying away from the family is like until you do it. What will your situation be if you want to come home early and have to return to the UK?

I'd have an entry/exit visa for Saudi (i.e. I would not have to apply for a Saudi exit visa). I could likely take time off and return to the UK more regularly than my 12-week on 2-week off rota, but I'd have to be careful not to spend more than 3 months in the UK for tax reasons. It would make it problematic to return to the UK to change job to a local one if the oil/gas industry picked up in the UK, both for non-resident tax reasons and because I'd be on a 60 day notice period in Saudi. The Saudi 60 day notice period is long enough that, had I been subject to a notice period that long in the past, it would have disqualified me for all UK positions which I have had recently.

[Carl_Manchester]

GT03ROB said:

So the fact I am still married, wife living in the UK, own my own house in the UK, remit all money into the UK monthly, have health club memberships in the UK, bank accounts in the UK, credit cards in the UK, cars in the UK all make me a resident? HMRC disagree with you & say I am non-resident.

I personally got caught by the HMRC 'ties' number test (3 ties in the end) which means I could only spend 40 something days in UK during tax year (as i recall the number of ties reduces the number of nights allowed in UK), my job ended slightly earlier than planned within the same tax year and I was shafted.

Good luck to you.