Tier 2 General: Supplementary Income from overseas job

Hello all!

TLDR; can a T2(g) have a remote overseas job as supplementary income, if it is less than 20 hours/wk?

Some background:

• I'm from the US & am currently a US citizen
• Have a T2(g) visa
• I've been in the UK for < 1 year

I've read all of the existing posts on this board regarding the "supplementary income" "supplementary income" rules for T2(g), which (as of 2017) state only that:

• The visa holder must continue to perform the role specified in the CoS
• The second job must be the same profession as the role in the CoS (or on shortage occupation list -- not relevant here)
• Must be for <= 20 hours per week

I've been offered a part-time job (about 10hr/wk) with a US company. The job is remote, and I'd be paid in dollars into a US bank account (this is probably not relevant from the perspective of the HO). The new job is exactly the same profession as the current (CoS) job.
I currently do not have a second job -- just trying to determine the legality of accepting this offer.

Putting aside the question of how to pay tax on this income, can I accept this work under the terms of my visa?
Does it matter what my tax classification for this role is in the USA? e.g. if I'm paid as a contractor vs. permanent employee?

According to this employment status calculator this new role falls under the employment category (not self-employment), even if I am paid through an LLC of my creation.

Any help is greatly appreciated Been pulling my hair out on this one -- there's just not much information available.

If it is legal to accept this offer, what are the tax implications?

Thanks!

IMO, u are safe to accept the offer.
It would get tricky if you declare the income here. However, if you dont, u are also not complying with law.

robsmith02 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 10, 2017 9:52 pm

Hello all!

TLDR; can a T2(g) have a remote overseas job as supplementary income, if it is less than 20 hours/wk?

Some background:

• I'm from the US & am currently a US citizen
• Have a T2(g) visa
• I've been in the UK for < 1 year

I've read all of the existing posts on this board regarding the "supplementary income" "supplementary income" rules for T2(g), which (as of 2017) state only that:

• The visa holder must continue to perform the role specified in the CoS
• The second job must be the same profession as the role in the CoS (or on shortage occupation list -- not relevant here)
• Must be for <= 20 hours per week

I've been offered a part-time job (about 10hr/wk) with a US company. The job is remote, and I'd be paid in dollars into a US bank account (this is probably not relevant from the perspective of the HO). The new job is exactly the same profession as the current (CoS) job.
I currently do not have a second job -- just trying to determine the legality of accepting this offer.

Putting aside the question of how to pay tax on this income, can I accept this work under the terms of my visa?
Does it matter what my tax classification for this role is in the USA? e.g. if I'm paid as a contractor vs. permanent employee?

According to this employment status calculator this new role falls under the employment category (not self-employment), even if I am paid through an LLC of my creation.

Any help is greatly appreciated Been pulling my hair out on this one -- there's just not much information available.

If it is legal to accept this offer, what are the tax implications?

Thanks!

I am not sure if overseas jobs can be used as supplementary job. I am however sure that you will need to declare it and then make arrangements to pay your taxes correctly as you are resident in UK. Given that you will also pay tax in the US, I guess you will need to assess if it's worth it.

Thanks for the responses everyone -

The supplementary job would pay nearly as much as my CoS job for only 10-20hr/wk of work! So I'd really like to find a way to accept it

Does anyone know how I would declare this income on my UK tax return? As I understand it, I'll be submitting a self-assessment anyway because of my US investment accounts. The US and UK have a treaty which prevents double taxation, so I won't be paying double tax on the income.

Cheers

I know that reply is kinda late but i just saw the post now while searching to resolve an issue of my own.

Just want to say that the ukvi regulations regarding extra work and the 20 hours max..etc is only valid for work in the UK. The proof to that is that if you are going to work more than 20 hours you will need another CoS which means another resident labour market test to make sure that you are not just roaming the UK job market getting jobs as you pease while they should go first to UK citizens.

So to conclude, you are not breaking the rules doing the overseas job remotely and there is no way on earth UKVI will be able to know about it which further proves the point as you can't enforce something you are unable to independently verify. With UK jobs they can find out about it from your national insurance number.

The tax is another issue which is more of a moral issue as again there's no way they will know about that income especially that it is going into an overseas bank account, however I would ofcourse recommend that you declare and pay that tax if required to.

zooz333 wrote: ↑

Sat May 05, 2018 10:37 am

Just want to say that the ukvi regulations regarding extra work and the 20 hours max..etc is only valid for work in the UK. The proof to that is that if you are going to work more than 20 hours you will need another CoS which means another resident labour market test to make sure that you are not just roaming the UK job market getting jobs as you pease while they should go first to UK citizens.

So to conclude, you are not breaking the rules doing the overseas job remotely

I disagree. Neither the immigration rules nor any guidance make an exception, either explicit or implied, for work undertaken for an employer who is outside the UK.

zooz333 wrote: ↑

Sat May 05, 2018 10:37 am

and there is no way on earth UKVI will be able to know about it which further proves the point as you can't enforce something you are unable to independently verify. With UK jobs they can find out about it from your national insurance number.

If your advice is based on what someone can get away without the Home Office finding out, rather than what is permitted under the law, I think OP will correctly disregard it.

sah10406 I cannot disagree with you as with regards to the rules you are right. What I should've clarified is that this was my own opinion. In addition I believe everyone who have studied the immigration rules in this country would agree that in many cases they are vague and ambiguos offering many interpretations or missing necessary clarifications.

What I mentioned is based on common sense. If you work more than 20 hours for an overseas employer and what you said about the rules also including overseas employers is valid,, can you explain how you are supposed to get a CoS from that employer as per the rules?? The additional CoS required by the rules could only be obtained from a UK employer.

[/quote]If your advice is based on what someone can get away without the Home Office finding out, rather than what is permitted under the law, I think OP will correctly disregard it.[/quote]

That is not what I meant at all. Again I was trying to make a sensible point since the rules are not clear. That point being that if you are an Authority who wants to enforce a rule you must always develop mechanisms for verification. Since those mechanisms are non existing then it follows logically that the rule does not exist.