Time on non-taxed contract "count" as time worked in UK?

[Bokislav82]

Hello,

I may soon be undertaking a position receiving a tax-free salary with an international organisation based in the UK. My question is does this "count" as time having worked in the UK given that I would not be making tax contributions to the social system during my employment?

Having worked at a similar organization in Paris, I know that many individuals had trouble acquiring French nationality as their applications were rejected because they had not been paying into French social services because they too were on tax-free contracts for all or some part of their time there.

The reason I ask is that I am a Croatian national and would be eligible for a permanent work permit if I had at least one year of work experience in the UK, so I need to know if time spent at this organization would fulfill that one-year requirement or not.

Thank you for any help you could provide!

[Wanderer]

You'll have to pay tax/NI unless you are below the thresholds.

[Amber]

See also, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... ork-uk.pdf

[Bokislav82]

Hi Wanderer - Thank you for your response, but I do not think I made myself clear enough. This instance has nothing to do with the amount I would be making, but the type of organization in question.

This particular organization enjoys benefits like those described here: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/remanual/re2400.htm. Here's how it works in the US, for example and the same thing applies in the UK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internatio ... nities_Act. These kinds of places enjoy this special status, but often their employees often encounter problems when trying to apply for citizenship in the countries where they have been working precisely because they have not been paying into their social systems or tax structures. It's good for income, but can create problems when it comes time to apply for a passport.

I may have to refer to someone at the organization itself because it is a very, very specific instance. I would imagine there's not even 10 organiztions in the UK that have this kind of status.

Amber - thank you very much! It looks like I would be going for a purple certificate or perhaps a blue if my Croatian papers come through quickly enough (I am still waiting to receive citizenship but believe it's a question of when and not if).

Thanks a lot for your time!

[Wanderer]

Hi Wanderer - Thank you for your response, but I do not think I made myself clear enough. This instance has nothing to do with the amount I would be making, but the type of organization in question.

This particular organization enjoys benefits like those described here: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/remanual/re2400.htm. Here's how it works in the US, for example and the same thing applies in the UK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internatio ... nities_Act. These kinds of places enjoy this special status, but often their employees often encounter problems when trying to apply for citizenship in the countries where they have been working precisely because they have not been paying into their social systems or tax structures. It's good for income, but can create problems when it comes time to apply for a passport.

I may have to refer to someone at the organization itself because it is a very, very specific instance. I would imagine there's not even 10 organiztions in the UK that have this kind of status.

Amber - thank you very much! It looks like I would be going for a purple certificate or perhaps a blue if my Croatian papers come through quickly enough (I am still waiting to receive citizenship but believe it's a question of when and not if).

Thanks a lot for your time!

I read the HMRC link, which is the only one relevant really, but it's full of maybes and shoulds, with the aggressive stances of both the HMRC and the UKVI recently, I suggest you should take the advice of a specialist tax expert before signing anything.

[Bokislav82]

Hi Wanderer - Thank you for your response, but I do not think I made myself clear enough. This instance has nothing to do with the amount I would be making, but the type of organization in question.

This particular organization enjoys benefits like those described here: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/remanual/re2400.htm. Here's how it works in the US, for example and the same thing applies in the UK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internatio ... nities_Act. These kinds of places enjoy this special status, but often their employees often encounter problems when trying to apply for citizenship in the countries where they have been working precisely because they have not been paying into their social systems or tax structures. It's good for income, but can create problems when it comes time to apply for a passport.

I may have to refer to someone at the organization itself because it is a very, very specific instance. I would imagine there's not even 10 organiztions in the UK that have this kind of status.

Amber - thank you very much! It looks like I would be going for a purple certificate or perhaps a blue if my Croatian papers come through quickly enough (I am still waiting to receive citizenship but believe it's a question of when and not if).

Thanks a lot for your time!

I read the HMRC link, which is the only one relevant really, but it's full of maybes and shoulds, with the aggressive stances of both the HMRC and the UKVI recently, I suggest you should take the advice of a specialist tax expert before signing anything.

The organization in question is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), so I doubt there will be shadiness, but I will absolutely take your advice because I am also a US citizen (just to complicate things further) and that country loves to tax its folks abroad.