Change of Citizenship and UK Employment

[sudeep_n]

Here is one for the gurus. And this is on behalf of one of my friends.

My friend works in Singapore for past about 10 years. He is a UK National. He has married a singapore national and has decided himself to take up Singapore natinality.

He works for a UK firm in Singapore - he still gets paid in the UK but gets some additional payment in Singapore as well (in fact all his UK salary turns out to be going to his couple of property mortgages).

He would have to give up UK nationality as Singapore does not allow dual nationality.

The question is would he need a UK work permit to continue working with the same company in Singapore? If yes, does he need to come to the UK to apply for that? When exactly can he apply - after getting Singapore passport or even before that - since he knows when he would get his nationality changed? Are there any other issues associated with the process?

A more informal one is If you were him would you give up UK citizenship for Singapore nationality (this is more from me because I am trying to convince him on that)?

[Christophe]

The question is would he need a UK work permit to continue working with the same company in Singapore? If yes, does he need to come to the UK to apply for that? When exactly can he apply - after getting Singapore passport or even before that - since he knows when he would get his nationality changed? Are there any other issues associated with the process?

A more informal one is If you were him would you give up UK citizenship for Singapore nationality (this is more from me because I am trying to convince him on that)?

No, he won't need a UK work permit to continue working in Singapore. The fact that he will have ceased to be a British citizen will not, of course, exempt him from any taxation obligations in the UK that might arise from his payment into a UK bank account, but that's a different point.

As to your second question, it's very hard for an outsider to answer that from the perspective of the person concerned. A few points occur to me (some comments, some questions):
- What advantages will he gain from the change of citizenship? In particular, are there things that he can't do as a non-citizen that he would be able to do as a citizen?
- Or is it just a matter of his feeling that he now "belongs" to Singapore and therefore wants to become a citizen? (Such feelings can be significant and are not to be derided.)
- He can, as of right, reclaim his British citizenship if he wants to. (This right is available once only; after that it is discretionary and so any subsequent applications of reclamation may or may not be granted.) This I suppose gives a "bolt-hole" for him, but if he ever did this he would have to, presumably, renounce his Singapore citizenship. There is also always the possibility, of course, that the UK nationality laws in this regard might change in the future, but that seems unlikely at this stage.
- A grey area is whether, as a citizen of a Commonwealth country (i.e. Singapore) who has renounced British citizenship to gain the other citizenship, he would retain the right of abode in the UK. I think he wouldn't but the regulations seem to be somewhat conflicting on this point. Others might know.

[ppron747]

I'm open to correction on this, but I can't think of a good reason (or even a bad one) why a Singaporean would need a UK work permit to work in Singapore...

People who renounce British citizenship in order to acquire or retain the citizenship of another country are entitled to get it back, once only, so your friend isn't risking a great deal. Details here.

He might like to bear in mind that, along with British citizenship, he will also lose the right of abode in UK - unless he has a UK-born parent. This means that, so long as he is solely a Singaporean, he will have no more right to live in the UK than any other Singaporean. And if he has children born while he isn't British, they will not be British.

Would I do it? No - not until they roof over the whole place and install one big airconditioner....

[sudeep_n]

Thanks. I guess his only worry is that he is getting paid in the UK and hence liable for UK taxation, payroll etc.

[ppron747]

Actually, that's an interesting point in itself!
I know nothing about income tax - except that I pay too much of it - but is it possible to be domiciled in a place in which you don't have the right to live? I know you can be "ordinarily resident" in UK while still being subject to immigration control - there was a court case on that issue many years ago, but how about domicile? I'm sure John knows....

[JAJ]

If you were him would you give up UK citizenship for Singapore nationality?

If you look at it logically (not that everyone does), then I think most people would say that a British citizen passport + Singapore permanent residence keeps more options open than being solely a Singapore citizen.

Same would go for a person who was Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, American etc with Singapore PR. I can't imagine many PRs from these countries seek to become naturalised Singapore citizens.

The argument would change completely if dual citizenship was an option.

[Christophe]

If you were him would you give up UK citizenship for Singapore nationality?

If you look at it logically (not that everyone does), then I think most people would say that a British citizen passport + Singapore permanent residence keeps more options open than being solely a Singapore citizen.

Another point is that if he decides not to become a Singapore citizen, and so remains a British citizen, this would make it very much easier if he and his wife wanted to, e.g., work in the UK for a while at some time in the future. Having both citizenships within the marriage means that, for practical purposes, they can both probably live in either country without too too many difficulties.

[sudeep_n]

Actually, that's an interesting point in itself!
I know nothing about income tax - except that I pay too much of it - but is it possible to be domiciled in a place in which you don't have the right to live? I know you can be "ordinarily resident" in UK while still being subject to immigration control - there was a court case on that issue many years ago, but how about domicile? I'm sure John knows....

One thing is tax - he says he has to continue to pay since it is 'being received' in the UK. He will get benefit of some double tax treaty between UK and Singapore

However, can he continue to receive salary or be on UK payroll while having no immigration rights in the UK?

[Christophe]

However, can he continue to receive salary or be on UK payroll while having no immigration rights in the UK?

I should think so, yes: people are not infrqeuently paid in a country that they don't work in and have no working rights in. But it does raise taxation issues, and he would need to get advice from an accountant who is competent in this area. If he goes ahead, he might find it less complicated to be paid in Singapore and transfer the money into his UK bank account himself to cover whatever expenses he might have in the UK.