1

I’m planning to move my family to Poland and as my wife is Polish she and our little one have no problem entering and staying in the country indefinitely. I am a U.K. citizen, born and raised.

I, on the other hand, want to retain our property in the U.K. and work from Poland for most of the year. Sometimes I would return, for example to take holidays and some business purposes (I’m an employee and work remotely.)

Could it be possible (especially considering Brexit and that we have not moved yet) for me to spend most of my time in Poland but still retain my British employment?

If so, in any possible way, how much time would I need to spend in the U.K. to retain my British employ/income? Is there perhaps a visa or other legal mechanism to use to declare myself “out of the country” but still resident?

Improve this question
9
  • 1
    You are more likely to get a reliable answer if you explicitly state your citizenship. If you are an UK Citizen, the answer will be more about your residence status for taxation purposes: Tax on foreign income: UK residence and tax - GOV.UK. The Poland-UK Double Taxation Convention may also have an effect on the final result.
    – Mark Johnson
    Apr 26, 2021 at 6:30
  • Thanks, can’t believe I missed that. Added in an edit of the top paragraph.
    – Matt W
    Apr 26, 2021 at 7:40
  • What exactly is the "problem"? Obviously, you worry that you have to meet some sort of requirement somewhere. The way you describe it I don't see why you should lose your employment unless your employer has a problem with you being in Poland. Being married to Polish national probably gives you the right to work there as well. With an two addresses you could also be resident in two countries with all the implications that come with it. The biggest problem btw. is most likely social security here and not tax.
    – life-on-mars
    Apr 26, 2021 at 14:01
  • 1
    It’s not losing employment, it’s retaining my pay in British sterling that I’d like to achieve. As far as I know right now I’d have to switch to being paid in Polish Zlotych which is a much lower currency value.
    – Matt W
    Apr 26, 2021 at 14:13
  • I don't think the retainment of the British account (and the payment of your salary into it) is the problem. You will probably have to pay polish social security. Depends on the conditions of the Poland-UK Double Taxation Convention. For this you should seek legal advice or service that deal with this aspect for you. The buying value of the Złoty is probably higher, since wages and prices are lower in Poland than the UK.
    – Mark Johnson
    Apr 26, 2021 at 14:28

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

As several people have posted in comments this is not likely to cause a legal problem with employment, it is more a question of how the Poland-UK Double Taxation Convention applies in your specific case.

Something you will want to look at closely is the UK laws about taxation on foreign income and even more so at the Polish Laws on taxation on foreign income, which have just gone through significant change as of the start of 2021

It would be my expectation that while the challenges you will run into have their basis in taxation laws, a Solicitor is not the primary professional you should seek out. Rather I think you need advice from a multidisciplinary firm that specialises in cross-jurisdictional Taxation for employees. One such UK firm is Alliots but I would strongly encourage you to do some due diligence and find at least 2 more firms that provide this kind of advice & get comparative assessments of their services from something like this

After picking a couple, call them and say you are wanting to consider engaging their firm and request a brief meeting to assess if they are the right fit for your needs. I would ask if that initial interview can be done for free, but if not find out how much it will cost and consider the cost of meeting with 3 firms an investment. It is very likely you will need to get assistance filing every year to ensure you don't overpay in one or the other country, and so it is likely you will be not just getting one-off advice but will be engaging them for a long term professional service

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.