aidan1980

Hi all, first thanks for reading and taking a moment of your time.

Been thinking about possibly moving to Barbados for a year and have a couple of questions please. I run an online gambling business (affiliate marketing) which means I can basically (in theory) work where i want as long as there is internet. Im classed as self employed in UK with business account being UK as well.
If me and the wife came over for a year what would be the crack, would I need a work permit and would I have to move the earning to Barbados and pay tax there instead of carrying on with the UK set up? Could I come in on a long term visitor visa and carry on running my business?

Also what sort of money do you need to live per month? basically living the same as at home would mean eating mainly at home and only going for a good drink (fingers crossed you get Presidente there) twice a week. If we get a motor probably would drive it very little.

Location is another thing. I'd like to live in walking distance to a beach but also not to far from a decent town either if that is possible? Also with a few brits there as well so I can settle a bit quicker. Could anyone suggest a decent area to look a bit closer at please.

Not sure if this matters either but Im 32 and the wife is 34 if that will help or hinder our application and we plan to rent our house out here will we are away to cover the mortgage. And from what I've read I assume bring your dog over is pretty simple as well?

I know there is a lot there for my first post so thanks in advance if people post any replies

Serendipidy

Welcome Aidan.. Let me address what I can of your post and others will supplement my comments further im sure, you dont say if you have ever visited Barbados so some of my comments you might already know...firstly a quick assesment of your situation the only thing you would seem to able to achieve is a visitor visa.. work permits etc are for people who working and earning from companies based IN Barbados (currently these are rarely given too). A visitor visa will initially only be given up to 3 months at the airport.. they might even give less and then you will be told to go downtown to the Immigration deparment a week before your visa runs out and apply for an extension.. this would not be guaranteed and would be subject to a review of why and your current situation. You can read up on here how many people have had such varying experiences with this. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a status for those working remotely but residing and SPENDING in Barbados but then again I dont think there is that option here in UK either its a visitor visa or a work permit. Just a personal word of caution that others may not agree with.. Barbados is a very christian minded island (one of the reasons I wanted to be there) and as a result morals and ethics are strong.. identifying the fact that you run online gambling as a business wont be seen as a positive so best to not promote that fact..as to location because of your age and wanting to be around expats I would recommend the south coast for you its where the nightlife is and is a younger scene than West Coast. Owning your own transport there is extremely expensive so suggest you live on the ZR routes(local privately run buses) the types of areas this includes are Oistins, Hastings, Rendezvous, Dover, Maxwell, etc.. these are all easy walking distance to the beach... as for the cost of living I personally found that I could live for a year in Babados at half the price of liviing in the UK mainly because rent is a lot cheaper but obviously this is dependant on how you want to live.. i dont smoke or drink much but party a lot .. food and clothes will be the biggest shocker in cost ...finally your presumption to bring the dog over is fairly easy is probably not true.. my only knowledge of this is what I have read from other posts on here so have a read thru some of them and im sure others will inform you further on that subject.. bottom line is all countries have tightened up their control on immigration and rules are much stricter than they ever have been.. your dream to live in Barbados for a year is possible but will take careful planning and is subject to a lot of uncertainty until you actually get there and try it so its a gamble and as your in that business you can probably equate the ratio of success better than me .. however if you dont try you will never know.. my caution would be to ensure that your situation here in the UK allows for you to pick it back up quickly as if when you are in Barbados and you do not get an extension you will be told to leave quite quickly... Good Luck

aidan1980

nice one, good read that, thanks

mrsblackbird

Hi, just to add two quick things to the previous post, you will be allowed to bring your dog from the UK, but it will have to be quarantined for six months if you want to bring it back to the UK from Barbados. And broadband internet can be shockingly unreliable, especially when it rains (which is a lot, despite what you might think!) so you need to plan to be offline unexpectedly and for long periods. Good luck!

BlueMooon

Bringing your dog:
Returning to the UK - no more Quarantine needed since beginn of this year. check out:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pet...pet-owners/#eu
But its REALLY expensive. I am about to bring my 2 dogs back to Europe. Its about 5200US$ for the 2 dogs to the UK one way! If you fly instead to Germany Frankfurt e.g Condor it is 150€ one way.

berkscannuck

Hi, this is a reply to mrsblackbird....it's taken directly from the DEFRA website for the UK...

Pet travel rules changed on 1 January 2012 when the UK brought its procedures into line with the European Union. From this date all pets can enter or re-enter the UK from any country in the world without quarantine provided they meet the rules of the scheme, which will be different depending on the country or territory the pet is coming from.

So long as the animal leaves with a valid pet passport, and the appropriate jabs etc are maintained whilst out of the country, then the animal will not be quarantined on return.