SteveHadEnoughofLondon

Hi all,
My wife and I have hit that middle-aged point in life, after lockdown in London. where we want an adventure. We have been dreaming about a move to the Caribbean for years, and have now decided to make the dream a reality.
The plan is to rent out our London home and use that income plus a bit more to rent in 2 or 3 locations over the next two years, to find somewhere we feel is perfect. starting in St Lucia.
My question is will my wife be allowed to work remotely for a UK firm, paid into a UK bank account? If so, will she be liable to St Lucian taxes?
Thanks.

uk_grenada

If you are a citizen of St Lucia then fine. If not, why would they want to allow you to live there? If you arent a millionaire or will be contributing to the government by paying tax they probably dont want you.

Each country is different, but typically you cannot do more than spend a few months on a tourist visa. You can normally work in that time for a foreign company under the radar but no work locally is permitted. The tax position is complex and depends on how long you spend in both countries and what tax treaties the governments have signed up to - to prevent being taxed twice on the same income.

If you want to spend longer, a few countries allow a year so long s you do no locl work and a few will sell you the right to live in paradise, typically about 250k.

uk_grenada

Oh - and remember - once you are out of the uk for more than 3 months, you lose certain priviledges like the NHS and that in the caribbean many things cost 2 or 3 times what they do in the uk, like cars and insurance and anything health related. Lastly, can you confirm how a st lucian person moves to the uk if he fancies living there permanently?

As a rule - the more advanced and accessible a country is, the more they dont want you and often the more expensive it is. Places like Panama or mexico and costa rica are quite welcoming i hear, Barbados will let you visit for a year, but they dont even like themselves, many small places like Mustique are off limits, the US owned islands are just as the US, the british ex colonies give no priviledges to a uk passport, and even those places with links still like Cayman and Bermuda dont let brits in normally unless are serfdom - with work permits paid for by local employers where local skills dont exist.

SteveHadEnoughofLondon

I thought the St Lucian government would like a long term vacation/work couple with £100,000+ disposable income.
Guess I was wrong.

uk_grenada

Why would they care how much you claim to earn abroad? 100k pounds is what a middling NHS manager gets these days, you'll need to add at least one zero to become interesting as an incomer. They have plenty of local millionaires / billionaires,however in truth most countries just want you to contribute to their economy and not freeload. Interesting thing is, if you were with capital you would know which countries could make you effectively tax free if you want to buy into that.

SteveHadEnoughofLondon

I have researched tax free, We are not freeloaders just looking at not getting double taxed, so do not be condescending.
In my original post you can see we are looking at renting various islands to find the perfect place to move to permanently.
We are not freeloaders just looking at not getting double taxed.
And the disposable income is spare money that could be spent in the local community.
Guess this is not the forum for me.
Goodbye.

uk_grenada

Tough to realise you arent gods gift to the poor islands... Disposable income LOL

Anyhow, its best to give the bad news first, hopefully he will find someplace he likes but more importantly that likes him.

And - strangely he didnt even ask about the differences between islands themselves - physically and the populations, clearly another person who came on holiday and believes all countries are 'the caribbean.'

ScousePete

Not sure about St. Lucia, but Barbados has a "Remote-Working" visa that allows you to remain in Barbados for up to one year. The cost is US$3000 for a family or US$2000 for just one person. You cannot work for a Barbados company and are not taxed by Barbados. https://barbadoswelcomestamp.bb/

Grenada just announced they will be launching a similar program at similar pricing.

Edited to add - other Caribbean countries offering a similar program: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Gordon Barlow

Ease up, Grenada! I don't think the man deserves to be chased off the thread just for asking a few questions. Let's face it - there are many, many people who don't know what questions to ask, and I think it's our job to be courteous to them. And $100K p.a. is a fair amount of money by most measurements. You may earn that, and good luck to you, but I certainly don't.

uk_grenada

Its as we know more a question of the local perception of what you could do for your new country that matters more than visa versa - certainly where government sentiment / policies are concerned.

On another forum i get loads of tourists who assume they can just move to an island on a few pounds a month legally,

'can i use my uk unemployment benefit to live a good life in paradise' or

'will my diploma in sports leadership get me a job so i can support myself because i like the warmth in ... and who should i be writing to - to get my job'

and its best to disabuse them of that notion and let them know some of the realities of island life. Its a natural result really of 2 weeks in a cosseted hotel only meeting people paid to make you happy once a year for a decade.

If the person asks relevant questions about island life, costs and what the rules are specifically then fine, i will try to answer, or point them in the right direction to de-risk their decision but he clearly did no research on whats allowed in 'his island' and whats good or bad about it specifically.

St Lucia is actually a bit dodgy now, crime is on the increase and resident foreigners and their houses are specifically being targeted and murders are occurring occasionally. Im really not sure why, but it must be at least partially about their police.

Actually 100k - right now - wont get you into many of the nicest islands, its 250k if you have no connection to the place. Yes its plenty to live on but not to cover the entry cost and most places will let you not pay that but then you can not stay constantly, and will be forced to pay extra taxes to buy property [we call it a foreign landowners tax.]