Moving back to UK as an expat
 

Long introduction but my question won't make sense otherwise - it might not make sense even with it...

I'm a dual US/UK citizen and we're looking to move to France/Switzerland hopefully with my current company since they're planning an expansion into the Swiss market but their timeframe for this is at least 2 years away, maybe more.

After 3 years of waiting for the project to really spin up, I've had conversations with people at my company in London who would be the first boots on the ground so to speak and based on their advice and general desire to move back to Europe (London is closer to the Alps than the east coast of the US) I've asked for a transfer to the London office.

My company has agreed to let me transfer and before I start in on salary/contract negotiations with them I was hoping I could find out if I could do this with an expat contract - on the assumption that it would be more financially advantageous over being a local hire.

So, my question is as a British citizen - can I have an expat contract in the UK since I don't plan on staying for more than 3 years and I think I could claim that my domicile is still the US?

Thanks in advance for your help
Kamal

Re: Moving back to UK as an expat
 

Absolutely no problem legally, as far as I know, if your company is happy to give you this kind of contract.

"Domicile" - what do you mean by this? For tax purposes, or something else?

What kind of visa do you plan for your spouse to have?

Re: Moving back to UK as an expat
 

Domicile is a term I read on the Inland Revenue website, they had a definition for both a residence and domicile and it has some tax implications (not sure what exactly).

I haven't yet discussed the options with my company but I'm hoping I get the expat contract since their housing allowance is pretty generous. Plus, internally I'll still be working for the US and not really for anyone local until I switch teams.

My wife is French (hence the desire to move closer to her family) and my kids have dual (French/US) also.

Thanks,
Kamal

Re: Moving back to UK as an expat
 

"Domicile" in a U.K. tax context means that if you are not domiciled, you are only taxed (as a general rule) on foreign income if it is remitted into the U.K.

Most people in Britain are taxed on worldwide income and public opinion is now tired of seeing wealthy foreigners get away with paying relatively little in tax compared to native Britons. So there are now moves to reduce the attractiveness of "non domicile" status and don't be surprised if the whole concept is abolished in the next few years. And as the idea came from the Conservative opposition, it will also likely happen if there is a change of government in 2009/10.

In any case, are you sure you would be treated as "non domiciled" in the first place? Were you born in the U.K.?


Is your wife on a green card currently? Has she thought about what will happen to her green card once she leaves the U.S.? Or is she also an American citizen?

Any reason why your children haven't also got British passports?

Re: Moving back to UK as an expat
 

I didn't mean to say I was looking to declare myself as a "non-dom" - I read somewhere the govt was looking to charge 30,000 GBP a year to keep non-dom status. I'm not in that sort of earning bracket!

I was not born in the UK - I was naturalised.

My wife has a GC - we're not too fussed about losing it plus it would cost a few hundred dollars and about a year to get her US citizenship. If I ever decide to move back to the US I suspect I'll need a new wife anyways ;)

We've never applied for the kids simply because, I know I'll get crucified for this, for the moment being French is practically the same as being British - or am I missing something? Will it be easier for kids to have UK passports for getting them into school etc.? You don't have to answer that - I know I have a lot of reading to do on this topic.

Re: Moving back to UK as an expat
 

I think that charge only applies after x number of years. But the alternative is just to pay tax on worldwide income like anyone else.

You will also have to continue filing for U.S. federal tax.

If you were naturalised as an adult, you may well have been deemed to have acquired a U.K. domicile at the time (grey area).

It also means that your children should be British citizens (by descent).

Her choice, obviously. I would just caution that it can sometimes cause issues later in life if her children decide to move back to the U.S. later on and she is unable to.


Day to day it doesn't make a great deal of difference in the U.K. to have a French rather than a British passport. But long term, there will be a few things that your children will need to be British to do - eg, full voting rights, a lot of Civil Service employment, plus it can be convenient to have an additional passport.

I would say there is no real need to get them British passports until they return to the U.K. but you should at least get them U.K. consular birth certificates. This will give them a lifetime proof of British citizenship:
http://www.britainusa.com/sections/a...=41016&a=25315