molly1664

Does anyone have experience of commuting to the UK on a weekly basis. Financiallly it appears to work, but as we all know what works on paper is often a different matter in reality. It would be helpful to have some practical advice on booking regular flights and how the reality actually works out?

SchnookoLoly

Hello and welcome!

Part of it will depend where you are commuting from - you don't say! If it's from France then it's not too hard, if it's from Australia, then, well, that might be more of a challenge.

Jerseygirl

As this forum is purely for new members to introduce themselves...I am moving your thread over to the Ireland forum.

molly1664

Thanks jerseygirl but is there anywhere else it could go as I was hoping to get advice from other europeans, not just Ireland?

Jerseygirl

Sorry...I moved it into this forum as I knew you had been enquiring about Ireland.

I can get the thread moved over to the General Europe forum...how does that sound?

molly1664

Thats great, many thanks

dmu

Hi, if you were to be resident in France and commute regularly to the UK to work for a British company, you'd have to sort out your tax status, healthcare coverage, etc... There are threads on the subject in the France forum, and other members in the know will be able to advise.

molly1664

Thanks DMU I will check it out.

gioppino

I used to commute to the UK from Birmingham, but it was a terrible experience!

englishguygoinghome

I'm about to start the same thing myself. The biggest thing you need to think about is probably UK tax residency - which has changed in the past year or so.
In order to be non-resident in the UK you would need to be present (at midnight) on fewer than 90 days per year. For the year of your move (split-year) that gets effectively pro-rated at about 7-days per month. The exact details can be found by seraching for "HMRC rdr3" or "Statutory Residence Test". There are other possibilities in that document but only the 90-day rule also gives you the chance for split-year treatment when you move.

Depending on the country you are gong to and the exact details of the Double taxation agreement (start here: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/dtmanual/index.htm) this may not make much difference, if the local tax is roughly the same or higher than the UK level, but may make a huge difference if it is a lot lower or allows a lot more deductions sch as the cost of the commute.

Social security and health insurance are all liable in the country where you work across the EU/EEA.

If you permanently leave the UK (based on the old ordinary residence criteria, so you probably won't be considered to have done that) then you'd have to stop any Child benefit you are claiming. Your partner can still claim for any UK-based children and you will also be elligible to claim from your country of work. You'll only get a top-up amount to cover the difference between the two countries benefits levels if also claiming in the UK.

barnaby

I have been doing an international commute for about three years, and it does work but it is exhausting. My family are based in Devon, but I work in Paris and commute each week via Bristol airport.

There are a number of things to consider. Obviously you need to make sure you can afford to rent a place close to work. Also, how long will it take to get to the office? Will your colleagues understand that sometimes you need to arrive late/leave early because of flights, or that you are less flexible because flights have to be booked in advance?

An international commute does impact your social life. I have a family in the UK, and so when I am home I want to spend time with them. This means that I spend less time with friends in the UK. At the same time, because I am not in Paris at weekends, it is difficult to make friends in France.

Also remember that airlines do change their schedules a couple of times a year and unless you are on a route with lots of options that could be a problem. In the worst case, flights could be cut. When I started this job there were four direct flights a day from Bristol to Paris. Now there is just one.

Exchange rates mean that you will never know precisely how many Euro your sterling salary will buy, so make sure you have enough wiggle room if the rate moves against you.

Thankfully, I don't need to worry about taxes (my income is classed as non-taxable in both France and the UK) but as others have said, that could be a hassle. Basically assume that you will be paying tax at the higher of the UK or Irish rate on income earned, but you should not be paying more than that. Speak to HMRC as to whether you need to pay NICs.

I'll pipe up again if I think of anything else.

molly1664

Many thanks for the very helpful post from Barnaby and englishguygoing home.