# London - I'll be there soon



## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

Hi Everybody,

I'm a Software engineer currently working as IT Consultant. I am Spanish and I'm currently living and working in Spain, but in the past I've lived as an expatriate in Italy and for several minor periods in other countries. I've always loved to travel and since I'm not wealthy (yet ) I like to travel with my work.

After so many interviews, I'm expecting my final job proposal from an English company to come. I will be hired from the UK and I will have to travel and work in several different countries, which is something I've always wanted to do.

I have some doubts about how things work in UK, maybe some of you can help me 

Since I will probably not spend much time in UK, but I will be paid from there I would like to know if I'll be eligible for UK citizenship.

I've also been told that if you're hired by a British company but you don't have your residence in the UK you can ask the British government to return some of the income taxes you've paid. (I may keep my official residence in Spain).

Thanks everyone for your answers. I know quite a lot how things work in Spain and I would love to share that knowledge with anyone here that needs it.


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

April_Ryan said:


> Hi Everybody,
> 
> I'm a Software engineer currently working as IT Consultant. I am Spanish and I'm currently living and working in Spain, but in the past I've lived as an expatriate in Italy and for several minor periods in other countries. I've always loved to travel and since I'm not wealthy (yet ) I like to travel with my work.
> 
> ...


Hi April

I am no expert but dont think just cause your employed by a UK Company you have any citizen rights sorry .

On the taxation yes i am sure there is a rebate scheme as you opt to be taxed in either your resident country or the UK .


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## Shauny (Oct 10, 2007)

Hello, just read your message and i think you will be fine in the UK. 

Im looking to go to Dubai, but am a little worried what to expect. 

Ive worked all over the UK so if you need some hints or tips just let me know.

Good luck though,


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## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

Thanks,

Changing my residence to UK is an option, but I don't really know which are the requisites for being resident. I'm currently EU citizen and I think that being so I only have to ask for the residence in London.

I think that being hired from UK grants me access to UK's Social Security system and to public health & care. Can you confirm this?

Which benefits will I have if I decide to change my official residence to London?

Thanks in advance.


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## lorenzo (Oct 5, 2007)

I can't post the link but found this;



> EU NATIONALS
> 
> EU RESIDENCE PERMITS
> 
> ...


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## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

Shauny said:


> Ive worked all over the UK so if you need some hints or tips just let me know.


Thank you!

I received the job offer yesterday and i tis quite a good package. I am going to accept it.

One of the things I have to do is open a bank account in UK.

-Does anyone know what documentation I'll need?
-Is there a way to open it from here (Spain)?

I would like to have an account which let me have the capital in several currencies and retrieve money with no commission in EUR, US$ and GBP. I've heard of Citybank.

- Any ideas?


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## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

lorenzo said:


> I can't post the link but found this;
> 
> .../...
> 
> ...


Thank you for this.

It seems that I can stay in the UK as long as I need, but I will not be a "UK Resident". Now, which are the advantages (if any) of being UK resident?


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## smcquie (Jun 11, 2007)

Good luck getting UK citizenship. I'm not sure about the rules for EU nationals, but for the rest of us it is a 5 year wait before you can even apply for the Indefinite Leave to Remain - after that you have to wait for another year.
Why do you want to be a UK citizen if 
a) you don't plan on spending much time here and 
b) you are a EU citizen

I don't get it...


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

April_Ryan said:


> Thank you!
> 
> I received the job offer yesterday and i tis quite a good package. I am going to accept it.
> 
> ...


Its always a bit of a pain with the banks as you normally need to provide utility bills etc to show where you live!!! The UK are backward with banking. I tried to open a Euro account and found it quite difficult with HSBC. To transfer Euros out here to Spain with them costs £25 a time.

So I kept a UK account, opened a Spanish account, and then used something called Sun-Pay - Online Global Money Transfers made Easy You can transfer your sterling to the Sunpay account, transfer it to euros within the account, and then transfer the euros to your spanish account. It costs 10 euros per transfer so you need to plan your transfers to make the most of it.

I dont think you should contemplate UK citizenship ...... unless for some reaon you want to give up your Spanish citizenship. As an EU resident you can go there and work there, in much the same way I have moved to your homeland


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## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

smcquie said:


> Good luck getting UK citizenship. I'm not sure about the rules for EU nationals, but for the rest of us it is a 5 year wait before you can even apply for the Indefinite Leave to Remain - after that you have to wait for another year.
> Why do you want to be a UK citizen if
> a) you don't plan on spending much time here and
> b) you are a EU citizen
> ...


Thanks for your answer.

Sorry I mistaked when I first said "citizen" I wanted to say "Resident". I'm planning to keep my Spanish citizenship for now. Maybe the UK is the place where I will spend more time each year (even if it's only 3 months). Am I eligible for UK residence if I'm hired from there but I don't have a fixewd residence there? Now, which are the advantages (if any) of being UK resident?


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## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> Its always a bit of a pain with the banks as you normally need to provide utility bills etc to show where you live!!! The UK are backward with banking. I tried to open a Euro account and found it quite difficult with HSBC. To transfer Euros out here to Spain with them costs £25 a time.
> 
> So I kept a UK account, opened a Spanish account, and then used something called ñññ You can transfer your sterling to the Sunpay account, transfer it to euros within the account, and then transfer the euros to your spanish account. It costs 10 euros per transfer so you need to plan your transfers to make the most of it.
> 
> I dont think you should contemplate UK citizenship ...... unless for some reaon you want to give up your Spanish citizenship. As an EU resident you can go there and work there, in much the same way I have moved to your homeland


Do you know Citybank and their multi-currency products?

I've heard that I'll be able to retrieve US dollars in the USA, GBP in the UK and EUR in the Euro zone from any Citybank ATM with no commission.

Do you know of any advantages of having UK residence besides Spanish?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

April_Ryan said:


> Do you know Citybank and their multi-currency products?
> 
> I've heard that I'll be able to retrieve US dollars in the USA, GBP in the UK and EUR in the Euro zone from any Citybank ATM with no commission.
> 
> Do you know of any advantages of having UK residence besides Spanish?



I think you have to distinguish between UK residency and citizenship for an EU subject. With residence you are just declaring you are resident in a particular country and in most cases you then fall under their tax regime until you actually move elsewhere. Citizenship of course is renouncing your nationality and becoming British which is quite a step to take.

In Spain by being a resident I benefit from slightly different tax rates in some cases, am treated slightly differently should I sell my home here, and get discounts at some museums and stuff  And its law that I have to register as a resident anyway. But in reality I dont really gain anything from it

But if you are a US national moving to the UK to work I'm guessing its going to be a whole different ball game as you will presumably be coming under the visa system


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## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> I think you have to distinguish between UK residency and citizenship for an EU subject. With residence you are just declaring you are resident in a particular country and in most cases you then fall under their tax regime until you actually move elsewhere. Citizenship of course is renouncing your nationality and becoming British which is quite a step to take.
> 
> In Spain by being a resident I benefit from slightly different tax rates in some cases, am treated slightly differently should I sell my home here, and get discounts at some museums and stuff  And its law that I have to register as a resident anyway. But in reality I dont really gain anything from it
> 
> But if you are a US national moving to the UK to work I'm guessing its going to be a whole different ball game as you will presumably be coming under the visa system


Thank you very much for your quick response.

Yes, I understand the difference between residence and citizenship, I used citizenship incorrectly in my first post. What I am considering is to change my current Spanish residence to British residence. Do you think it's worth it? In which cases?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

April_Ryan said:


> Thank you very much for your quick response.
> 
> Yes, I understand the difference between residence and citizenship, I used citizenship incorrectly in my first post. What I an considering is to change my current Spanish residence to British residence. Do you think it's worth it? In which cases?


Well, I'm not sure how it works in reverse ... as I say in Spain I had no choice. I think as far as tax is concerned, depending on your salary the tax in the UK may be slightly better.


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## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> Well, I'm not sure how it works in reverse ... as I say in Spain I had no choice. I think as far as tax is concerned, depending on your salary the tax in the UK may be slightly better.


I've checked income taxes in The UK and they are much better for my salary. But I think that I will be taxed there even if I'm not resident, is that true? Then I won't have to pay again taxes in Spain since The UK has a non-double-taxation treaty with Spain.

There are also other taxes to be considered such as the capital gains tax. I know how it goes in Spain but I have no idea how much I will pay for that in UK... If it is better, maybe I should take my money there?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

April_Ryan said:


> I've checked income taxes in The UK and they are much better for my salary. But I think that I will be taxed there even if I'm not resident, is that true? Then I won't have to pay again taxes in Spain since The UK has a non-double-taxation treaty with Spain.
> 
> There are also other taxes to be considered such as the capital gains tax. I know how it goes in Spain but I have no idea how much I will pay for that in UK... If it is better, maybe I should take my money there?


Capital gains in Spain is 18% now I think for resident or non resident. In the UK its up to 40% ... heres a link Capital Gains Tax (CGT) : Directgov - Money, tax and benefits

IHT is crippling in Spain ..... hardly any allowances for it, whereas in the UK its going to be around £300k soon allowance wise.

There IS a double taxation treaty ... you might get double taxed when you first change, but you can re claim and wont end up paying twice.


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## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

I arrived!!

I'm finally in London.

Nice place.


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## Big Pete (Aug 7, 2007)

April_Ryan said:


> I arrived!!
> 
> I'm finally in London.
> 
> Nice place.


well done April , welcome to the land of oppurtunity and freedom 

please keep us updated , which part are you in ?


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## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

Big Pete said:


> well done April , welcome to the land of oppurtunity and freedom
> 
> please keep us updated , which part are you in ?


Thank you!
At the moment I am at Bromley South, but this is a temporary location. I'll be here for probably not more than three weeks.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

April_Ryan said:


> Thank you!
> At the moment I am at Bromley South, but this is a temporary location. I'll be here for probably not more than three weeks.



Nice area Bromley
Where are you moving on to, or don't you know yet?


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## April_Ryan (Oct 9, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> Nice area Bromley
> Where are you moving on to, or don't you know yet?


Not yet, Stravinsky. I've got at least two weeks of training before moving again.

And I still have to get the NIS and open a Bank account!!

Any directions about that?


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

April_Ryan said:


> Not yet, Stravinsky. I've got at least two weeks of training before moving again.
> 
> And I still have to get the NIS and open a Bank account!!
> 
> Any directions about that?


Well opening a bank account shouldn't be too difficult, but normally they ask for id and proof of address for anti money laundering
This may help
http://www.bba.org.uk/content/1/c4/39/71/Openingbankaccountleaflet2004.pdf

What is the NIS?


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