| In order to
obtain a work permit, the prospective Bermudian employer must have applied
to the minister on your behalf, and it must have been proved that there
was no-one locally who could have filled the position, and that no Bermudian
was being disadvantaged by the issuance of the permit.
They are usually
issued for one year periods, although in the case of senior executives,
they may be issued for longer periods. The cost of a work period is met
by the future employer, and varies according to the proposed length of
employment. A rough guide would be:
-
1 Year: $532
-
2 Years: $1064
-
3 Years: $1596
-
4 Years: $2,128
-
5 Years: $2,660
Foreign nationals
are not permitted to buy property in Bermuda unless it is worth more than
$1,000,000, and if they decide to do this, they must also pay a fee of
22% of the value of the property, and obtain a license from the minister.
Bermuda has
been governed since 1968 by the United Bermuda Party, which has a fairly
nationalistic and protectionist stance. Affirmative labour legislation
is being introduced which will constrain the ability of local businesses
to employ expatriates as freely as has been the case until now.
The island's
telecommunications infrastructure is excellent, and it is in the leading
offshore jurisdiction for e-commerce development.
The official
business language of Bermuda is English, although Portuguese is also widely
spoken, and the main newspapers in circulation are the Royal Gazette (daily),
the Bermuda Sun (daily) and The Mid-Ocean News (weekly). The dominant religion
is Christianity, and the mild and humid climate makes outdoor pursuits
such as golf, water sports and tennis very popular. Crime, and especially
crime against persons, is on the increase, and adequate precautions should
be taken. There is a variety of entertainment options open to the expatriate,
resident, or visitor, although apparently the standard is not as high as
in the island's heyday in the 1960's and 1970's!
GIBRALTAR
As a member
of the EU, Gibraltar must allow members of EU nation states to enter, work,
and live on the peninsula. They will initially receive a 6-month visa,
and when that expires, a 5-year renewable work permit if they have found
suitable employment, or started a business in the meantime.
For non-EU
nationals, however, the situation is quite different, although there are
several ways of obtaining residence and employment in this situation. The
least appealing of these is to find a job that no native Gibraltarian is
willing to undertake. A work permit and residence permit will be issued
if this is the case, although generally for a considerably shorter period
than is usual. (It must also be added that the government does not encourage
this, as Gibraltar already has fairly full employment, and there is the
Spanish workforce within easy commuting distance should the need arise).
There are also
residence concessions available for those willing to purchase property
in Gibraltar (with the government looking more favourably on those planning
to purchase luxury residences), High Net Worth Individuals, and employees
and executives of exempt or qualifying companies.
Briefly,
the groups likely to secure residence and tax concessions in Gibraltar
are:
-
Category 2 individuals.
Also known as High Net Worth Individuals. Of recent years, Gibraltar has
legislated great concessions for this group, in order to convince them
to make ‘The Rock’ their home. For the payment of a one-off application
fee of G£500, and on production of 2 letters of reference (one of
which must be from a banker), the HNWI receives a permanent Certificate
guaranteeing that he/she will only be taxed on the first G£45,000
of assessable income, on a graduated scale without deductions or allowances,
which results in a tax bill of £28,750. All further income is tax-free.
-
Category 3 individuals.
These are usually expatriate executives working for exempt or qualifying
companies, their employer can apply for a renewable certificate valid for
3 years (fee £500) which caps the tax payable at £10,000 (equivalent
to income of £27,000), whatever their eventual income.
-
Category 4 individuals.
Otherwise known as Relocated Executives Possessing Special Skills. This
group will be providing a service or skill not available locally, and will
be of benefit to Gibraltar’s economy. On the provision of a G£500
fee, they will receive a renewable certificate, valid for 3 years, limiting
their tax bill to G£5,000 if they are earning up to G£50,000,
and G£10,000 otherwise. For each REPSS individual taken on, an employer
must create one job for a Gibraltarian.
The Gibraltar
government has entered into several initiatives to improve the already
good telecommunications infrastructure on the peninsula, but the Spanish
position with regards to Gibraltarian self-government has again caused
problems, especially for the flourishing finance sector (although only
in dealings with the Spanish mainland). Since the advent of International
Direct Dialling, Gibraltar has been allocated its own country code, and
this has been recognised by every country other than Spain, with the result
that Gibraltar has almost exhausted the 30,000 telephone numbers that can
be dialled from Spain. The two main telecommunications networks, Gibtel
and the GNC, have filed complaints against Spain under Article 86 of the
Treaty of Rome, but Spain has so far resisted the pressure exerted by the
commission.
The official
language of Gibraltar is English, although Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
and Russian are also spoken, reflecting the diversity of cultures present
on ‘the rock’, and the majority of the population (74%) is Roman Catholic,
with Protestant, Muslim and Jewish minorities also present. The climate
is mild and Mediterranean. Newspapers currently available include The Gibraltar
Chronicle, and Panorama, and there are a wide range of water sports and
wild-life pursuits available for visitors and residents alike. The nightlife
in Gibraltar can be lively (and at times rowdy!), but the crime rates are
generally low, although there has been an increase in theft and violent
crime over the past year. Property prices at time of writing are roughly
in line with those in European suburban areas, and the cost of living a
little below that of the UK.
GUERNSEY
The immigration
situation in Guernsey is similar to that of Jersey, with the intention
of preventing newcomers to the islands from putting down roots and establishing
permanent residence there. As with Jersey, rare exceptions are made in
the case of high net worth individuals purchasing large luxury properties,
and offering substantial benefits to the island in terms of taxation and
investment.
Residence for
taxation purposes is determined by the length of time spent resident in
any one calendar year (182 days to qualify), and/or by the possession of
a dwelling place anywhere in Guernsey. Those individuals who are solely
and principally resident face taxation on their world-wide income, but
those who are resident but not solely and principally resident (usually
meaning not in possession of a dwelling place) will only be taxed on Guernsey
source income, or income remitted there.
Apart from
the previously mentioned concessions for certain high net worth individuals
purchasing substantial properties, there are no other concessions for expatriate
individuals or employees of resident exempt or qualifying companies. The
Right to Work permit, however, grants residence permission for the permit's
period of validity, and conversely, residence status confers the automatic
right to a RTW permit.
As with Jersey,
Guernsey is a self governing crown dependency, reliant on the United Kingdom
only for defence and foreign affairs matters. It is a stringently regulated
jurisdiction, and also like Jersey, has no deposit protection scheme set
up, relying on its reputation, and the tightness of its regulations to
safeguard the assets of its investors. Key activities include:
-
Private and corporate
banking.
-
Captive and Life
Insurance.
-
Collective investment
fund administration.
-
Investment Management.
-
Trust and Company
formation and administration.
The standard of
telecommunications in Guernsey is good, with the development of e-commerce
capabilities receiving the full support of the government; an e-development
sector is being set up within the Board of Industry to develop a coherent
and effective strategy. The official language of the island is English,
although French is also widely spoken, and the main newspapers available
are The Guernsey Evening Press (daily), and the Guernsey Globe (weekly).
The dominant
religion is Christianity, with Church of England, Congregational, and Baptist
communities all in existence, and the climate is temperate, with mild winters
and cool summers. The crime rate is generally low, and water sports, golf,
and outdoor pursuits such as walking and cycling rank high on the list
of Guernsey pastimes, although there is a variety of entertainment available
in the evenings for the socially minded expat!
HONG
KONG
Hong Kong’s
immigration policy allows for foreign nationals to enter, live and work
in the area if they possess a special skill, or perform a particular task
which is not available locally, and if their activity significantly benefits
the local economy. However, if you wish to immigrate to Hong Kong for this
purpose, however, you must obtain an employment visa (having first
secured an offer of employment subject to your application being successful).
There
are several different types of visa with which you can gain entry to Hong
Kong, some of which are easier to obtain than others. Briefly, these are:
Employment
visas. These will be needed by:
-
Inter-company
transferees, who are generally being relocated overseas to work in the
Hong Kong branch of their present employer. This type of visa is usually
quite readily issued.
-
Locally recruited
expatriates, who have been offered employment whilst already staying in
Hong Kong, for whatever reason. This is the most difficult type of visa
to obtain, as it is necessary to convince the immigration department that
there is no one in the SAR at that time that could fill the position.
-
Specially recruited
expatriates, who have been specially recruited from abroad to fill a specific
position in Hong Kong (although again, the Immigration department must
be convinced that there is no one already in the SAR that could do the
job as well).
-
Dependent Visas
(i.e. spouses or dependent children of expatriates).
-
Investment based
employment visas. This type of visa used to be much more readily available,
but the selection criteria have become much stricter of recent times. In
order to be able to obtain entry to Hong Kong under this visa, it must
be proved that the business is well capitalised, and will be able to set
up an office and employ at least some local staff immediately. The enterprise
must also have the support and assistance of another well established business
concern, either abroad or locally, and it must be proven that it will be
of benefit to the Hong Kong economy.
Residence for
taxation purposes is not really a valid concern in Hong Kong, as individuals
and companies are taxed on a territorial basis, which means that only income
arising in, or sourced from the territory is liable for taxation. Residents
will, however, have to pay duties such as salaries tax, social insurance,
stamp duty, estate duty, gifts tax, and property tax, but compared to many
onshore jurisdictions, the rates are quite low. Due to its densely populated
nature, there are no property-linked concessions available in Hong Kong,
for residential properties at least.
The cost of
living in Hong Kong is reasonably high, with housing rental or purchase
being the main expense, with food and entertainment less so, and transportation
surprisingly cheap. The dominant religions are Buddhism and Taoism, although
there are many other religions represented in Hong Kong, including Christianity,
Catholicism, and Ancestor Worship.
Hong Kong occupies
a leading position in terms of telecommunications, and the infrastructure
is both sophisticated and varied. Both Chinese (usually Cantonese) and
English are used widely, with most official documents now printed in both,
and there are a number of English language dailies in circulation, including
the Asian Wall Street Journal, the Eastern Express, the Hong Kong Standard,
International Herald Tribune, and the South China Morning Post.
The climate
is tropical, and the more popular pursuits include horse racing, golf,
water sports, and various contact sports such as football and rugby. The
crime rate is generally low, although there has been an increase in petty
crime (such as pick-pocketing), and the night life is exceptionally lively,
both for locals and expats.
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