Logistics of Working Abroad
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
- Paying US taxes while living abroad
- Want to live abroad for a year, how to find jobs?
- College grad working in Europe
- Working abroad with two young children
Paying US taxes while living abroad
May 2015
Our daughter, who's lived in England since 2007 and is married to a British guy, called us in a panic today, because she and her husband want to switch banks in Britain and were told/advised in the new bank's paperwork that she might have been obliged to file a tax return with the IRS all this time, even though she earned no money in the U.S. (Margaret read something about the possibility of a $10k fine, which is what caused the panic!) We have printed out an IRS form 8854 (Initial and Annual Expatriation Statement), which is enigmatic, to say the least, and are advising her to do the same and start filling it out. Does anyone among you have experience with this situation (or know a good source of information, other than calling the IRS, who probably haven't even been thinking about Margaret)? If so, would you please e-mail me, preferably soon? Thanks! (What we really want to know, of course, is whether there's any actual danger of a financial penalty for our daughter, if only so she'll calm down and start using her brain.)
Yes, Americans living abroad need to file US taxes, even if they don't earn much money. http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-us-citizens-living-abroad-owe-us-tax.html If she moves back to the US and has a British bank account, then she must also report this. The US Govt is cracking down on foreign banks who have bank accounts held by Americans. The banks must file this with the US and the Americans must file it, too. http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Report-of-Foreign-Bank-and-Financial-Accounts-FBAR Mom 2
As a Swiss citizen who has been living in the US as a permanent resident for over 5 years, I can relate to your daughter's panic. I only found out last year that I was obliged to claim all my Swiss bank accounts. Had to do a NFFBAR last year (which I completed late because I was unaware of the requirement) and have started claiming my one Swiss account on IRS since this year. Before that, I didn't know the US required anything from me about foreign assets. I used to have a lot more money in my bank account but have been wiring to my US back account over the years, as international banking secrecy laws have become more and more stringent and bank fees outrageous. So now I am left with one Swiss bank account and your post just reminded me I have to file my NFFBAR. So far no one has come after me. I do file annual taxes in Switzerland and pay taxes on the meager interests I earn from my Swiss accounts. NFFBAR/IRS
Want to live abroad for a year, how to find jobs?
March 2008
My husband and I would like to live abroad with our kids ages 11, 9 and 9, for a year. He is an (agricultural) economist and I have lots of NGO experience with foundations and non-profits. Can anyone suggest where we might look for temporary jobs abroad? Do you know any good websites for this kind of job-seeking? Are there particular places you might recommend? We are interested in a Spanish or French-speaking country, but are open to many other places as well. Thanks! Melissa
Try the website eurobrussels.com. These are jobs mostly in the the EU, but it seems like that's what you are interested in. If it's the developing world, try http://www.developmentex.com/index.asp or idealist.com.
Good luck. BZ
Denmark has recently been voted ''best place to live'' and has a labor shortage. Many Danes speak English and are very helpful if you speak only a little Danish. The Danish language is really fascinating to learn and is similar to old English in many ways. During World War II, Danes all over Denmark risked their lives to smuggle almost all of their Jewish families into Sweden before Hitler could transport them to concentration camps in Germany. For more information on working in Denmark, go to: www.workindenmark.dk/Work
Dane Wannabe
Have you checked out idealist.org? Good luck! anon
College grad working in Europe
Sept 2007
Hi my son (UC grad 07) is heading off to Europe- and would like to extend his travels by working in Italy, Sweden or Finland for awhile (hopefully where there is snowboarding avail.) Does anyone have info on getting a visa for this type of excursion, or any other words of wisdom? Thanks! Brenda
It's very difficult for Non EC folks (like Americans) to get a work visa in Italy, moreover, if you go on a vacation visa (the normal three months 'visa' that is automatic for most people), you can't get a work visa - Permesso di Soggiorno - unless you come back to the United States and apply for one with the Italian Consulate. It's possible that your son might find work under the table, but of course, that's illegal and it's unlikely that an Italian employer would stick his neck out for someone who wasn't family. Unless your son knows someone already in Italy (someone who would hire him or someone who can help with a work visa), I wouldn't be too optimistic about it. Don't know about other countries. janine
Working abroad with two young children
July 2007
I'm a teacher and my husband and I would really like to move abroad for a few years within the next year or two. Our children will be 4 and 1. My question: how do we find jobs? I've looked on-line but there is sooooo much information. The UK and France are on the list but alson Latin America, South America and the Caribbean. I speak Spanish fluently but only a little French. looking for a change
I lived in the Netherlands for several years and most of my friends were teaching at an American school there. They found there jobs through job fairs in the US. None needed a foreign language (there is usually a pretty strong ex-pat community wherever you go -- though I would suggest learning the local language while there). Please contact me if you would like me to put you in touch with my friends. They can give you better insight. jan
There may be exceptions I don't know about but work permits are no easier to come by in the EU than in the US. If he doesn't really need an income (big if), volunteering could be an option - friends have used https://www.workaway.info/ to find places to get free room and board while working in all sorts of countries. But a US passport allows only 90 days' stay for tourism/volunteering. Beyond that you need a different visa.
Honestly, it has gotten harder for Americans to go abroad and teach English. Because of how popular it became, the competition has grown, and the expectations have become professionalized - meaning, you would likely need some kind of TEFL certification to get hired. However, you can probably privately tutor kids whose parents want to ensure practice with a native English speaker, although in major urban areas, they may already have enough access. More rural areas may have fewer native English speakers around and therefore may be of more interest to ambitious parents who want to give their children a leg up on language proficiency.
I've heard good things about workaway. You can find them here https://www.workaway.info/
Hello! in my search for gap year programs I came across this site for international internships.: https://absoluteinternship.com I'm sure there are more organizations that do this. Could be worth looking into?
You don't mention what his major was, but global companies often have opportunities for employees to work out of offices in other countries. I have American coworkers who I used to work with in Oakland who now work out of offices in England, Germany, and Portugal. One worked in Australia for a while. I'm not familiar with anyone who was hired directly from the US into an overseas job, but that could just be because the ones I know about are folks who I met here in the US before they went overseas. FWIW, I work for a global consulting firm headquartered in Europe, with more than 300 offices across 100 different countries, and there are other similarly structured firms doing a variety of work.
This doesn't help for the immediate January need, but is there any chance he qualifies for EU citizenship by ancestry? Each country within the EU has its own requirements, and if his grandparents or parents are European by birth, you should definitely investigate that country. My kids have Irish citizenship because we can trace back ancestry to Irish born great grandparents (Ireland was very lenient about this during one era), and I am definitely hoping they use it post college to explore the world more!