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Digital nomad under German contract

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Rjianis

Hi all,

I´ve got a question with regards to the digital nomad live and it´s requirements. I talked with my manager about the idea to travel the world but still keep working in my current position with of course certain conditions. My manager loved the idea but asked at the same time of course what we might need to consider when doing this. Does anyone has experience in this? Insurance, HR, legal, Arbeitsrecht, Betriebsrat etc...? He´s already in touch with HR and legal but asked me as well to do some research if there are some examples out there from other companies. Thanks!

beppi

Many people dream of this and most fail with the practicalities.
It is almost impossible to do this legally.
You need a work visa (and declare the derived income for taxes) in every country where you do work. This is an extreme bureaucratic effort and many countries don't even have a visa category for people doing freelance or remote work.
Some self-declared "digital nomads" work while on tourist visa, under the radar, and get away with it for a while. This is illegal, risky and therefore cannot ne recommended (nor are illegal acts allowed to be discussed on this forum).
In most countries you must tax all income (even if illegally gained) - and not doing so is another criminal offence that those self-declared "digital nomads" happily commit (which makes them social vermin, too).
If you maintain a base and employment contract in Germany, you will be taxed and have health insurance there, too - although tax treaties with certain countries (not all!) will allow you to claim back the German taxes (deducted at source) if you can show that you taxed it elsewhere. For the (complicated) details, consult a tax adviser knowledgeable in international income taxation.

Rjianis

Thank you beppi for your reply. A work visa of course is something I´ll get. I want to have it done the correct / legal way to not run into issues. From what I know I would not do my taxes in a foreign country if I don´t reside their for more than 6 months, but I will definetly talk to a tax adviser beforehand. Generally it would be something like a business tripp into a different country. If this is not possible I will then "simply save more money" to do a sabatical year to travel the world. Thanks a lot!

beppi

Rjianis wrote:

From what I know I would not do my taxes in a foreign country if I don´t reside their for more than 6 months


This isn't  true!
Every country has its own rule, sometimes overwritten by tax treaties with other countries, which may or may not apply to you. For example, Germany taxes you from the first day you reside in the country, in Singapore 60 days are tax-free (but you need a work visa from the first day), in Taiwan 15 days (and this period is also allowed without work visa). These are the countries I happen to know about. The often cited "183 days rule" is a myth. Although some tax treaties (but by far not all) give the right to tax your whole year's earnings to the country where you stayed more than 183 days, this does NOT mean you're tax-free If you stay less than 183 in each! (It is more likely you will be double taxed!)
It is very difficult (and frustrating, and costly if you engage tax consultants) to do this legally correct. I know from own experience (of having earned in three countries in a calendar year - something I'll avoid in future!).

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