Indian citizen living in the UK on a Tier2 visa wanting to continue working for UK firm but live with partner in Germany

[jonadsou]

Hello everyone,
I am an Indian national currently residing in Scotland on a Tier2 work/residence permit. I work as a Cyber security consultant and therefore my work is primarily online and not tied to a geographical location. As such my employer has agreed for me to be in Germany with my partner and soon to be wife. To be clear my work is not in Germany, it will continue to be in the UK but as I can work from anywhere with an internet connection, I would like be physically in Germany with my partner. My partner is a German citizen living and working in Germany.

We plan to be married soon after which I will apply for German residence. I am looking for advice on the following:
1. Is it possible for me to keep my current residence permit for the UK after I am married?
2. Is this still possible if I live in Germany while continuing to work for the UK firm?
3. Is there a specific amount of time I can stay outside the UK and still keep my current residence permit?
4. How will this affect me renewing my residence permit when it expires in 2019?
5. How can I pay taxes in the UK but be registered in Germany? I have been told of a bi-lateral tax agreement; does this apply to me?
6. Can I continue to keep my UK National Insurance number even after I start living in Germany? Is there a time limit?
7. Can I continue to keep my UK bank account after I move to Germany? Is there a time limit?
8. I speak German at a B1 level. Is this enough to qualify for the Family visa?

Thank you in advance for your help.

[CR001]

I work as a Cyber security consultant and therefore my work is primarily online and not tied to a geographical location. As such my employer has agreed for me to be in Germany with my partner and soon to be wife. To be clear my work is not in Germany, it will continue to be in the UK but as I can work from anywhere with an internet connection, I would like be physically in Germany with my partner. My partner is a German citizen living and working in Germany.

So is there no 'employer office' you go to daily for work??

1. Is it possible for me to keep my current residence permit for the UK after I am married?

The requirment for a Tier 2 is that you are physically working for your sponsor in the UK. If you no longer reside in the UK and work for your sponsor from within the UK, your sponsor should inform HO and your visa will be curtailed/cancelled.

2. Is this still possible if I live in Germany while continuing to work for the UK firm?

Yes it is possible, but as you are no longer based in the UK, you risk your visa being curtailed/cancelled.

3. Is there a specific amount of time I can stay outside the UK and still keep my current residence permit?

No more than 180 days absence per ANY 12 month rolling period.

4. How will this affect me renewing my residence permit when it expires in 2019?

You won't be able to renew it. The requirement for Tier 2 sponsored visas is that you work in the UK, for your sponsor directly.

5. How can I pay taxes in the UK but be registered in Germany? I have been told of a bi-lateral tax agreement; does this apply to me?

Likely applies to British citizens but you should contact HMRC. Remember that all this information will be available to HO to check as well.

6. Can I continue to keep my UK National Insurance number even after I start living in Germany? Is there a time limit?

Your NI number is yours for life. It does not 'expire'.

7. Can I continue to keep my UK bank account after I move to Germany? Is there a time limit?

Possibly.

[ALKB]

8. I speak German at a B1 level. Is this enough to qualify for the Family visa?

Yes, if you have evidence of this, usually in form of a Goethe Institut certificate.

[jonadsou]

Thank you for your responses

I work as a Cyber security consultant and therefore my work is primarily online and not tied to a geographical location. As such my employer has agreed for me to be in Germany with my partner and soon to be wife. To be clear my work is not in Germany, it will continue to be in the UK but as I can work from anywhere with an internet connection, I would like be physically in Germany with my partner. My partner is a German citizen living and working in Germany.

So is there no 'employer office' you go to daily for work??

No. The company has a registered office but most of us were employed for areas other than the central location. Our mode of work is "from home" and we have employees that choose to live all over the UK as well as other countries. The difference is that I am the only one that is not a UK/EEA citizen.

1. Is it possible for me to keep my current residence permit for the UK after I am married?

The requirment for a Tier 2 is that you are physically working for your sponsor in the UK. If you no longer reside in the UK and work for your sponsor from within the UK, your sponsor should inform HO and your visa will be curtailed/cancelled.

I fully intend to continue working for my sponsor in the UK. I appreciate that traditionally, working for a company meant physically going to that company's office premises. This is not the case for my company and I was wondering if there is any accommodation for this in the rules?

3. Is there a specific amount of time I can stay outside the UK and still keep my current residence permit?

No more than 180 days absence per ANY 12 month rolling period.

That is helpful thank you. Is this checked every time I enter or leave the UK or only when it comes to renewing my permit? Do I risk not being allowed back in if I exceed the 180 days due to unforeseen circumstances?

Thank you

[jonadsou]

8. I speak German at a B1 level. Is this enough to qualify for the Family visa?

Yes, if you have evidence of this, usually in form of a Goethe Institut certificate.

Thank you. I have a course participation certificate from the Volkshochshule. I will check if that is sufficient.

[ALKB]

8. I speak German at a B1 level. Is this enough to qualify for the Family visa?

Yes, if you have evidence of this, usually in form of a Goethe Institut certificate.

Thank you. I have a course participation certificate from the Volkshochshule. I will check if that is sufficient.

Since you are on a Tier 2 visa, I presume that you are degree educated. In that case you can ask for the language requirement to be waived.

[secret.simon]

Thank you for your responses

I work as a Cyber security consultant and therefore my work is primarily online and not tied to a geographical location. As such my employer has agreed for me to be in Germany with my partner and soon to be wife. To be clear my work is not in Germany, it will continue to be in the UK but as I can work from anywhere with an internet connection, I would like be physically in Germany with my partner. My partner is a German citizen living and working in Germany.

So is there no 'employer office' you go to daily for work??

No. The company has a registered office but most of us were employed for areas other than the central location. Our mode of work is "from home" and we have employees that choose to live all over the UK as well as other countries. The difference is that I am the only one that is not a UK/EEA citizen.

1. Is it possible for me to keep my current residence permit for the UK after I am married?

The requirment for a Tier 2 is that you are physically working for your sponsor in the UK. If you no longer reside in the UK and work for your sponsor from within the UK, your sponsor should inform HO and your visa will be curtailed/cancelled.

I fully intend to continue working for my sponsor in the UK. I appreciate that traditionally, working for a company meant physically going to that company's office premises. This is not the case for my company and I was wondering if there is any accommodation for this in the rules?

3. Is there a specific amount of time I can stay outside the UK and still keep my current residence permit?

No more than 180 days absence per ANY 12 month rolling period.

That is helpful thank you. Is this checked every time I enter or leave the UK or only when it comes to renewing my permit? Do I risk not being allowed back in if I exceed the 180 days due to unforeseen circumstances?

Thank you

There is an expectation that a Tier 2 visa holder is resident and physically present in the UK. To an extent, the raison d'etre of a Tier 2 visa grant is that a UK company needed to hire a non-EEA citizen for a specific job vacancy within the UK AND the said non-EEA citizen needed to be in the UK to do the job. If the job can be done just as well from outside as inside the UK, the UK need not give you the visa. The UK-based company can just give you a contractual job outside the UK.

There are also rules about not only the amount of absences from the UK allowed for a T2G holder, but also the reasons for the absences from the UK. Furthermore, absences from the UK of more than a certain amount per year need to be notified to the Home Office.

I am not very conversant with the rules surrounding Tier 2, but most people with a focus on Tier 2 queries and knowledge will not come to the Europe immigration forum by default. I will therefore move this thread to the Tier 2 forum, so that people with a greater knowledge of the rules as regards Tier 2 can comment more fully on your query.

[secret.simon]

You could also look at some extreme commuting options. I had a look at such options (Cologne-Bonn to London Stansted is only an hour's flight and about £10 one-way on Ryanair) after I got British citizenship, but now post-Brexit, they may not be realistic.