Four in ten people buying a holiday home abroad plan to work remotely from it on occasions, according to a recent survey by Your Overseas Home. In post-pandemic 2023, technology and changing attitudes certainly make working from home abroad a tempting option, but how realistic is the dream, and what are the currency implications?
One unexpected outcome of the pandemic was the triggering of a remote working revolution, which continues to this day. Modern technology is more than adequate to enable people to work remotely, typically from home. Forced isolation during Covid prompted many households to explore ways of improving our home environments, whether adding a cabin in the garden or moving to a larger house more suited to home-working.
Of course, ‘home’ needn’t be your primary residence, the place you are settled and spend most of the year. It could be a property abroad, either somewhere you use for extended holidays or plan to move to more permanently.
For some, the so-called digital nomads, it could be a rented apartment by the beach, a co-working café in a city centre, even a hotel terrace in the Alps. Remote working means you could be anywhere. It gives you the flexibility to open the laptop and get busy wherever you want…
Upsides and some downsides
There are plenty of pros and a few potential cons to remote working, depending on your personal circumstances.
The obvious benefits are the ability to travel and be based where you want with the flexibility to structure your working day around personal needs, ultimately giving you more time for leisure activities and things you really enjoy.
Other perks include lack of a commute, which saves time and money, and – hopefully – lower stress levels. Of course, being abroad in a location with a fantastic lifestyle makes these things even more appealing, with the bonus of experiencing a different culture, enjoying great food and meeting people of diverse nationalities.
The downsides? Living and working remotely in the same environment can make it difficult to separate home life from work life. And doing a job where you interact with just a screen all day can deprive you of interaction with real people – but you can get round this by ramping up your social life!
Basic requirements
It should go without saying, but a must have for remote working is a reliable high-speed internet connection. You’ll need it for Zoom meetings, file transfers, access to applications and, if required, running a remote desktop or Virtual Private Network (VPN).
The general consensus is that a download/upload speed of 10-25 Mbps should be enough – the higher the better. However, don’t assume it will be worse abroad; it may be much better. These days most popular European countries deliver a good internet service and many are ahead of the UK. Just be careful if your property or accommodation is in a remote location outside of a town or urbanised area and ensure you do a simple speed test (it takes about 30 seconds from any smartphone) before signing for anything.
Other than that, requirements will depend on yor own approach to work. Maybe you can work from the kitchen table or even the pool, or maybe you need the relative discipline of a home office. If quiet is vital to you, when viewing properties do check them out when you’ll be working, as that calm city street on a weekend may be a local rat run in th week.
The part-time approach
Remote working abroad is especially suited to self-employed people or those who have control of their own working life, such as business owners. Why wouldn’t you take regular trips to a second home where you can have fun while keeping your work ticking over?
Often people do this to escape the UK’s miserable winters, spending a month or two at a time abroad. Being somewhere warm during the UK’s colder months can even save you money. Research by easyJet last winter claimed that more than 50% of the nation is considering escaping the UK to avoid heating bills.
A leading developer in Spain recently reported seeing an increase in the number of people buying second homes to use for work. “Buyers are also staying in their properties for longer than they did pre-pandemic,” they reported. “We anticipate that this will increase as both digital nomads and energy nomads head to Spain to wait out the winter in the warm!”
Residency rules and taxation
Using an overseas home for extended stays without becoming a resident in the country does mean you need to keep an eye on immigration rules.
As the British are now non-EU citizens (‘Third-country nationals’ to use the technical term, just like Americans), visits to European countries are subject to the Schengen 90/180 day rule. This means you are free to stay up to 90 cumulative days in any rolling 180 day-period without a visa. When planning a spell at your overseas home, the trick is to count back 180 days from your future date of return to the UK and check that within that period you will not exceed 90 days in Europe.
Spending a certain amount of time in your foreign home could also lead to you being classed as tax resident in that country. Typically, if you spend a total of 183 days or more within a 12-month period in any tax jurisdiction or there is sufficient evidence that you are using a home there as a primary residence, you could be considered a tax resident there. Speak to a qualified overseas tax specialist to avoid this type of scenario.
Digital Nomads
Anyone committed to packing up and relocating as a remote worker on a full-time basis should consider applying for a digital nomad visa.
There has been a boom in this type of visa since the pandemic. They provide a way for people to enjoy living and working in a foreign country while supporting themselves without being a strain on the local economy. Those in Spain, Portugal and Germany have proven particularly popular. Requirements for digital nomad visas vary from country to country, but typically require proof of remote employment (outside of the host country) and minimum monthly income, as well as travel/medical insurance. The length of the visa varies from country, generally lasting for a year with the option to renew, and usually there is an application fee.
Money matters
Give some thought to how you manage your finances. In most cases, owning an overseas home and/or spending long periods in a foreign country means you’ll need a bank account there. You’ll have monthly living expenses to cover, and homeowners will need to cover the running costs of property, and being able to draw cash locally is always useful.
To fund your foreign account, speak to Smart Currency Exchange. Our comprehensive and money-saving service will cover all your currency transfers requirements.
