I've been doing that for a few years now, first working in Japan, then living for some time in Malaysia, Thailand and China before deciding on settling here for some time..
For Japan, I was working there for a Japanese company so it's a bit different...
For visas in Malaysia and Thailand, I just switched between both countries for 2-3 months at a time (but stayed more in Malaysia), so I didn't need a visa for such a short time (as a french citizen). Since, my official country of residence at the time was france, I didn't have to pay any taxes.
One word of caution, after one year of doing that it started becoming harder to get in Malaysia... So, it's not a long term solution...
For China, I've been here under a business visa. According to Chinese law, as long as I'm not a permanent resident (stayed more than 5 years with less than 90 days each year out of the country), I don't have to pay taxes on income outside of China.
Regarding health care, I'm using this insurance www.aplusii.com It's aimed at expats, costs 300 euros/months for me and my wife and covers us everywhere in the world except US and Canada (and then it does cover us there in case of accidents). I found them through a broker and would recommend you to consult one just to make sure you are covered in case of problems.
To keep costs low, it's a good idea to try and rent apartments for at least one month in each location instead of going to hotels. You get a better view of how people actually live there and it's much cheaper.
You can contact me if you have any questions (or decide to drop by in Shanghai), my email is in my profile.
> Since, my official country of residence at the time was france, I didn't have to pay any taxes.
I'm sorry, but I have hard time believing that. Since you were still a resident of France I'm sure you have to pay some tax to France in some shape or form.
Being a resident and being a tax resident are two completely different things. There are a few Asian countries (I believe Thailand) is one where you only pay tax on income if you're classified as a permanent resident. If you're on something like a 90 day business visa then Thai tax laws don't apply.
Contrast that with somewhere like the UK where you're deemed a tax resident only if you've been resident in the country for >= 178 days in the financial year (regardless of visa status). Combine the two scenarios, carefully managed, you can greatly reduce the amount of tax you pay.
It cuts both ways though. Somewhere like Australia which has a different tax year to the UK and it's possible to incur a tax liability in both the UK and Australia. You'd need to submit a return in both places, thankfully they have a tax treaty with each other to avoid paying double but you'll still need to submit returns to both.
But back to the OP, it's exactly this kind of approach wealthy individuals use to avoid paying taxes. Claim tax residence in a country that only wants your money if you're actually living there, live somewhere else that only wants your money if you're earning it in that country.
Comments
I've been doing that for a few years now, first working in Japan, then living for some time in Malaysia, Thailand and China before deciding on settling here for some time..
For Japan, I was working there for a Japanese company so it's a bit different...
For visas in Malaysia and Thailand, I just switched between both countries for 2-3 months at a time (but stayed more in Malaysia), so I didn't need a visa for such a short time (as a french citizen). Since, my official country of residence at the time was france, I didn't have to pay any taxes. One word of caution, after one year of doing that it started becoming harder to get in Malaysia... So, it's not a long term solution...
For China, I've been here under a business visa. According to Chinese law, as long as I'm not a permanent resident (stayed more than 5 years with less than 90 days each year out of the country), I don't have to pay taxes on income outside of China.
Regarding health care, I'm using this insurance www.aplusii.com It's aimed at expats, costs 300 euros/months for me and my wife and covers us everywhere in the world except US and Canada (and then it does cover us there in case of accidents). I found them through a broker and would recommend you to consult one just to make sure you are covered in case of problems.
To keep costs low, it's a good idea to try and rent apartments for at least one month in each location instead of going to hotels. You get a better view of how people actually live there and it's much cheaper.
You can contact me if you have any questions (or decide to drop by in Shanghai), my email is in my profile.
> Since, my official country of residence at the time was france, I didn't have to pay any taxes.
I'm sorry, but I have hard time believing that. Since you were still a resident of France I'm sure you have to pay some tax to France in some shape or form.
Being a resident and being a tax resident are two completely different things. There are a few Asian countries (I believe Thailand) is one where you only pay tax on income if you're classified as a permanent resident. If you're on something like a 90 day business visa then Thai tax laws don't apply.
Contrast that with somewhere like the UK where you're deemed a tax resident only if you've been resident in the country for >= 178 days in the financial year (regardless of visa status). Combine the two scenarios, carefully managed, you can greatly reduce the amount of tax you pay.
It cuts both ways though. Somewhere like Australia which has a different tax year to the UK and it's possible to incur a tax liability in both the UK and Australia. You'd need to submit a return in both places, thankfully they have a tax treaty with each other to avoid paying double but you'll still need to submit returns to both.
But back to the OP, it's exactly this kind of approach wealthy individuals use to avoid paying taxes. Claim tax residence in a country that only wants your money if you're actually living there, live somewhere else that only wants your money if you're earning it in that country.
US is rare in that it declares the right to tax its citizens' income wherever they live. Most countries don't do that.