What is the difference between overseas working and business travel?

Overseas working is any period of time that you are undertaking your normal day-to-day work duties from an overseas location, i.e., not from the country stated as your ‘primary location’ on your Imperial Contract of Employment (in most cases this will be the UK).

Business travel is when you are travelling to another country to attend a conference or meeting, typically this would be just a couple of days in duration, and expenses would be submitted to cover costs.

You do not need to submit an overseas working request for business travel. For further guidance on what activities are likely to be covered under business travel, you can view the list of permissible business activities for short-term business travellers coming to the UK. However, please note that activities vary per country and adequate research must be undertaken for your proposed country of travel.

If you are unsure as to how your arrangements would be categorised after reviewing this page, please contact the team at international-mobility-team@imperial.ac.uk.

Examples of overseas working

The International Mobility Team recognises that it can sometimes be difficult to know what types of overseas working activities require actions to facilitate working in a legally compliant way.

The examples below aim to illustrate when you would need to fill in an overseas working request.

Scenarios

A staff member from Spain is going home for Christmas and wants to extend the trip by two weeks to work remotely

An Overseas Working Request would need to be submitted for the extended stay in Spain. This would allow:

  • An assessment by the International Mobility Team will identify if there could be a cumulative risk posed by any time spent in Spain over the last year, so the staff member is aware of any potential risks.
  • This should fall into the ‘Green category’, according to how requests are assessed using the International Mobility Framework. If nothing else is required, it will be approved.​​
  • Evidence of the Right to Work in Spain (e.g. a Spanish passport) may be required if it has not already been provided.

Action required:​ Submit an overseas working request to the International Mobility Team (IMT), so the university is aware of the employee’s working location.

Possible support:  The IMT can provide any necessary support.

A staff member wants to spend three to four months in their home country to look after a relative

An Overseas Working Request would need to be submitted for the stay in the staff member's home country. This would allow: 

  • A risk assessment by the International Mobility Team (IMT) will identify any implications for:
    • Immigration
    • Healthcare access
    • Tax implications
  • This will likely fall into the 'Amber category', according to how requests are assessed using the International Mobility Framework.
  • The actions required to facilitate the request and their associated costs will be identified.
  • The IMT will work with the department and staff member to agree whether to proceed and how to fund the request.
  • The IMT will initiate any actions required and keep the department and staff member informed of progress.

Action required:​ Submit an overseas working request with the relevant documentation.

Possible support: The IMT can proceed in applying for an A1 or other relevant Certificate of Coverage (to ensure access to host healthcare).

An academic wants to spend a year living in a country where they currently do not have the Right to Work

An Overseas Working Request would need to be submitted for the planned stay overseas. This would allow:

  • A risk assessment by the International Mobility Team (IMT) will identify any implications for:
    • Immigration / Right to Work
    • Healthcare access/Pension treatment
    • Tax implications
    • Payroll/reporting liabilities
    • Permanent Establishment risks
    • Potential corporate tax, etc.
  • This will likely fall into the 'Red category', according to how requests are assessed using the International Mobility Framework.
  • The actions required to facilitate the request and their associated costs will be identified.
  • The IMT will work with the department and the staff member to agree whether to proceed and how to fund the request.
  • The IMT will initiate any actions required and keep the department and staff member informed of progress.

Action required: Submit an overseas working request with the relevant documentation.

Possible support: The IMT will advise on what Right to Work documentation is required and assist in applying for an A1 or relevant Certificate of Coverage etc. The university may need to establish a payroll in the destination territory. The staff member would need to agree to adhere to specific conditions to prevent triggering a Permanent Establishment (when a business is deemed to have a taxable presence outside of its home jurisdiction, i.e. outside the UK for the university).

A learning and teaching staff member regularly goes back and forth between the UK and another country where they have a home that they work from, and all teaching will be done from the UK.

An Overseas Working Request would need to be submitted for all overseas working. This would allow:

  • A risk assessment by the International Mobility Team (IMT) will identify the implications for:
    • Immigration/Right to Work
    • Healthcare access/Pension treatment
    • Tax implications
    • Payroll/reporting liabilities, etc.
  • ‘Commuter-type’ overseas working can be one of the more complex scenarios.
  • The rules for the amount of time spent in each territory to avoid triggering liabilities will be identified as well as any actions required to facilitate the request and their associated costs.
  • The IMT will work with the department and the staff member to agree whether to proceed and how to fund the request.
  • The IMT will initiate any actions required and keep the department and staff member informed of progress.

Action required: Submit an overseas working request with the relevant documentation.

Possible support: The IMT will advise on what Right to Work documentation is required and assist in applying for an A1 or relevant Certificate of Coverage. The university will need to establish potential employer reporting obligations in both jurisdictions before the overseas working arrangement can begin.

A British staff member is travelling to Italy for a conference which is classed as a business trip, they want to stay on afterwards to work from Italy so they have more time in Venice.

An Overseas Working Request would need to be submitted for the period beyond the conference. This would allow:

  •  A risk assessment by the International Mobility Team (IMT) to identify any implications for:
    • Immigration / Right to Work
    • Healthcare access / Insurance
    • Tax implications
  • Details of the overseas working (including the duration and Right to Work documentation) determine how the request is assessed using the International Mobility Framework to identify any actions required to facilitate the request and any associated costs.
  • The IMT will work with the department and staff member to agree whether to proceed and how to fund the request.
  • The IMT will initiate any actions where required and keep the department and staff member informed of progress.

Action required:​ Submit an overseas working request with the relevant documentation.

Possible support: The IMT can advise on relevant insurance coverage for the trip.

A Line Manager is hiring a new member of staff who will be working overseas at an Imperial partner research institution in Europe.

An Overseas Working Request would need to be submitted by the Line Manager on behalf of their employee before they start work. This would allow:

  •  A risk assessment by the International Mobility Team (IMT) to identify any implications for:
    • Immigration / Right to Work
    • Healthcare access
    • Tax implications
  • Details of the overseas working (including duration and Right to Work documentation) determine how the request is assessed using  the International Mobility Framework to identify any actions required to facilitate the request and any associated costs.
  • The IMT will work with the department and staff member to agree whether to proceed and how to fund the request.
  • The IMT will initiate any actions required and keep the department and staff member informed of progress.

Action required:​ Line Manager submits an overseas working request with the relevant documentation.

Possible support: The IMT can provide advice on what is required to facilitate the new hire.

What could happen if I don’t submit an overseas working request?

You may accidentally breach local laws and legislations by not having the correct Right to Work status, staying too long cumulatively in a country over a year or not paying required Tax or Social Security contributions.

Some roles are not permissible to be undertaken from outside of the contracted country of employment, as they may potentially create a Permanent Establishing in that jurisdiction, along with Corporation Tax liabilities for Imperial.

This can have significant financial implications for you and / or Imperial and can also result in you being ‘blacklisted’ for entry to a country, which may subsequently impact entry to other countries who are able to see breaches in other jurisdictions.

As your employer, Imperial has a duty of care to be able to offer any support should there be an incident in your overseas location. If your whereabouts are not properly recorded it makes it harder for us to uphold this duty of care.

The International Mobility Team is here to protect and support our staff, by submitting your overseas working request you enable the IMT to facilitate your overseas working in both a safe and legally compliant manner.

For countries that have a substantial number of Imperial employees required to pay tax in that jurisdiction, this can be set up on our payroll. This reduces the costs for staff and the university, but can only be done efficiently if staff inform the IMT of their overseas working location.

For the university, there are potential impacts from staff members working overseas illegally that extend beyond just brand and reputational damage, such as fines and penalties, court summons and criminal corporate proceedings.


Contact Us

If you have any queries ahead of your trip, or once abroad, please contact the International Mobility Team at international-mobility-team@imperial.ac.uk.

We are here to provide you with advice and guidance about your overseas working plans, potential risks or liabilities that you may incur, and to answer any questions that you have about this new process.