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Ask HN: I want to move around Europe frequently while being employed. How?

13 points by dj_mc_merlin ↗ HN
I'm a European developer based in Germany, employed by a German company. I'd like to go around living in airbnbs and hotels for a while, but I'm concerned about my residency status since that is a requirement for employment (under favorable tax law).

Setting up a business would be an option, and I have an address somewhere else in Europe available. To other people doing this: how are you doing it?

5 comments

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Raed667
Are you able to keep an "official" tax-address in Germany? That would be the easiest way while doing remote work.
r_hoods_ghost
This is definitely one of those instances where you want to look for the official guidance and not ask random strangers on the internet. On the surface it's dead straightforward. You're a tax resident in Germany if you're living there for 183+ days a year. So the simple answer is only travel for six months or less. But it might me more complex than that in reality. In the UK for example you can technically qualify for tax residency even if you only spend 30 days per year in the UK, provided your only abode is in the UK and you spend those 30 days working. You can also notoriously live almost full time in the UK and work while still being non domiciled for tax purposes because the UK is the world's largest off shore banking and money laundering center and we like to make life easy for crooks and media barons. Speak to a tax law specialist. They'll be able to give you an answer in about 5 minutes.
mapster
Can you claim an exemption for traveling for work? Maybe your ‘clients’ are really on the coast of France, in the Tyrol, or northern Sardinia.