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0% tax residency

I want to share my findings. Information may not be accurate.
Some additions to this post.

In all countries except Cyprus it is not possible to obtain a tax residence certificate without a stay of 183 days.

The countries which I no longer consider favorable:
Monaco, Switzerland - very expensive and difficult way
UK / Portugal / Ireland / Italy - not suitable for people having active trading companies
Andorra - a difficult way and 10% tax on foreign income

Possible schemes:
UAE - there are a lot of options to get a residence, from incorporating a company to cheap freelancer visa. It seems nowadays it's quite difficult to get a bank account in UAE even for residents. One visit per 180 days is required which is also annoying. For the moment on EU blacklist.
Cyprus - it's a good option for the passive investment income, but it's almost impossible to get other income, such as active company profits, tax free.
Malta - remittance basis taxation and the possibility to get a 5% company tax with proper structuring is quite favorable, however you have to use complex solutions and since some things are overcomplicated in Malta and depend exceptionally on tax commissioner decision it can be a hidden trap. The banks in Malta are very shitty and practicaly non existent.
Georgia - you can be self employed for 1% tax or have a company with 5% tax, no CFC, no AEOI and no shitty EU directives, however it's a developing country with very low gdp and your offshore can be considered as resident, though I haven't heard of this rule to be enforced. I haven't heard that someone would move there only to use this system.

Some options in SEA, all have 180 days presence rule to maintain a residency:
Malasya - mm2h programme, there is a possibility to have a tax free residence since it's a territorial taxation country, but a decent deposit.
Thailand - you can get a Thai elite visa and therefore a residency, no CFC and no AEOI, foreign income is not taxed, however the things are unclear for the profits of offshore company.
Singapore - quite expensive and hard option which is suitable only for startup founders
 
Very very very good information @GrumpyMess this is interesting and useful information for most if not all of us thu&¤#
 
Mmmm I am not finding Andorra difficult. Yes you need to be fluent in either Catalan, French or Spanish...
You have to pay CASS - 464.62 euros monthly. To get 2% company rate you need at least one employee, you have to pay a salary and social security contributions. Worst of all it seems the gov doesn't approve the tax reductions anymore, resulting in 10% rate. Too few double taxation treaties. Opening a company and bank account may take half a year. Language requirements, complex logistics. I see no benefits overall.

FYI the United Arab Emirates will be removed from the list on Thursday, October 10, and same day also Switzerland could be removed from the grey list.
UAE attractiveness has grown. However living there for 180 days is still not for everyone
 
Anything public you have a link to or something to understand why they are rmeoved and have been on there at all?

now it's official, source :
EU Updates Tax Blacklist
The European Council has removed the United Arab Emirates and the Marshall Islands from the blacklist.
Marshall Islands will be moved to the "grey list" of jurisdictions cooperating with the EU to reform their tax policies.
The Council also announced that Albania, Costa Rica, Mauritius, Serbia, and Switzerland have implemented ahead of their deadlines all necessary reforms to comply with the EU's tax good governance principles. These countries will therefore be removed from the grey list.

The Council concluded that, regarding the situation of the USA, its network of exchange of information arrangements is sufficiently broad to cover all EU member states, effectively allowing both the exchange of information on request and the automatic exchange of information in line with international standards and the respective needs of both sides.
 
you should look at the passive residency, not the active: it was very convenient some years ago, but now you have to invest into government bonds so the entry cost is way higher (~50k into bonds plus fees plus extras OR half a billion investment in place IIRC). IMHO not worth as there are other alternatives in EU. It's good for some athletes and cyclists I know that live there as their teams plan a few weeks of training each year there, so they kill two birds with a stone.

wait here a link for the curious ones that explains the situation for the passive, there are also info for the active in the same site/similar sites: Andorra Passive Residency | Andorra Guides

UAE attractiveness has grown. However living there for 180 days is still not for everyone
agree not for me, but if you are scaling a business and need that extra 00mph that a 0%/low tax gives you, then just do it, well worth.
 
Marshall Islands will be moved to the "grey list" of jurisdictions cooperating with the EU to reform their tax policies.
How are they cooperate with EU on tax?

“The amended Regulations have been recognized, through this removal, as fulfilling the RMI’s commitments with respect to the EU’s tax policies,” continued Minister Wase.
Anyone know what regulations he has in mind?
 
I'll add another less-known option for those who want to appear on-shore and high tax. High street banking is easy, and there are no issues with invoice recognition in EU and elsewhere. Basically, a tax-friendly place with zero slut aura.

Chile - Territorial for 6 years.

Suffers from a high nominal tax burden, however, foreigners who take on tax residency get a 3-year exemption on foreign-earned income. An even less known fact is that you can extend it by another 3 years for a total of 6 by filing a simple request. No tarded requirements or hoops to jump through.

Chile has many nice beach towns, outstanding climate, and low living expenses. It's not among the best options for permanent benefits, but it's perfectly suitable as a stepping-stone.
 
not working anymore! wanted to do the same. you take RESIDENCY but you DONT take TAX residency unless you stay 183 days...
Yes, the only bulletproof solution is to have a tax residence certificate as I mentioned and in the most of low or no tax countries you can't get one without living there for a half of the year. However in Cyprus you can get one by living 60 days, in Malta by showing you have a strong ties with Malta and living a reasonable amount of time, in Georgia by being HNWI.

however, foreigners who take on tax residency get a 3-year exemption on foreign-earned income
do they issue a residency certificates without a person living there and do they have a minimum presence requirement?
 
Thanks so much @GrumpyMess
In Cyprus you can take if you stay 60 days BUT you must prove you don't stay in any other country 183 days..
And also, my question, if you move in EU, how they can know where are you and how many days???
Last, what is the HNWI?

At your quote to @xzars i dont believe anyone is issueing if you're not 183 days there. and thats the document needed i think.. nothing else, right?

Thank you!!!
 
Yup, tax residency certificate is available after 6 months of stay in any 12 month period. There's no reason to obtain one every year - just once will suffice if you want to formally break tax residency with home country. So effectively, you should stay 6+ months during the first year, and then you can just live abroad, but without having property or rented address in Chile, you may have difficulties getting that 3 year extension.
 
Great advises, but the question here comes, if I'm not working in a country, how I will get money ? I assume there are all discussions for people that work over the net, or have already incomes etc... yes?

Being an employee puts you in a very unfavorable position. Making money on someone else's payroll is fine for a little while, but you must think about becoming location-independent freelancer, if not a business owner. The best way to start is to split your time between two employers - work part time for one, and part time for the other. This already gives you a degree of safety and little leverage in pay negotiations. The next stage is to negotiate some days of remote work - for a few days of the week, work from home. If the job gets done, the employer should not care from where you work. Once you have two part-time jobs where some days of the week you can work from home, the third stage is to go for that 100% remote work contract. This gives you the ultimate flexibility to work from a tax haven and potentially double your net income without any additional cost to employer. As a location-independent freelancer, always try to split your time between at least two clients so that if one folds you don't have to go back home.

It goes without saying that there's an abundance of remote work opportunities on jobs boards you can apply to. Your best argument to get hired is not to talk about your qualifications or passion, but instead, you must say you have done the exact same project/work/task for another client.
 
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