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You've probably already thought about this, but you might want to make sure clients understand the legal side of things. We've certainly had some cases at Mozil

You've probably already thought about this, but you might want to make sure clients understand the legal side of things. We've certainly had some cases at Mozilla where remote workers had to be "reminded" that we could only pay them if they maintained residency in their official company of employment, that they would be in violation of the tourist visa they had traveled to these other locations under if they worked there for 3 months, etc. It's a bit of a minefield, and I only know the warnings that legal/HR tell managers :-)

brunooo 12y ago
Right to the point, that's one of the reasons we choose the countries we did, as they make it OKish to work for a non-local (!!!) company. The Chiang Mai raid a few weeks ago was good example and scared a lot of people, but overall the risk is manageable.
- O____________O 12y ago
  The Chiang Mai raid a few weeks ago I was confused by your seemingly conflicting comments (the other was about the six month visa allowing remote work), so I Googled it: http://asiancorrespondent.com/127125/thailand-immigration-officials-raid-chiang-mai-co-working-space/ http://asiancorrespondent.com/127125/thailand-immigration-of... Foreigners working for a Thai firm must hold a valid non-immigrant (Type B) visa, but so-called ‘digital nomads’ – who are often self-employed – can sidestep that requirement. So, the 'raid' was because officials thought the foreigners were working for the co-working space.
  - brunooo 12y ago
    Exactly, thanks for posting the details.
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    Note that digital nomads have no legal status, and you would be wise to pay taxes in the US if American if you aren't paying Thai taxes.
hackerboos 12y ago
> You've probably already thought about this, but you might want to make sure clients understand the legal side of things. I doubt that for $1600 a month this includes all the legal paperwork in order to work in Portugal, Mexico and Indonesia. It's another abuse of the visa-free status many Westerners are given by countries that wish to attract tourists. This is the second one I've seen today. First is here - http://drrn.net/why-did-i-move-to-thailand-to-bootstrap-my-startup/ http://drrn.net/why-did-i-move-to-thailand-to-bootstrap-my-s... Edit: I'm not aware of any new Thai visas being announced. It definitely would have been mentioned on ThaiVisa.com. Please post a link.
- brunooo 12y ago
  Things are changing very fast atm, as most countries realize that it's a good group of people to have. Eg Thailands new 6 months Visa explicitly includes remote work.
  - personlurking 12y ago
    Portugal, as of a few years back, allows one to (theoretically) continually renew their 90-day tourist visa. In a few other EU countries (like Denmark), it's possible to stay an extra 90 days per their own non-Shengen laws. http://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1e83wv/extra_90_days_visa_free_in_denmark/ http://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1e83wv/extra_90_days...
  - wingerlang 12y ago
    Exactly which visa is this you're talking about?
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  Can you explain how its visa abuse? I'm not working for a business in that country, I'm working for a business in my home country. As an accepting country, you're getting all of the benefits of me being there, spending money on services and goods, without having to provide me with employment or unpaid government services.

brunooo 12y ago

Right to the point, that's one of the reasons we choose the countries we did, as they make it OKish to work for a non-local (!!!) company. The Chiang Mai raid a few weeks ago was good example and scared a lot of people, but overall the risk is manageable.

O____________O 12y ago
The Chiang Mai raid a few weeks ago I was confused by your seemingly conflicting comments (the other was about the six month visa allowing remote work), so I Googled it: http://asiancorrespondent.com/127125/thailand-immigration-officials-raid-chiang-mai-co-working-space/ http://asiancorrespondent.com/127125/thailand-immigration-of... Foreigners working for a Thai firm must hold a valid non-immigrant (Type B) visa, but so-called ‘digital nomads’ – who are often self-employed – can sidestep that requirement. So, the 'raid' was because officials thought the foreigners were working for the co-working space.
- brunooo 12y ago
  Exactly, thanks for posting the details.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  Note that digital nomads have no legal status, and you would be wise to pay taxes in the US if American if you aren't paying Thai taxes.

hackerboos 12y ago

> You've probably already thought about this, but you might want to make sure clients understand the legal side of things. I doubt that for $1600 a month this includes all the legal paperwork in order to work in Portugal, Mexico and Indonesia. It's another abuse of the visa-free status many Westerners are given by countries that wish to attract tourists. This is the second one I've seen today. First is here - http://drrn.net/why-did-i-move-to-thailand-to-bootstrap-my-startup/ http://drrn.net/why-did-i-move-to-thailand-to-bootstrap-my-s... Edit: I'm not aware of any new Thai visas being announced. It definitely would have been mentioned on ThaiVisa.com. Please post a link.

brunooo 12y ago
Things are changing very fast atm, as most countries realize that it's a good group of people to have. Eg Thailands new 6 months Visa explicitly includes remote work.
- personlurking 12y ago
  Portugal, as of a few years back, allows one to (theoretically) continually renew their 90-day tourist visa. In a few other EU countries (like Denmark), it's possible to stay an extra 90 days per their own non-Shengen laws. http://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1e83wv/extra_90_days_visa_free_in_denmark/ http://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1e83wv/extra_90_days...
- wingerlang 12y ago
  Exactly which visa is this you're talking about?
toomuchtodo 12y ago
Can you explain how its visa abuse? I'm not working for a business in that country, I'm working for a business in my home country. As an accepting country, you're getting all of the benefits of me being there, spending money on services and goods, without having to provide me with employment or unpaid government services.