Working abroad as a self-employed can sound like a dream: being your own boss, you can get to know a new country as you work at a cool coffee shop and organize your schedule. There are a lot of positive points about working as a freelancer in another country: you're more passionate about what you do, there's more space for creativity, and the experience also calls for being an entrepreneur, as you can hire someone to work with you according to your needs.
So you might be thinking, what is the issue about being an expat self-employed then? Some countries will not have good internet connection or might not assist freelancers financially, and some may even punish or ban expats for being self-employed in their countries as that could mean they are illegal. That is why a study (2019) by Expert Market has gone through this information to find out exactly where in the world provides the countries which want you to have a traditional boss.
The research goes across 57 countries, considering eight factors in the life of a freelancer: cost of living; income tax; access to credit; average internet speed; transport networks; free Wi-Fi availability; cost of a coffee and how easily someone can set up their own business. Then, by drawing comparison between them all, calculated an average for each country.
South America
Self-employees should think twice before moving to South America. Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Uruguay, according to the Expert study, have poor transport infrastructure and slow internet speed. All four countries also score poorly in the World Bank's Ease of Starting a Business rank, meaning business owners will face more obstacles in the first few challenging years of their venture.
According to a study carried out by Workana in 2018, one of the leading marketplace in hiring freelancers in South America, only in 2016 the freelance market grew by over 180%. The highest rate of independent professionals are Brazil with 50%, followed by Argentina with 13%, then Mexico with 12% and Colombia with 7%. These countries are the ones that present the greatest opportunity for the development of self-employees, while the remaining 18% is divided between Peru, Uruguay, Chile and some other countries in the region.
Europe
Ireland and Belgium, although surprising, have a high cost of living and high-income tax, while Slovenia has little access to free Wi-Fi and a slow connection speed. According to the European Foundation for the Improving of Freedom and Working Conditions, self-employed can also sometimes be labelled as ‘vulnerable' and ‘concealed' in Europe. They represent together roughly the size of Austria's population in Europe (32 million in 2017) and generally are in more precarious situations, with lower levels of income and job security, more dependent and with less working autonomy in terms of federal subventions. For the institution, they experience, overall, more unfavourable working conditions, and this seems to correspond to lower levels of health and wellbeing.
Expats can find opportunities as self-employed in the UK, however, there are several steps to consider if you really want to move there. If you have the right to work in the country, you will need to first register as a freelancer with HMRC. As an expat from out of the UK, you have to make sure you have the appropriate visa that allows you to work as a freelance, the Tier 1 General. But, as an international student there, you probably have a Tier 4 visa, which allows one to work 20 hours a week. Basically, as a freelancer interested to work in the UK it is necessary to take good care of your own finances, as you will need to fill and submit a self-Assessment for taxes.
Saudi Arabia
If you are considering being self-employed in the Middle East is better to double-check on the regulations of the country you are considering moving abroad, as in Saudi Arabia, for example, not having the right documents and papers for your role might be considered illegal entrance in the territory. This year, local authorities arrested 13,795 illegal expatriates in one week as part of border security laws in Abu Dhabi.
Expatriates faced penalties, including imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to 50,000 riyals, and deportation. Moreover, according to this report, 84,231 illegal expatriates, including 9,035 women, were subjected to measures, 69,176 others referred to their diplomatic missions to obtain travel documents, while 10,081 other violators have been deported from the kingdom. The Saudi Arabian government also punishes those who are helping these expatriates to stay with 15 years in prison, and a fine of up to SR1 million, as well as confiscation of their car and accommodation.
Therefore, as a self-employed expat just don't go by the popularity flow, but do your research to indeed seize the benefits of your independence with safety and profit. The financial services company Payoneer carried out research to produce the Global Gig Economy Index, in which they asked more than 300,000 freelancers about their success in different locations. This report can be a good source for freelancer expats as they found that year-on-year, self-employed people in a multitude of countries had experienced increased revenue growth, with those working in the US averaging a 78% increase.
