We thought we’d have an end of the week open discussion forum at Shelter Offshore, and the following are the overall results and the general consensus of opinion held here – written up by our Africa expat correspondent. The subject matter touched upon today is whether it’s worth taking the risk of working abroad illegally when it’s a fact that work permits are very hard to come by.
Obtaining a work permit in the country where I live is a mission. It requires overcoming mountains of bureaucracy and red tape to get the necessary papers. Most organisations think twice before employing foreigners as a result, which is of course the government’s intention. They are trying to promote employment for their own people, and who can blame them in a country where at a conservative estimate those in formal employment constitute only 5% of the population.
I know quite a number of people who claim they are working “more or less legally”, not only here but in other countries abroad. As any lawyer worth his or her degree will tell you, there are very few countries (if any!) where the employment law allows for the concept of “more or less legal”, you’re either legal or you are not. Many expats are faced with the dilemma of how to work and earn some money in a new country. Often the rules in the new place seem burdensome and irritating. It seems easier to circumvent them for a while, earn a few bucks and then get your paperwork in order. For young people travelling around the world, taking a year out to discover new places, working illegally is almost a rite of passage. Most of us have done it, and then had the inevitable problems with being rushed out the door at work as the labour inspectors arrive, being informed on by a colleague or whatever…
It seems funny at the time perhaps, but the penalties for working illegally in most countries are high, both for the employer and the employee. For the employer there may be high fines and bad publicity. For the employee the consequences can be worse, including deportation with a large red stamp in the passport. And the problem with a red stamp in your passport is that it generally makes it hard for you to then travel to other places, and that’s no joke. You are immediately highlighted as a potential ‘overstayer,’ a potential illegal worker, a tax dodger, a liar and cheat - and you can perhaps no longer live and work abroad as you might chose as an expatraite.
Our suggestion at Shelter Offshore therefore is that if you are in any doubt about the employment rules in the place where you live, either as an employer or an employee, get good legal advice and know your rights and responsibilities. It may be that as a legal worker you are liable to pay tax and social security in the country where you are, and as a foreigner you may never be able to reclaim these or benefit in any way from the likes of social payments made. It may be that there are a number of documentary requirements you have to fulfil too. If you are in any doubt, or you think you may be employed illegally, or your employer is not paying your tax or whatever, get help and find out. The potential consequences are really not worth the risk.
Perhaps it might help if you bear in mind too that your home country has its own employment laws. It is probably more difficult for citizens of the foreign country in which you live now to go and work in your home country, than it is for you to work in their country. Also think about attitudes in your own home country to illegal workers, would you like to be thought of and treated like that? Probably not! So remember, employment law is no joke, and it generally doesn’t have and grey areas allowing you to be “more or less legal.” Get your paperwork in order and ensure, for your own sake, that you are working within the law.
