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Looking for your advise for my post-Covid plan.

I will be flying from Malaysia to UK (London) around Spring 2022.

I found a majorly discounted Etihad ticket (legit one) but it's a 1 way route. Will I have problem to enter UK immigration later? I will definitely buy another 1 way ticket to fly out of UK but I plan it with a different airline (example Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, etc).It's just for personal choice to experience flying with different various airlines. Also because I saved a lot when buying that fly in ticket so just a matter of buying another ticket home. Will that be sufficient proof that I won't overstay if IO ask?

I am planning to stay for 3 months. Lucky me that my job is not office-bound so I can work remotely anywhere as long as I have good internet connection. I plan to rent a short term accommodation (studio preferably) and will occasionally stay in hotel/hostel when I'm visiting places but my base will be London. So I would still be working my job while travelling around UK/Europe. Will this be a concern? I will definitely not seek any other new job in UK during my stay. Do I have to declare about my working arrangement?

This will not be my first time entering UK. In fact, my current passport has been stamped with all major London airports and I am quite a frequent world traveler. But this is the first time I am staying long abroad (travelling + working) because my job allows me to remotely work anywhere so I took the chance to stay longer.

Thanks for your time and advise.

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  • Are you going to buy the homeward ticket before you arrive in the UK? Is the company you work for British based? Are you an employee or a contractor?
    – DJClayworth
    Oct 30, 2021 at 3:19
  • 1)Yes I plan to purchase homeward ticket before arriving in UK. Worst case if I don't, do you think it will raise concern frm the IO? 2)US based company. Worldwide famous 3)Contractor.so I don't have an employee badge whatsoever. Do u think a HR letter is required? Thanks
    – UKhello
    Oct 30, 2021 at 3:47
  • Traveling to UK without an onward travel ticket is simply asking for trouble unnecessarily and could backfire spectacularly when you encounter an inconsiderate immigration officer. I also travel extensively including to the UK yet they gave me grief and flagged my profile for a while over trivial stuff.
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Oct 30, 2021 at 21:21

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Intending to spend a significant amount of your time remote working while in the UK and arriving without a return/onward ticket are likely to be big red flags in a landing interview. The degree to which visitors are allowed to work remotely while in the UK is very limited. The Visit guidance published by the Home Office https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1019544/Visit.pdf#page31 states:

“ Visitors are permitted to undertake activities relating to their employment overseas remotely whilst they are in the UK, such as responding to emails or answering phone calls. However, you should check that the applicant’s main purpose of coming to the UK is to undertake a permitted activity, rather than specifically to work remotely from the UK. Where the applicant indicates that they intend to spend a large proportion of their time in the UK and will be doing some remote working, you should ensure that they are genuinely employed overseas and are not seeking to work in the UK.”

By definition, if you can do your job from anywhere, you are not ‘genuinely employed overseas’.

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  • I assume “genuinely employed overseas” refers to having an actual contract with an overseas company rather than secretly working for a company in the UK. This guidance doesn’t make much sense otherwise.
    – JonathanReez ♦
    Oct 30, 2021 at 8:29
  • @JonathanReez Yes, to me it means having a contract with a company overseas that means you have to physically be in that country to perform your duties.
    – Traveller
    Oct 30, 2021 at 10:14
  • I interpret this as only saying that the true source of funds is outside the UK. Many jobs don’t actually require you to visit the office.
    – JonathanReez ♦
    Oct 30, 2021 at 17:29
  • @JonathanReez I probably expressed that badly. I can’t find any further clarification for now, and I believe the section in the guidance is new. The permitted activities in the Rules relating to visitors don’t explicitly allow remote working. I’d interpret the approach as ‘must be a genuine visitor’ (ie in the UK to undertake a permitted activity for the majority of the time gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/…), not someone using the UK as a base from which to perform the work they normally do from wherever they reside.
    – Traveller
    Oct 30, 2021 at 19:34
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    Yes, you cannot just go to some country and work from there. There may be some leniency when answering emails and such, but for anything more you need a work permit and pay taxes. This goes for pretty much any country in the world.
    – Sebastiaan van den Broek
    Oct 31, 2021 at 5:47

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