Hey all, I don't know if this have been shared before or not, but looking for some advice. Once I complete my PhD in CS, I plan to try out the expat life as a civilian. I'm retired military and enjoyed living overseas. Some European countries are starting these long-term expat visas to attract people. How realistic to find adjunct positions with US institutions while living in Europe or North Africa. I'm not concerned about the time zone difference, as I could accommodate that but will I have to "disclose" I'm an expat. The only thing that I think it could affect, is the university's posture for employee taxes but what else would I have to contend with? P.S: to minimize tangent discussion about getting a PhD for only adjunct work, I want to share that I will be in my mid 50s, and wanting to teach adjunct to stay mentally and professionally active but my main drive is to "enjoy life" in that phase. Not seeking tenure, competition or anything else. I'm getting a PhD for personal reasons and thinking about adjunct work to "give back" to the next generation, continue generating income and enjoy life. Thanks.
I've heard Portugal's program is very accommodating, and that it's a beautiful country with a very reasonable cost of living. If one maintain a US address, phone number, and banking services, is there an obligation to tell schools where one happens to be physically unless they ask?
Technically, I think you and they could get into tax problems if you don't report your location correctly.
American's have to file taxes even when overseas, and a 1099 for adjunct will be part and parcel of when you file. Pay whatever taxes are due and nobody is getting in trouble. Giving the school a US address as mailing and a US bank for deposit is not a problem
There are multiple threads on this on the adjunct boards/groups. Good number of people doing it… there also can be serious challenges, where a U.S. address, residency, and discretion can be very important.
I’m not familiar with other boards for this currently. Still planning for my path and see how it goes. But good to know.
IMO, no. When I moved to U.S. VI, I continued to use my PA address (my permanent address regardless of where I am living). When I applied for new adjunct gigs, I used my PA address. Though the VI is a U.S. territory, some schools only hire from the 50 states.
Which I've heard before and find even more unfathomable than rejecting Americans who live genuinely abroad.
If you knowingly hire people in another location, you need to be prepared to handle the payroll taxes and the legalities of them working for you. Example: in some states, paid breaks & unpaid lunches are legal expectations. In other states, there are no such expectations. AFAIK, you have to follow the laws of the location where the employee is living/working, not where the work is "being done". I have no idea what the employment laws are in VI, and I would guess most employers don't know either.
I mean... but if they can handle fifty states and DC, then why not fifty states, DC, and five other territories, one of which has more people living in it than several states?
Are they really hiring from all 50 states, though? A lot of employers outside of California will no longer hire Cali residents, for instance. Employment law is why you see job postings with such weird lists of "acceptable" locations.
While living in PA, I had to complete a weekly timesheet for one of my adjunct gigs. There were restrictions on how many hours I could work without a break. It was a pain in the butt. Now that I moved to another state, I no longer have to submit weekly timesheets.
Use a US address and phone number. The tax consequences are minimal, possibly some state tax withholding but if you get a Texas or Florida address then there is no state tax, you won't earn enough from any single employer to make a difference. To earn a living you will need 3-4 gigs at once. Reason is that these employers seldom will assign more than one class at a time and often will skip assigning for a terms or terms or cancel classes at short notice.
Some schools don't want you to perform any work outside the U.S. unless you are in the armed forces and deployed overseas. In addition, some may have restrictions in certain countries. When I used to work for UAGC, I accessed their systems just fine while in Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. However, when I visited Nigeria, I couldn't. I had to use VPN, which worked. Another school blocks access in: Afghanistan Belarus Bermuda China Congo (assuming DR of the Congo) Cuba Cyprus Eritrea Iran Kyrgyzstan Libya Liechtenstein Russian Federation Saint Kitts and Nevis Somalia Syria Venezuela
It's particularly hard to see how Bermuda, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, and Saint Kitts and Nevis fit this set. They are all offshore financial centres, but I don't think any of them stand out among the longer list of offshore financial centres that aren't on this school's block list.
