What it really takes for a UK employee to work remotely from Italy, France or Spain.
“I can work remotely from home. So why can’t I work remotely from Italy, France or Spain?”
It sounds like a simple question.
The employee already has the laptop. The job can be performed remotely. The employer is happy with their performance.
So what’s the problem?
The problem is that remote working doesn’t stop at the border.
The moment a UK employee starts working permanently from another country, the employer potentially has to deal with a completely different set of rules around immigration, tax, social security, employment law, payroll and corporate tax.
And the answer isn’t the same in Italy, France and Spain.
Why would an employee want to do it?
The benefits are fairly obvious:
- Better quality of life
- Being closer to family
- Returning to their country of origin
- Greater flexibility
- Potentially lower living costs
- Keeping a job they enjoy rather than resigning because they need to relocate
For employers, there can be benefits too.
International remote working can become a retention tool.
If an experienced employee says:
“I need to move to Spain, but I want to keep working for you.”
the choice isn’t necessarily between “allow it” and “lose them”.
There may be a third option:
Explore whether it can be made to work.
But what does “making it work” actually involve?
🇮🇹 Italy: a dedicated route exists
Italy is perhaps the clearest example of a country that has recognised the growth of international remote working.
Italy has a specific Remote Worker Visa for qualifying highly skilled employees working remotely. The Italian Consulate in London requires evidence of a recognised highly qualified profession, income, employment and other documentation, and states that applications can take up to 30 days.
For an eligible UK employee, that gives a relatively clear immigration route.
But the visa is only one piece of the puzzle.
The employee and employer still need to consider:
Tax: Where does the employee become tax resident?
Social security: Should Italian contributions replace UK National Insurance?
Employment law: Which Italian mandatory employment protections apply?
Payroll: Does the UK employer need to register or use another payroll solution?
Corporate tax: Could the employee’s activities create a taxable presence?
The UK–Italy tax treaty specifically addresses employment income where work is exercised in the other country, including conditions around the 183-day rule and the employer’s status.
So:
Italy may make the immigration question easier. It doesn’t make the HR question disappear.
🇪🇸 Spain: another established remote-working route
Spain has taken a similar approach.
The Digital Nomad / Remote Work Visa allows qualifying international teleworkers to live in Spain while working remotely for companies based outside Spain. UK Government guidance confirms that the route is available to people who meet requirements including relevant qualifications or experience and an established relationship with an overseas employer.
For an employee, this can make Spain an attractive option.
But, again, the visa doesn’t answer everything.
The employer still needs to consider:
- Spanish tax residence
- Spanish income-tax obligations
- Social security
- Spanish employment protections
- Payroll and registration requirements
- Corporate-tax/permanent-establishment risk
- Health, insurance and data considerations
And the UK–Spain tax treaty means that where employment is physically exercised can matter for taxation. The treaty contains the familiar 183-day conditions, alongside requirements concerning the employer and permanent establishment.
So Spain can provide a clear immigration pathway, but the employment relationship still needs to be assessed as a cross-border arrangement.
🇫🇷 France: a different proposition
France is particularly interesting because it doesn’t simply mirror the Italian and Spanish model.
France’s official visa system has routes for salaried employment, secondment, intra-group mobility and international talent, but there isn’t a general equivalent of Spain’s Digital Nomad Visa for someone who simply wants to remain employed by a UK company while permanently working remotely from France.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that working remotely from France is impossible.
It means the immigration route needs to be established differently.
And once again, immigration is only the beginning.
France also has its own:
- income-tax rules;
- social-security system;
- employment protections;
- payroll requirements;
- employer obligations;
- and potential corporate-tax considerations.
The UK–France tax treaty provides rules for employment income, including the circumstances in which income may be taxed in the country where the employment is exercised and the 183-day exception.
From an HR perspective, France therefore presents a useful reminder:
There is no single “European remote-working” solution.
What happens to National Insurance?
This is one of the areas that can catch employers out.
HMRC’s guidance says that employees working in EU countries will generally pay social-security contributions in the country where they work rather than UK National Insurance, unless an applicable certificate of coverage allows them to remain within the UK system.
Temporary assignments can be treated differently.
For example, an employee temporarily sent abroad for up to two years may, where the conditions are met, remain covered by UK National Insurance with an appropriate certificate.
But there’s a major difference between:
“I’m being sent to Spain for six months.”
and
“I’m moving permanently to Spain and will work there indefinitely.”
The second scenario requires much more careful planning.
Let’s make this practical
Imagine the same employee in all three scenarios.
UK employee
Salary: £50,000
Employment: Permanent UK contract
Working pattern: Fully remote
Employer: UK company
Proposal: Move permanently to Italy, Spain or France while continuing in the same role.
What would HR need to establish?
🇮🇹 Italy
Immigration: Does the employee qualify for the Remote Worker Visa?
Tax: Will they become Italian tax resident and how will UK/Italian taxation interact?
Social security: Will Italian contributions apply?
Employment: Which Italian mandatory employment rights apply?
Payroll: Can the existing UK payroll continue or is an Italian arrangement required?
Employer: Is there any permanent-establishment or other corporate-tax exposure?
🇪🇸 Spain
Immigration: Does the employee qualify for the Digital Nomad Visa?
Tax: Will they become Spanish tax resident?
Social security: Will Spanish contributions apply?
Employment: Which Spanish employment protections apply?
Payroll: What registrations or payroll arrangements are required?
Employer: Could the employee’s activities create corporate-tax exposure in Spain?
🇫🇷 France
Immigration: What French visa/residence route actually applies to this particular arrangement?
Tax: Will the employee become French tax resident?
Social security: Will French contributions apply?
Employment: Which French mandatory protections apply?
Payroll: What obligations arise for the UK employer?
Employer: Could the arrangement create French corporate-tax exposure?
And what could it cost?
This is where things get particularly interesting.
A £50,000 salary doesn’t necessarily remain a £50,000 employment cost when an employee permanently relocates.
The employer may face additional:
- employer social-security contributions;
- payroll administration;
- professional tax advice;
- legal advice;
- insurance costs;
- compliance costs;
- local registration requirements;
- and potentially Employer of Record fees if that route is used.
At the same time, the employee’s net income may change because their tax and social-security position may change.
So the question isn’t simply:
“Can we allow them to work from Italy?”
It’s:
“What will this arrangement actually cost the employee and the employer?”
And that calculation needs to be done separately for Italy, France and Spain.
Could an Employer of Record be the answer?
Potentially.
An Employer of Record (EOR) can employ the individual locally while the UK company retains day-to-day management of the employee.
For an organisation with one or two employees wanting to relocate internationally, this can sometimes be more practical than establishing a local entity.
But it comes at a cost.
And it doesn’t remove the need to understand the underlying immigration, tax and employment position.
It simply gives the employer another way of managing the local employment relationship.
Should employers simply say no?
I don’t think there’s a universal answer.
If an employee is asking to relocate and the company says:
“No. We don’t allow international remote working.”
that may be the right decision.
But it could also mean losing an employee who has years of experience, knowledge and relationships within the organisation.
On the other hand, saying:
“Of course — just take your laptop.”
is equally problematic.
The right answer is somewhere in between.
“Let’s evaluate what it would take to make this work.”