Working in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a French National: Permits, Taxes and Contributions

The Ministry of Immigration distinguishes three main work permits: employee (skilled or unskilled), self-employed and freelance. The maximum duration is 5 years for the skilled employee, the self-employed worker and the freelancer, and 3 years for the unskilled employee. The self-employed worker and the freelancer can submit their applications themselves; all other applications are submitted by the employer or by an accredited agency or firm, with no obligation to use an intermediary. A temporary permit exists for short-term needs, and a business visitor permit, issued annually, allows stays of at most 7 days per visit.

According to Invest TCI, a permit covers a single employer, which must apply for it and validate it for the employee; a person arriving for the first time must wait for the decision outside the territory, and renewals allow the person to keep working for the same employer during processing. Self-employed work requires a business licence before the permit is issued. The guide on working abroad recalls the points common to all countries.

For an employee, a labour clearance precedes the permit. The employer advertises the post in two consecutive issues of a local newspaper, stating the job description, the salary, its contact details and the invitation to Belonger candidates to send their file to the permit board; it must demonstrate the existence of a genuine job and its recruitment efforts, including contact with the Employment Services Department. The Ministry assesses in particular the necessity of the post, the existence of a suitable Belonger candidate, the status of the employer and its past cooperation. The competent board depends on the island: zone 1 for Grand Turk, South Caicos and Salt Cay, zone 2 for Providenciales, North Caicos and Middle Caicos.

The file includes two photographs (only one certified), a certified copy of the passport identity page, a criminal record, a certificate of good health, the employer's business licence, a job description, an employment contract compliant with the 2004 Employment Ordinance, diplomas and, for an applicant not from an English-speaking country, proof of English level. For a renewal, proof of up-to-date NHIP and NIB contributions is required, and the application should be prepared at least three months before expiry. The conversions on this page are based on the ECB reference rate.

• On application: non-refundable application fees of $150 or 10% of the permit fee if that amount is higher; labour clearance of $100 (about €89); expedited option of $500 (about €446); repatriation fee for a first application or a change of employer.
• On approval: the balance is due within 21 working days, failing which the decision is withdrawn and the file must be resubmitted with new fees; no instalment payment is offered. A late renewal incurs a $250 penalty. Invest TCI puts permit fees between $200 and $10,000 depending on the category, with a separate deposit on top.
• Processing times: 10 working days for labour clearance, 15 days for a permit without prior clearance, 25 days with, and 7 days under the expedited option (not available for an expired permit).

The labour clearance advertisement must state the salary offered, and the contract must comply with the 2004 Employment Ordinance; the employer gives the contract to the Employment Services Department once the job is filled. The official sources consulted publish no pay scale by sector and no readable minimum wage level on the government pages. These figures are therefore not given: the amount in force should be requested from the Employment Services Department or the Ministry. The TCI Statistics Authority publishes series on GDP by branch of activity and on consumer prices, with tables available on its website.

The “Economic benchmarks” block above gives the updated growth, inflation and unemployment figures. To compare an offer, you need to reason in US dollars, the territory's transaction currency, and to take into account the employee's deductions (NIB and NHIP) and the absence of local income tax.

The Revenue Department, whose page lists the taxes it administers, lists neither income tax nor payroll tax; Invest TCI mentions the absence of tax on rental income, of annual property tax and of capital gains tax. The employee's deductions are therefore social. The National Insurance Board (NIB) sets the contribution of employees at 12% of insurable earnings, i.e. 6.5% for the employer and 5.5% for the employee, at 11% for self-employed workers and at 10% for voluntary contributors, up to $4,000 a month (about €3,567). The NIB announces an increase in the self-employed rate without giving the figure; registration is compulsory for anyone aged 16 to 65 carrying on paid activity.

The National Health Insurance Board (NHIB) runs the NHIP: its FAQ mentions a contribution based on a payroll of 6%, withheld from salary by the employer and payable by the 14th of the month at the latest, with a 3% surcharge per month of delay. The employer-employee split, the cap and the amounts for self-employed workers are not detailed on the pages consulted; they can be read in the 2009 ordinance and from the NHIB. The details of the benefits are in the guide on the healthcare system in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The self-employed permit requires a business licence, bank statements, proof of ownership of the business, its organisation chart and diplomas. Licences, issued by the Revenue Department, cost from $150 to $15,000 a year (about €134 to €13,375) depending on the activity: Invest TCI counts 15 categories of activity and 253 fee classes, and one licence per distinct activity. The freelancer submits an application close to the employee's. The NIB (11%) and NHIP contributions of the self-employed worker are their own responsibility; see the page digital nomad insurance for mobile profiles.

The official sources consulted describe no visa or programme dedicated to remote work for an employee of a foreign company: work carried out on the spot, even for an employer located outside the territory, should be confirmed with the Ministry of Immigration (infobordercontrol@gov.tc) before settling.

CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison) indicates that a seconded employee sent to a country without an agreement remains affiliated to the French scheme for three years renewable once, with contributions paid in France and sometimes also in the host country. The expatriate on a local contract leaves the French scheme, comes under the local scheme, may join the CFE (Caisse des Français de l'Étranger) voluntarily (for sickness, work accidents and the basic pension if an employee, for sickness and maternity if self-employed), and France does not count their local periods when calculating their pension. See seconded or expatriate.

The BOFiP list of tax treaties in force does not include the territory. A tax information exchange agreement, signed in Paris on 18 September 2009 and in Waterloo on 5 October 2009, has been in force since 14 July 2011 (decree no. 2011-1834): it organises cooperation between administrations without allocating taxing rights. French domestic law determines tax residence (article 4 B of the French General Tax Code: home or main place of stay, professional activity, centre of economic interests), a single criterion being enough. The absence of local income tax therefore does not exempt you from examining your tax situation in France.

The government's business portal cites six sectors: tourism, finance and banking, mariculture and fisheries, media and technology, manufacturing and agriculture. Invest TCI indicates that visitor arrivals exceeded one million and that the territory benefits from duty-free access to Canadian markets under the CARIBCAN arrangement. The transaction currency is the US dollar. The TCI Statistics Authority publishes national accounts by branch of activity (at current and constant prices, provisional series for the latest years).

As for the outlook, the most recent growth, inflation and unemployment figures are shown in the “Economic benchmarks” block. For the health cover of an employee or a self-employed worker, the guide to expat health insurance presents the choices; Expavy helps you match them against your situation.