Living outside EU - How to remain in Irish system

[Chortle]

Good morning, I wondered if any one here might be able to give me some advice concerning my prsi/tax situation which is as follows.. I am Irish and living in Egypt since 2002. I planned to come here for a year but 9 years on I'm still here. Had a child and haven't been working since I left Ireland. I am looking into how I can remain part of the Irish system as I would eventually like to return home. I understand that it is possible to pay voluntary PRSI contributions but as is it needs to be arranged within 12 months of last employer paid contributions which was just before I left, I am not eligible. I am hoping to start work on a project, for a year at least with a British company here who have registered offices in the UK and Egypt. I need to look into my tax situation and how I can arrange it so that I will become part of the Irish system again. Would it be better for me to register as self-employed here in Egypt or through the British or Egyptian side of the company I will be working for? Egypt and Ireland do not yet have a tax treaty so taxes paid here will have no bearing on my position in Ireland whereas registering through the UK office may benefit from the Irish-UK treaty. I read on another site that a UK employer needs to register a branch in Ireland to pay and Irish employee through the Irish system but as I am in Egypt I don't know how this would work. I don't even know yet whether the company will support me at all in terms of my tax obligations and legitimacy or whether I need to take care of it myself but I just wanted to raise the questions in case any of you enlightened souls may be able to help

In a nutshell, I've been out of the Irish tax/PRSI system for nine years and I'm trying to figure out how I can be part of it again although I'm not resident as I hope to relocate in the future.

Thanks for taking the time to read this

 

[giles]

Sorry Chortle Im just curious as to why after 9 years you want to return to the Irish tax system??

I know you said you want to return here one day, so why not wait until your back in the country to return to the tax system. Unless you want to apply for Irish benefits even though you've not lived or contributed to this country in years.

Please correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[26cb]

You should be able to pick up your old PPS number on your return ( if you had one here ). I was out of Ireland for nearly 15 years and was assigned my original PPS number on my return.