US Nurses Wishing to Work Overseas

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I am starting this thread as a sticky at the request of one of our members, for a place for those that wish to emigrate from the US to work as an RN.

Please feel free to post your concerns and questions about working overseas here.

RwanRN2b said:
Mahirn - Do you know how the pay in these hospitals compares to those in the US?

Please be aware that if you hold a US passport, you will be required to pay taxes to the US government on this income. Tax issues are based on where you are a citizen of, and not all countries permit the tax free earnings. The US government requires taxes on all income earned out of the US, unless it specifically has an exemption. And working in the Middle East is not exempt. That is why you no longer find that many Americans working over there, as there used to be in the past.

The US used to permit it from the Middle East years ago, but not now, and not for more than ten years.

You may not have to pay local taxes there, but you will owe them the US government.

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Specializes in CRITICAL CARE.
suzanne4 said:
Please be aware that if you hold a US passport, you will be required to pay taxes to the US government on this income. Tax issues are based on where you are a citizen of, and not all countries permit the tax free earnings. The US government requires taxes on all income earned out of the US, unless it specifically has an exemption. And working in the Middle East is not exempt. That is why you no longer find that many Americans working over there, as there used to be in the past.

The US used to permit it from the Middle East years ago, but not now, and not for more than ten years.

You may not have to pay local taxes there, but you will owe them the US government.

Dear suzzane,

I have one questions regarding US nurses working overseas, if ANY US nurse who works in a country where earning is tax free, If they do not remmit their money to US than also they have to pay taxes to US govn. as they are the citizen of US.

God bless you !

Mahirn

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mahirn said:
Dear suzzane,

I have one questions regarding US nurses working overseas, if ANY US nurse who works in a country where earning is tax free, If they do not remmit their money to US than also they have to pay taxes to US govn. as they are the citizen of US.

God bless you !

Mahirn

Has nothing at all with remitting money to their home country, but the benefits they get from the US government when they are overseas. Currently there are not any countries where taxes are exempt if you work there and are a citizen of the US.

You are speaking of what happens when from your country, and I am stating what happens if you hold a US passport, and they are quite different.

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Specializes in Medical-Oncology.

I believe there is some confusion here regarding paying US taxes. I worked in Korea for a year, and I have friends who work in other countries (not as nurses). According to the IRS (as of 2003, I have not checked in a while), if you (a US citizen) reside outside the USA for at least 330 days of one year, you do not have to pay US federal income tax on any earnings up to $80K. That number used to be $75K or so, but it has gone up. Check with the IRS website or personnel to clarify.

Enjoy!

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This is not what is being told overseas by the US Embassies. Highly recommend that you verifiy what is current, and in effect now. And even what was in effect then.

You are still being protected by the US, and that needs to be paid for. In the past that was true, but not now. And for more years than since 2003.

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Just thought of an easier way to explain how it gets done, what I am talking about.:

If the foreign country that you are working in has a tax treaty with the US, then the taxes that are paid in that country are credited against what you owe in the US, and could waive you paying taxes in the US. But working overseas and making less than a certain amount as mentioned above, does not exempt you from taxes. Just that you get a credit for what you paid, but you still need to file the taxes with the US government. And the middle east countries right now do not have the treaty.

Remember that is any issues arise when you are out of the US, you are covered by the US as their citizen.

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BBQvegan said:
I believe there is some confusion here regarding paying US taxes. I worked in Korea for a year, and I have friends who work in other countries (not as nurses). According to the IRS (as of 2003, I have not checked in a while), if you (a US citizen) reside outside the USA for at least 330 days of one year, you do not have to pay US federal income tax on any earnings up to $80K. That number used to be $75K or so, but it has gone up. Check with the IRS website or personnel to clarify.

Enjoy!

Both my husband and I worked in Turkey. We are US citizens, and were there for a little over a year. We ONLY had to file/pay for our state taxes, not required to file federal.

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You normally have to file............and when you file state, you usually have the federal attached with it. There is a form that gets filed, and it is listed in the link that is above.

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taxpayers must complete form 2555-ez, foreign earned income exclusion, or form 2555, foreign earned income, and attach it to their form 1040, u.s. individual income tax return, to claim the foreign earned income exclusion or the foreign housing exclusion. additional information about the forms is in the instructions for form 2555-ez or in the updated instructions for form 2555.

there it is in black and white. you still need to file, and you can get the exclusion for the amount that you earned. it does not exempt you from filing. you get an exemption from the taxes, if you have earned less than that amount, but you still need to file.

some countries also have treaties with the us as far as taxes, and it is best to check with your tax advisor. but none are exempt from filing.

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Specializes in Medical-Oncology.

Sounds like you summed it up well! We should all be clear now.

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If anyone can advise me - I'm a US citizen who wishes to work in the middle east, preferably Saudi Arabia, UAE, or Bahrain. I am a nursing student, and seriously need major advice on who will hire me with only clinical experience. The only places I hear of require you to have at least 2 years experience. Any one can help???

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MrsJ84 said:
If anyone can advise me - I'm a US citizen who wishes to work in the middle east, preferably Saudi Arabia, UAE, or Bahrain. I am a nursing student, and seriously need major advice on who will hire me with only clinical experience. The only places I hear of require you to have at least 2 years experience. Any one can help???

There is a reason that they want you to have the clinical experience, before you go over there, they do not want to spend the time training you.

But if you also take the time to think about it, you will have a fair amount of experience before you can even get over there. Most will require that you have taken and passed the NCLEX-RN exam, and then you still have to go thru the immigration process and get approved to work there. And you still need to go thru interviews with the hiring facility or agency.

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Sorry, but clinical experience does not count as work experience, you will find things very different when you get out of school and begin working.

They want you to be able to get just minimal orientation and be able to begin funtioning as an RN almost immediately, not spending the time being trained.

This is the same for most other countries, even for volunteer positions as an RN.

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