Commuting to Cathay

[Cpt. Underpants]

Not officially of course, but we have a few guys living in Phuket (Thailand) - commuting on their own steam- one or two in Japan - again commuting without official sanction - and a couple in Taiwan and Macau, who are there for family reasons. I don't know about the tax issues in these cases.

The commuting thing is a little risky, and you should always be prepared to fork out for a full fare, especially during high days and holidays. If you're a no show for a duty (and have a standby ticket), you can expect ONE warning and then a termination notice.

If you're delayed or can't make a duty due to weather or technical (and so on) and you HAVE a full fare ticket, they're OK with that. Generally, they (CX) expect you to behave responsibly and if there is a chance you won't make the duty, give them enough time to call out a reserve and not delay the flight.

There are some interesting laws in HKG regarding taxation and residency, and in some cases, you can be tax exempt in HKG provided you can prove (and don't quote me on this) that you were not in HKG for more than 60 days in a tax year. The guys who do "runners" at the airport to VMMC and RCTP may also be doing that to stay away from HKG tax - all of 16% flat tax by the way.

 

[OneMotorFokker]

This is from the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website explaining why you do not need a work permit if you commute to YVR or YTO from the US.

Crew members
Foreign members of crews working on foreign vehicles (for example, flight attendants and members of ships’ crews) do not need a work permit if the vehicle is in Canada for the international transportation of cargo or passengers.

link
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-nopermit.asp

I believe the US has the same exemption in the CFRs somewhere. Where the vehicle is registered is more important than where the flight begins.

 

[Cpt. Underpants]

Thanks for the leg work...

 

[dash8driver]

Thanks for looking that up! Thats what I was looking for.

 

[Mooseflyer]

yup, me too!

 

[skypine69]

I saw that same blurb on the canadian site, but i took it to mean that if you are doing an overnite in canada you dont need a visa. I tried to call the consulate but got no answer there, so I may try to drop in and talk to them directly. i will let you know what they say...and this has more meaning to me as I was just informed that i was successful at the second interview!

 

[milflyboy]

Congrats Skypine69,

How big was your 2nd interview group and how many were successful?

 

[milflyboy]

And how many brought their spouses?

 

[Freddie Spencer]

What will happen when the bases go "on-shore"? Then you will be working for either a CAN or US company.

46

 

[skypine69]

6 in my interview. 4 have got hired, 2 not hired. No one brought spouses.
On shore bases, not really sure, but the statement above indicates foreign crews on foreign aircraft, so I think that a US guy driving to YVR or YYZ to take a B registered AC to Hong Kong would still apply. Not really sure of course, but I will ask if I can get into the consulate to ask.