I’m going to open this thread back up with a question since there was some good talk about remote jobs/jobs in general for spouses. I’m coming up on orders in a few short months and will be up for “worldwide assignment.” My wife works a fully remote job that she enjoys.
There’s a chance we get orders to MCAS Iwakuni, and have even considered raising our hand for it (opinions on this are welcome, continuously trying to figure it out), but her ability to continue in her career is a huge player in this.
I’ve been doing some research on whether or not she would be able to continue working remote for a US company in Japan as a SOFA sponsored dependent. I have found a couple one -off articles and some posts on LinkedIn from folks who had the same questions. The conclusion being, that spouses SHOULD be able to continue working their remote jobs, since under SOFA they should not be subject to Japanese taxes or labor laws. However, there is no clear instruction or understanding of this concept, so employers have historically avoided the situation altogether.
She has asked her employer, in passing, if a PCS to Japan would be doable and was answered simply “no.” But this was based on the company assuming they would need to navigate Japanese taxes and labor laws, which I am not sure they would.
Is anyone here able to offer any insight or have experience with this? I am considering reaching out to a JAG at MCAS Iwakuni if I can find contact info to try and get a clear answer. Thanks in advance.
There’s a chance we get orders to MCAS Iwakuni, and have even considered raising our hand for it (opinions on this are welcome, continuously trying to figure it out), but her ability to continue in her career is a huge player in this.
I’ve been doing some research on whether or not she would be able to continue working remote for a US company in Japan as a SOFA sponsored dependent. I have found a couple one -off articles and some posts on LinkedIn from folks who had the same questions. The conclusion being, that spouses SHOULD be able to continue working their remote jobs, since under SOFA they should not be subject to Japanese taxes or labor laws. However, there is no clear instruction or understanding of this concept, so employers have historically avoided the situation altogether.
She has asked her employer, in passing, if a PCS to Japan would be doable and was answered simply “no.” But this was based on the company assuming they would need to navigate Japanese taxes and labor laws, which I am not sure they would.
Is anyone here able to offer any insight or have experience with this? I am considering reaching out to a JAG at MCAS Iwakuni if I can find contact info to try and get a clear answer. Thanks in advance.