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I'm planning to move to another country, but would love to keep working on the same project with my current employer. So I'm thinking about approaching my boss and providing him with a clear solution on how we could arrange that. Of course, it's possible he might reject it, but let's suppose he's ok with the idea.

So the idea is to keep working on the same project but as a remote freelancer (currently I have a permanent contract and I work onsite). I know there are lots of freelance platforms nowadays. I checked one of them, which is UpWork. It has different commissions here and there charging both an employer and freelancers. And it seems more fit for short-time projects, I might be wrong here though.

I wonder if anyone has had an experience of using any other platforms that maybe would charge less and provide better experience for both sides? And maybe even fit my specific situation better.

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    I don't understand what finding a platform has to do anything with whether your boss will agree for you to become a remote freelancer?
    – Aida Paul
    Commented Apr 4, 2020 at 21:56
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    Why do you need to find a "platform"? Why not just contract directly with the company?
    – joeqwerty
    Commented Apr 4, 2020 at 22:03
  • Well, that's a very valid question. Sorry, I haven't specified this, I'm not a citizen of the country where I'm currently working. And I would like to move to another country permanently. Which means I won't be legally allowed to work here in my current country after a certain period of time (I believe it's 3 months). So the reason I'm looking for platforms is to find a way of legalizing working relations with my employer after I move away.
    – Akbar
    Commented Apr 5, 2020 at 7:54
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    @Akbar platform will not be solving this for you, they are there to matchmaking work and people to do the work, they won't settle your problem of not being allowed to carry out the work, not to mention issue with taxation. You will need to find out how to solve that on your own.
    – Aida Paul
    Commented Apr 5, 2020 at 12:00
  • I don't understand. If you're freelance you're basically a provider and your current employer becomes a client of yours, why wouldn't that be possible? For example I don't think you need a green card in order to bill work to a US client.
    – Laurent S.
    Commented Apr 6, 2020 at 12:51

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Don't use a freelancer platform for this. Their value-add is bringing together freelancers and their clients, and helping mediate trust between the parties. You don't need a platform for either of these things: you already have a trust relationship with your potential client. Why pay a commission to a platform for something they don't offer you?

Just make an arrangement to send invoices and get paid. You'll stop being a worker and start being a vendor from another country. That's generally straightforward to set up.

Pro tip get to know the person in accounts payable who will actually pay your invoices. Before you leave, ask that person how to write your invoices to make their work easiest. It's always good when the A/P person knows you care about them.

Certainly use a freelance platform to find other customers if you want.

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    +1 to the above, but also check how amenable your client (employer) is to paying into foreign accounts. You may need to establish a local bank account which offers internet banking. Doing this potentially removes exchange rates and financial reporting issues. Have you already explored the option of remaining an employee, just working remotely? Additionally, you may need to commit to (for example) 1 or 2 days on site a month - budget for this.
    – Justin
    Commented Apr 5, 2020 at 15:34
  • I'm not sure if my residense permit stays valid after I move away permanently to another country. If it does then surely this would the best option for all the reasons you have already mentioned.
    – Akbar
    Commented Apr 7, 2020 at 14:07

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