Employees movement from one country to another for work usually brings questions around the minimum salary, immigration and taxes. Such moves can also trigger less obvious social security obligations in both countries, potentially increasing the cost of an international assignment. This was a particular concern for employees moving between India and the UK.Historically, the two countries did not have a bilateral social security agreement as against the other European countries with whom India has a Social Security Agreement (SSA) i.e. Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Sweden.Therefore, an employee temporarily sent from India to the UK could, subject to conditions, remain outside the UK National Insurance Contributions (UK NICs) for up to 52 weeks as per the UK social security laws. However, once this period ended, UK contributions could become relevant even where contributions continued in India.The position could be even more immediate for employees moving from the UK to India, who could fall within India’s social security regime as International Workers (IWs) from the start of their assignment. In practical terms, an international assignment could therefore result in social security contributions becoming payable in both countries.Against this backdrop, social security became an important part of the broader India-UK economic trade discussions. The two governments ultimately concluded a Double Contributions Convention (DCC) to provide a framework for determining social security contribution obligations for eligible employees moving between the two countries. The DCC, which came into force on 15 July 2026, is intended to address the risk of double social security contributions on qualifying international assignments. Here are the key features of this Agreement alongside practical issues which require clarifications.
Key features of the Agreement
The basic rule: pay social security in one countryThe agreement is designed so that an employee is generally subject to one country’s legislation (UK/India). A qualifying employee may continue under the home country’s social-security system where he/she:
- is an employed person in the home country;
- works for an employer which normally carries out its activities there;
- is sent by that employer to the other country to work on its behalf; and
- is expected to work in the host country for no more than 60 months.
Put simply, an employee sent from India to work temporarily in the UK for up to five years can, if the conditions are fulfilled, remain subject to Indian social security instead of paying UK NICs. Conversely, a qualifying employee sent from the UK to India can remain subject to UK social-security legislation and continue paying UK NICs rather than Indian social-security contribution. This is a major practical simplification for international mobile employees and their employers.India-to-UK assignments: Social security position before and after the DCC
Indian employee assigned to the UK: Scenario before the DCC
Indian employee assigned to the UK: Scenario after DCC
UK-to-India assignments: Social security position before and after the DCC
UK employee assigned to India: Scenario before DCC
UK employee assigned to India: Scenario after DCC
Before you leave: existing social security contributions matters
As per the UK tax and social security authorities (HMRC), to get the benefit of detachment (i.e. relief from double contribution) under the Agreement, the employee must already have been covered by the social security system of his home country before the assignment starts. The employee and employer must have paid, or be treated as having paid, contributions for at least 30 days before the employee leaves the home country, or for the calendar month before the temporary assignment begins.This makes pre-departure planning particularly important. HR and global mobility teams should check the employee’s social security status before the assignment starts rather than trying to resolve the position after the employee has already moved.
Certificate of coverage: an important piece of paperwork
The Certificate of Coverage (COC) becomes an important document under the new framework. In practical terms, it provides evidence that an employee remains covered by the social security system of the home country while temporarily working in the other country. An employee who remains covered under India’s social security system while working in the UK should obtain a COC from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). This provides evidence that Indian social security contributions continue to apply and that UK NICs are not due under the DCC. Similarly, an employee remaining within UK social security while working in India, may apply to HMRC for a UK COC using Form CA9107.Employers should therefore make the COC process part of their standard pre-departure checklist, alongside immigration, payroll and tax requirements. The EPFO has also updated its online portal to facilitate COC applications for eligible employees under the India-UK DCC.
Five years of social security protection does not mean five years of visa-free work
This distinction deserves emphasis. The DCC determines where social-security contributions are paid. It does not itself confer a right to enter, stay or work in the other country. The UK Government’s DCC explainer specifically says that nothing in the arrangement changes the UK’s immigration regime or its ability to control its borders.An employee still needs to satisfy the applicable immigration requirements to work in the UK. Therefore, social-security coverage and immigration permission are two separate compliance requirements.An employee could potentially satisfy the DCC conditions for social-security purposes but still needs an appropriate Visa and sponsorship arrangements to perform the proposed work in the host country.
What if an assignment is extended
An assignment that is extended after it begins does not automatically lose protection under the DCC. For example, if an employee is sent from London to Mumbai for three years and the project is later extended to five and a half years, the employee may remain covered by the UK social security system until the assignment ends or the 60-month limit is reached, whichever is earlier.HMRC illustrates this with a UK employee who’s planned 24-month assignment is extended to 66 months and clarifies that UK legislation continues to apply for the first 60 months, after which Indian social security legislation applies.
Waiting period between two consecutive assignments
The DCC includes an anti-reset rule to prevent employers or employees from repeatedly starting fresh assignments to extend home-country social security coverage within the overall period of 60 months. Generally, once a detached-worker assignment ends, the employee must wait six months before a new qualifying assignment can begin. If the earlier assignment lasted less than six months, the required waiting period is equal to the length of that assignment.
Remote working cases may also include
Reflecting the growth of cross-border remote working, the Agreement may also cover employees who temporarily choose to work from the other country for personal reasons, provided their employer agrees and the other prescribed conditions are met. HMRC’s guidance illustrates this with employees who temporarily work overseas to join a partner or to be closer to elderly family members.In such cases, the employee may qualify as a ‘detached worker’ (i.e. eligible for benefit under the Agreement) and remain covered by the social security system of the home country. This flexibility is particularly relevant for multinational employers developing cross-border remote-working policies.
Watch out for assignments that started before 15 July 2026
Special transitional rules apply to employees who were already on assignment when the DCC came into force on 15 July 2026. HMRC’s guidance clarifies that such employees do not automatically qualify as ‘detached workers’ (i.e. eligible for benefit under the Agreement). For example, an employee of an Indian employer who was working in the UK immediately before that date (15 July 2026) under the existing 52-week period, NIC exemption became subject to UK social security legislation from 15 July 2026, rather than receiving a new 60-month exemption under the DCC. A corresponding principle applies to relevant UK employees who were already working in India. This distinction between assignments already underway and those beginning on or after 15 July 2026 is therefore particularly important for employers’ global mobility and payroll teams.
Employees who regularly work in both countries
The position is more complex for employees who normally divide their work between India and the UK, as the DCC does not provide a special rule for this working pattern. However, HMRC clarifies that in such cases, UK NICs shall be payable on earnings from work performed in the UK and Indian social security contribution being payable on earnings from work performed in India. This differs significantly from a straightforward temporary assignment covered by the 60-month detached-worker rule. As international hybrid-working arrangements become more common, employers will therefore need to review each arrangement carefully rather than assume that the five-year rule removes every cross-border social security obligation.
What the DCC does not do
The benefits of the DCC should also be considered alongside its limitations. First, it is fundamentally a contributions coordination agreement, not a comprehensive social security benefits agreement. The UK Government expressly explains that the DCC does not govern access to benefits such as the UK State Pension or change the rules determining access to benefits. Second, this Agreement does not apply to self-employment cases. Third, the Agreement itself does not change immigration rules. Employers should therefore treat social security, personal taxation, payroll, immigration and employment law as independent compliance matters. An exemption under one regime does not automatically settle the others.
Areas where further guidance would be helpful
The DCC and HMRC’s guidance explain the core contribution rules, but additional practical guidance from HMRC, the EPFO and other relevant Indian authorities would help employers apply them consistently. Official FAQs with illustrations would be useful, especially on the following issues.Hybrid and recurring cross-border working – HMRC clearly recognises employer-approved personal-choice remote working to qualify as detached worker. Some practical instances would be particularly useful for employees whose arrangements sit between traditional detachment and regular two-country working. For example, how should an employer analyse an employee who ordinarily works in India but is permitted to work from the UK for several weeks every quarter? How should the position differ where that pattern is agreed in advance for several years?Indian payroll and the contribution base – There is lack of clarity on the “wage” on which Indian social security contributions should be calculated while an Indian employee is detached to the UK. For Indian employees temporarily assigned to the UK, it is provided that employee and employer contributions in India are to be calculated on the total wages, determined under the Indian social security legislation. This raises an important practical question for payroll teams, particularly where contributions before the assignment were based on the statutory wage ceiling (i.e. at INR 25,000 per month) or on employee’s basic salary and not on total wages. A clear guidance on the applicable contribution base that should apply while a COC is in force and whether, on the employee’s return to India, such base may revert to the basis that applied before the UK assignment. Specific examples covering different categories of employees and establishments would help employers apply the provision consistently and plan their costs.Changes in employment during the assignment – What happens when the factual assumptions supporting the original COC change. Common examples include:
- transfer of employment to another group company;
- change of employing entity following a corporate restructuring;
- split or shadow payroll arrangements;
- a substantial extension in the expected duration of the assignment;
- transition from temporary assignment to local employment; or
- movement from a conventional expatriate arrangement to a recurring hybrid-working pattern.
These situations should not automatically be treated as continuing to qualify merely because the original COC covered a period of up to 60 months. In practice, employers may need to reassess whether the conditions supporting the original coverage continue to be satisfied. A clarification from authorities will help accordingly.Ongoing assignments as on 15 July 2026 – The agreement provides that the ongoing assignments as on 15 July 2026 shall not be covered. But that leaves practical questions for employers seeking to reorganise legitimate assignments.For example, can an existing assignment formally end and a genuinely new assignment subsequently begin? If so, what conditions must be satisfied before that new assignment can qualify for benefit under the Agreement? How should short-term assignments (upto 1 year period) that were still within the 52-week domestic-law exemption be handled? These are precisely the situations in which coordinated FAQs and worked examples from HMRC, EPFO and the relevant authorities would give employers much-needed certainty.
Welcome step forward, but careful implementation is key
The DCC is a significant step forward for employee mobility between India and the UK, as it provides a clear framework for determining where social security contributions are payable during a qualifying temporary assignment. Its benefit should not, however, be described as a blanket five-year exemption: eligible detached workers remain covered by one country’s social security system, subject to the conditions of the Agreement, rather than being exempt from contributions altogether.Employers should therefore assess eligibility before departure, obtain and maintain the appropriate COC, and review the position whenever assignment terms or working arrangements change. With sound planning and further administrative guidance, the DCC should reduce double-contribution costs, improve compliance certainty and make cross-border talent deployment between the two countries more efficient.(The author, Ravi Jain is Tax Partner at Vialto. Vikas Kumar, Director, and Pawan Digga, Manager at Vialto, have also contributed to this article. Views are personal. Note: This article is intended as a general explanation of the new arrangements and not as tax, immigration, employment-law or social-security advice for a particular employee or assignment.)
