re : transitional assignments all i have received a few notes about this since this one but i will try to respond to all questions here . please see below responses in red : enron capital sally - husband and 3 children - ages 15 , 11 and 2 ) . i understand that the houses which have been vacated due to returning expats have all been filled , so can you have someone arrange for corporate housing that will accommodate them ? i think the best way to go here is for us to use serviced apartments as it will be very difficult to find a lease for such a short period for this type of accommodation . my assistant , lisa , has put a call in to a service who can help us find serviced accommodation in south kensington / chelsea area or in dolphin square where we have people now who are very satisfied . is there a reason you are partial to south kensington / chelsea ? what if we find accommodation in another nice area of london within a short commute to the office ? when i have some options , i will let you know , probably on monday . immigration - due to the fact that they will be traveling back and forth and have made trips already , i feel it would be best to apply for work permits versus using the visa waiver . i have sent them the forms and requested that brent complete his and file immediately to increase chances of getting his sometime shortly after he arrives in the uk . i have informed him that he should arrive without his family if the permit has not been received by april 1 . brent ' s work permit will be submitted today and we may receive if before april lst , but it is unlikely . the way it works for this is as follows : brent will receive the work permit from us and if he is here , he will have to leave the uk and enter with the work permit for it to be validated . if his family are in houston , they will need to receive entry clearance in the us prior to arriving in the uk . this takes approx 7 working days and they will require either brent ' s original passport and work permit or a certified copy of each along with other things such as marriage and birth certificates . if brent decides to bring his family with him to london prior to receiving the work permit , they must say they are coming on a vacation for a short period of time and have a return ticket to back it up . once the permit is received , the family can either travel back to houston and submit the entry clearance visas there or they can all travel to amsterdam where they are currenlty issuing entry clearance without a problem . there is always a small element of risk in going to amsterdam , however , as do not have to issue the stamps there , they just do it because they are nice ! work permits are arriving approx 4 weeks from date of submission . we can discuss all of this on the 20 th . tax - please confirm whether paye will need to be paid for them during the short term assignment and then reclaimed through a treaty benefit . paye is due after 60 days ; however , if brent and sally are really only going to be here for approx 75 days , i am not going to inform the revenue that they are here . if this extends beyond the set time , we can look at options but the only responsiblility that brent and sally will have is to ensure they complete the tax organiser in order for us to get the tax back . also , as we would have to apply the treaty here , we need to ensure the salary costs stay in houston . jane , have you discussed this point ? benefits - i have suggested that they remain on us domestic payroll and benefits and , if medical claims arise that exceed what they would have spent in the us , they may claim the excess on the expense report . agreed . per diem - we need to discuss the appropriate amount based on family size . jane , please call me to discuss . i have left you a message , thanks let me know of any other issues we need to address . as always , i appreciate your help . jane