How many of you have put your dream of emigrating on the back burner due to financial concerns? Hazarding a guess, I’d say a fair few. Moving abroad without a steady income, whether it be from a local job you’ve found, a UK pension or other means, would be a gamble for anyone. But for some of us, with a bit of organising and courage, there could be a solution – working remotely.

The age of the Internet, email and Skype has opened up all sorts of opportunities, one being the ability for people to work from home. There are an estimated 4.3 million remote workers in the UK today and this figure is expected to grow. At the same time, a 2008 survey for the Confederation of British Industry found that 46 percent of employers in the UK now offered teleworking options.

And who says home should be in the same country as the company you work for, or if you’re self-employed, where your clients are based? Today’s world is a small place and if you’re a valued member of staff, or a valued independent service provider, you’ll always be in demand, wherever you happen to call home. Not forgetting, budget airlines have made travelling between European cities as easy and affordable as moving between cities within the UK. These days, weekly or monthly meetings back in the UK shouldn’t be a problem.

Ben Taylor, who writes on Portugal for the Overseas Guides Company, is a success story of how to move abroad and work remotely in your new country. In London, Ben ran an IT support business, working with small and medium- sized businesses. Before moving to the eastern Algarve with his wife in 2010, he went through his client base and picked out clients who he knew he would be able to continue servicing from abroad.

And so far, so good. Ben has a London phone number through Skype (so it’s not immediately obvious he’s working outside the UK), and remote access tools mean he can access his UK-based clients’ computer desktops from his home in the Algarve. Ben’s wife also managed to take her job with her to Portugal, continuing to work in project management for a London firm, even if her role has had to change slightly.

IT work, including web design, programming and support services, is perfect for remote workers and many large companies outsource these types of roles to overseas firms. But there are other types of work suited to remote working, including administrative roles, such as secretarial, diary management – so-called virtual PAs. Cheap voice-over-IP services, including Skype, have made communication between countries affordable and in turn mean telemarketing and direct sales jobs can be carried out from anywhere in the world. And then there are creative jobs: writing, graphic design and editing are suited to a relaxed home environment and are ideal for remote working.

One key thing to consider when you’re working abroad remotely, for a UK company or self-employed, is what currency you’re paid in. British companies will expect to continue paying you in Sterling, so your income will be exposed to fluctuating exchange rates. One way around this is to use a currency exchange specialist, as these have ways of fixing monthly exchange rates for certain points in the future.

Another consideration for anyone living in a far-flung country is time difference. Think about the inconvenience of having to make phone calls to clients or your UK-based employer at unsociable hours of the day, or night, and whether you’re prepared to put up with this.

Working remotely abroad with clients back in the UK can make your tax situation a bit complicated too. Typically, a self-employed worker who has clients in the UK should invoice their UK-based clients from their country of residence, since in most cases their worldwide income will be subject to income or corporation tax of the country in which they live. Double taxation treaties between the UK and other countries mean your income won’t be taxed twice. It is best to speak to an international tax specialist for more information about this.

Despite these relatively minor hurdles, if you’re in the right job and have the right skills, working remotely could be a real possibility.