Under the Agreement, a detached worker remains subject only to the social security
laws of the country from which the employer transferred the worker.
However, the worker must meet all of the following conditions:
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•
The employer and worker expect the period of employment in the host country to last
five years or less. The five-year period begins with the date the employment in the
host country begins or October 1, 2005 (the effective date of the Agreement) whichever
is later; and
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•
The employment relationship existed before the employer transferred the worker from
the home country; and
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•
If an American employer sends an employee to that employer's affiliate in Japan, there
must be an agreement in effect between the American employer and the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) under section 3121(l) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the
affiliate. In such cases, the employer must still obtain a certificate of coverage
to establish the exemption from Japanese social security taxes.
NOTE: The detached worker rule may apply even if the worker does not go directly from one
country to the other but first works in a third country.