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Obtaining Services of Foreign Nationals in Countries Outside of the United States

Policy
Purpose: 

The policy describes requirements that University of Kansas, Lawrence, units must meet in order to obtain the services of foreign nationals (non-U.S. citizens/non-U.S. permanent resident aliens) who reside and work outside of the United States. There are potential legal issues of taxation and liability that may arise under the laws of the foreign country when services of individual foreign nationals are obtained. Thus, the manner of obtaining such services must be approved in advance by the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor (Provost or designee), or, when services are for a research purpose outside of the United States, by the Vice Chancellor for Research (or designee).

Applies to: 

This policy applies to all units of the University of Kansas, Lawrence, and its faculty and staff, when payment of services, regardless of funding source, is to be made to individual foreign nationals residing and working outside of the United States.

Campus: 
Lawrence
Policy Statement: 

Whenever a University unit, faculty, or staff member finds it necessary to obtain services of an individual who is a foreign national and is residing outside of the United States, the responsible party desiring the services for the University must obtain advance approval from the Provost (or designee) unless the services are for a research purpose, in which case, the Vice Chancellor for Research (or designee) must grant advance approval.

The University prefers that the services performed by a foreign national residing outside of the United States be compensated through an inter-institutional agreement with an identified educational or research institution located in the country where services will be rendered. For research services, inter-institutional agreement opportunities should be explored by the applicable KU unit and the Office of Research Administration, reviewed by the Office of the General Counsel, and approved by Vice Chancellor for Research (or designee). For non-research services, the involved department should work with its supervisory unit to identify a foreign educational institution as a partner, and approval of an inter-institutional agreement must be obtained from the Provost (or designee) following review by the Office of the General Counsel. Contents of such agreements are expected to describe the relationship between KU and the partnering institution, and to establish a method to compensate the foreign national for services.

In the event an inter-institutional agreement is not feasible, the University unit may engage the services of an individual foreign national as an independent contractor if approval from the appropriate administrators has been received in advance. All services rendered shall be performed as an independent contractor under a written contractual agreement between the University and the individual foreign national, after review and approval by the Office of the General Counsel. Such written contracts are often provided as professional services agreements. Payment for services rendered under contractual agreements shall be made by the University in accordance with University accounting procedures. The independent contractor will be responsible for paying any taxes, social security (or its equivalent), health care benefits (if desired), accident and/or disability insurance, in compliance with all applicable laws of the countries where the independent contractor works or resides.

No individual foreign national who resides and is to perform services outside of the United States shall be hired as a University employee or be eligible for employee benefits. In the event that a unit is recruiting for a position and there is a possibility that the best qualified individual may be a foreign national not residing and working in the US, the Department of Human Resources must be notified prior to posting the requisition and related advertisements. In that instance, a statement will be included in the position requirements noting that if the successful applicant is a foreign national residing outside the United States and will be performing the work outside the United States, then the individual will be an independent contractor of the University. With appropriate institutional review, an individual contractor may be designated as an affiliate of the University, e.g., “adjunct research associate.”

Exclusions or Special Circumstances: 

Any request to obtain the services of foreign nationals residing and working outside the United States that does not comply with the methods above must be presented to the Provost (or designee) for consideration. Payment for services will occur only after approval by the Provost (or designee), or for services of research, by the Vice Chancellor, Research (or designee).

Consequences: 

Failure to follow this policy may render any employment agreement null and void.

Contact: 

Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
250 Strong Hall
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045
785-865-4904
provost@ku.edu

(for obtaining research services)
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
Vice Chancellor for Research
201 Youngberg Hall
2385 Irving Hill Rd.
Lawrence, KS 66045
785-864-3441
ovcr@ku.edu

Director, Human Resources
103 Carruth-O’Leary Hall
1246 W. Campus Road
Lawrence, KS 66045
785-864-4946
hrdept@ku.edu

Approved by: 
Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor
Approved on: 
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Effective on: 
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Review Cycle: 
Annual (As Needed)
Keywords: 
Foreign national, independent contractor
Change History: 

12/06/2023: Updated contact information. 
12/10/2014: Policy formatting cleanup (e.g., bolding, spacing).
10/30/2014: Fixed broken link.
06/18/2014: Updated to reflect updated name for 'Office of Research'; formatting updates.
06/21/2010: Updated and approved to clarify procedures for payment of foreign nationals when an inter-institutional agreement is not feasible.
01/20/2010: Approved by Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor.

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