How the test works: 3 steps, in order

Step 1: the automatic overseas tests

If you meet any one of these, you are not UK resident for the year: [1]

  • You spend fewer than 16 days in the UK, and you were UK resident in at least 1 of the previous 3 tax years. This is the test that applies in your first years after leaving.
  • You spend fewer than 46 days in the UK, and you were not UK resident in any of the previous 3 tax years.
  • You work full-time overseas, spend fewer than 91 days in the UK, and work more than 3 hours on fewer than 31 of those UK days, with no significant break from your overseas work.

Step 2: the automatic UK tests

If none of the overseas tests applies and you meet any one of these, you are UK resident: [1]

  • You spend 183 days or more in the UK.
  • You have a UK home and spend enough time there. That means a home you have for at least 91 days in a row (at least 30 of them in the tax year), where you are present on at least 30 days. Throughout that period you have either no overseas home, or overseas homes where you spend fewer than 30 days.
  • You work full-time in the UK for a period of 365 days.

Step 3: the sufficient ties test

If neither step settles it, the answer depends on your UK days and your UK ties. The more days you spend here, the fewer ties it takes to make you resident. [1]

Days in the UK in the tax year Ties that make you resident, if you were UK resident in any of the previous 3 years Ties that make you resident, if you weren't
16 to 45 4 or more (always non-resident)
46 to 90 3 or more All 4
91 to 120 2 or more 3 or more
More than 120 1 or more 2 or more

The 5 UK ties

For someone who has been UK resident recently, 5 ties count. The country tie applies only to leavers. [3]

  1. Family. Your spouse, civil partner or partner, or a child under 18, is UK resident. A child you see in the UK on fewer than 61 days in the year doesn't count. [3]
  2. Accommodation. You have somewhere to live in the UK that is available for at least 91 days in a row, and you spend at least one night there. If it's a close relative's home, the threshold is 16 nights.
  3. Work. You work in the UK on at least 40 days, counting only days with more than 3 hours' work.
  4. 90 days. You spent more than 90 days in the UK in either of the two previous tax years.
  5. Country. The UK is the country where you spent the most midnights in the year.

How days are counted

  • The midnight rule. A day counts if you're in the UK at the end of it, at midnight. [3]
  • Passing through. A day doesn't count if you arrive as a passenger, leave the next day, and in between do nothing substantial that isn't part of passing through. [3]
  • Events beyond your control. Days you're kept in the UK by exceptional circumstances, such as a sudden serious illness or a natural disaster, don't count if you leave as soon as you can. They're capped at 60 days a year. [3]
  • The deeming rule. Days spent in the UK without staying until midnight normally don't count. But they start to count after the first 30 if all of these apply:
    • you have at least 3 UK ties
    • you have more than 30 such days in the year
    • you were UK resident in at least 1 of the previous 3 years [3]

Keep a day-by-day record of where you are each midnight, and keep the evidence: flights, boarding passes, hotel bills.

The year you leave: split-year treatment

If you're UK resident for the tax year in which you leave, the year can sometimes be split into a UK part and an overseas part. Income and gains in the overseas part are then generally treated as arising while non-resident. [4] Three cases cover people leaving. In each, you must have been UK resident the year before and must be non-resident the year after: [4]

  • Case 1, starting full-time work abroad. The overseas part starts when your overseas work begins, provided you stay within limits on UK days and UK working days.
  • Case 2, joining a partner who works abroad. If your partner falls within Case 1 and you move abroad to live with them, the overseas part generally starts when you move, provided you stay within a limit on UK days.
  • Case 3, giving up your UK home. You stop having any UK home, spend fewer than 16 days in the UK for the rest of the year, and by the end of 6 months have a sufficient link with your new country: tax residence there, presence there at the end of every day, or homes only there.

Each case has detailed conditions, and more than one case can apply; HMRC has priority rules for that. [2][4] A tax adviser should confirm which case fits before you rely on it.

What your residence status decides

Your residence status decides whether the UK taxes:

It also starts the clock on:

How Marlborough Gulf helps

Homes, children's schools, board meetings and family visits all add up to days and ties.

What we do:

  • We plan your departure year.
  • We set out your UK days and ties before you go.
  • We coordinate the move with the sale or restructuring of your business.
  • We prepare the UAE side: residency, a company where you need one, and your tax residency certificate application.

What our partners do: A UK tax adviser confirms your residence position formally and files your returns.

Book a consultation

Questions people ask

How many days can I spend in the UK after I leave?

Fewer than 16 days in a tax year makes you non-resident automatically, if you were UK resident recently. Above that, it depends on your ties: with one tie you could spend up to 120 days, but with four ties, 16 days is already too many. [1]

Does a day count if I fly out the same evening?

Usually not. A day counts only if you're in the UK at midnight. If you have 3 or more ties, more than 30 such days and were UK resident in one of the previous 3 years, the deeming rule can make them count. [3]

Does keeping my UK house make me resident?

Not on its own. A UK home counts against you in 2 places: the automatic home test, and the accommodation tie. [1][3]

Is the tax year I leave split in two?

Only if you meet one of the split-year cases. The most common are starting full-time work abroad and giving up your UK home. [4]

Does having UAE residency mean I'm not UK resident?

No. UK residence is decided only by UK rules. A UAE residence visa or tax residency certificate doesn't override the Statutory Residence Test. [1][2]

This guide is general information, not personal tax advice. The test has detailed rules beyond this summary. Speak to a qualified UK tax adviser before relying on it.

Related guides

Sources

Last checked 28 October 2026.

  1. Finance Act 2013, Schedule 45, Part 1 (the automatic tests and the ties tables), legislation.gov.uk. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/29/schedule/45/part/1
  2. HMRC, RDR3: Statutory Residence Test notes, updated 11 Jun 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rdr3-statutory-residence-test-srt/guidance-note-for-statutory-residence-test-srt-rdr3
  3. Finance Act 2013, Schedule 45, Part 2 (UK ties, days spent and the deeming rule), legislation.gov.uk. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/29/schedule/45/part/2
  4. Finance Act 2013, Schedule 45, Part 3 (split year treatment, Cases 1–3), legislation.gov.uk. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/29/schedule/45/part/3