Moving Abroad From the UK

Why Breaking UK Tax Residency Is Harder Than You Think

Because SRT wasn’t written for expats.

It was written to:

• protect the UK tax base
• reduce loopholes
• track global mobility
• minimise offshore leakage
• ensure high earners don't “slip out” of UK taxation

SRT is designed to catch people, not free them. And British expats fall into the traps because SRT punishes:

• global lives
• hybrid travel
• returning for family
• keeping a UK property
• working remotely on UK soil
• visiting too long
• lifestyle patterns

British expats fail SRT more than any other group because their lives are:

• flexible
• mobile
• emotionally tied to the UK
• professionally mixed
• family-driven
• non-linear

And SRT hates ambiguity.

The Statutory Residence Test (SRT) in Plain English

SRT decides whether you are UK resident or non-UK resident.

It has 3 layers:

1. Automatic Overseas Tests (AOT)

You are automatically non-resident if:

AOT 1 - You were UK resident one or more of the previous 3 years, and you spend < 16 days in the UK this year

Very hard to satisfy. Requires total discipline.

AOT 2 - You were non-resident in all 3 previous years, and you spend < 46 days in the UK this year

Common for long-term expats. But <46 days can be restrictive.

AOT 3 - You work full-time overseas AND spend <91 days in the UK AND <31 workdays in the UK

The most important test for new expats.

BUT…

This is the easiest test to fail. And most expats do fail it because of:

• remote work
• Zoom calls
• UK client meetings
• sending emails from a UK airport hotel
• spending too long over Christmas
• split-year mistakes
• failing to count days correctly

This is why AOT 3 must be meticulously planned.

2. Automatic UK Residence Tests

If you meet ANY of these, you're automatically UK resident:

AUT 1 - 183 Days

Simple: 183+ days in the UK = resident.

AUT 2 - UK Home Test

If you have a home in the UK that you use for at least 30 days, you can become UK resident even with few days.

AUT 3 - Full-Time UK Work

If you work full-time in the UK - even unintentionally - you can become resident.

3. Sufficient Ties Test

This is where expats get destroyed.

Ties include:

• Family tie (spouse/children in the UK)
• Accommodation tie (home “available”)
• Work tie (3+ hours of work for 40+ days)
• 90-day tie (spent 90+ days in the UK in either of previous 2 years)
• Country tie (more days in UK than any other single country)

Each tie lowers your day limit.

Meaning:

More ties = fewer allowed days.

If you have 3–4 ties, you may only be allowed 16–45 days in the UK.

Expats usually have more ties than they realise.

The TRUTH About Breaking UK Residency When Moving Abroad

Here is the core truth:

You cannot break UK tax residency by leaving the UK.

You break residency only if you pass the SRT overseas tests or avoid the UK tests.

This means:

• Moving to Dubai? - Still resident if you visit UK too much.
• Moving to Qatar? - Still resident if your family stays behind.
• Moving to Saudi? - Still resident if you work from the UK during visits.
• Moving to Spain or Portugal? - You can be UK AND Spanish resident if you time it wrong.
• Moving to the US? - Split-year failure can make you UK resident for the entire year.
• Moving to Cyprus or Thailand? - You can become resident in BOTH countries simultaneously - a nightmare.

This is what destroys tax planning.

Moving abroad is not the act of breaking residency.

It is the start of the process.

Now we get into the real traps.

The 7 Departure Traps British Expats Fall Into

These traps cause expats to remain UK resident even though they believe they’ve “left”.

Let’s break them down.

Trap 1 - Leaving the UK Too Late in the Tax Year

If you leave:

• between January and April
• or worse: after 6 April

You risk:

• failing split-year
• triggering UK residency for the entire tax year
• paying UK tax on overseas salary
• losing overseas full-time work test
• failing AOT3 immediately

The best time to leave is:

✔️ April

Good time: May–July

Dangerous: Jan–March

Returning expats know this - leaving expats need to know it too.

Trap 2 - Keeping a UK Home “Available”

Most expats keep a UK home because:

• emotional security
• children’s schooling
• rental flexibility
• final UK base
• investment reasons

But if you keep a UK home available, and you:

• spend 1 night there
• OR simply keep it open for use

You trigger the accommodation tie.

This tie alone can:

• remove the full-time overseas work test
• reduce your allowable days to 30–45
• make you UK resident with minimal visits

Expats in UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia are hit hardest because they return for:

• Christmas
• family events
• weddings
• summer holidays
• business meetings

A UK home is kryptonite for SRT.

Trap 3 - Doing Remote Work in the UK (Even 1 Day)

A Zoom call in the UK?

A meeting?

Emails?

Preparing a deck?

3 hours of laptop work?

This creates a UK workday.

40+ UK workdays = work tie.

Work tie + accommodation tie = UK residency in as few as 16–45 days.

In practice, expats:

• arriving in UAE
• starting jobs in Qatar
• onboarding remotely from the UK
• taking calls before flying out
• finishing handovers

…inadvertently blow up their SRT break.

This is the most common failure point for British expats leaving in April.

Trap 4 - Leaving Family Behind Temporarily

If your:

• spouse
• partner
• minor children

remain in the UK —

you AUTOMATICALLY get a family tie.

This collapses your day limit.

Expats who leave for:

• UAE first
• Portugal or Spain while partner wraps up
• Qatar or Saudi while children finish the school term
• Cyprus while selling UK home
• Thailand while waiting for visas

…often remain UK resident until the entire family relocates.

HMRC sees where your family lives as a core indicator of your centre-of-life.

Trap 5 - Spending Too Much Time in the UK in the Two Prior Years

This is the 90-day tie.

If you spent:

• 90+ days in either of the previous 2 tax years

→ You carry that tie into your departure year.

This lowers your allowable days.

Expats who were commuting to London or hybrid working before leaving often get caught here.

Trap 6 - Leaving But Not Working Full-Time Overseas Immediately

If you move abroad but:

• take time off
• travel for 2 months
• wait for visa processing
• start work late
• work part-time abroad
• take unpaid leave

You can fail AOT3 and remain UK resident.

Full-time work must be:

• overseas
• averaged over 35 hours/week
• evidenced
• clean

This catches Spain/Portugal/Thai retirees AND UK→UAE professionals waiting on visas.

Trap 7 - Assuming Split-Year Treatment Is Automatic

It isn’t.

Split-year fails if:

• you move too late
• you return to the UK too often
• your family returns
• you keep a home in the UK
• you don’t start overseas work quickly
• you leave a UK job incorrectly
• you work too much in the UK early in the year
• you don’t meet the overseas home conditions

If split-year fails:

→ You remain UK resident for the ENTIRE YEAR

→ ALL overseas income from that year becomes UK taxable

This is catastrophic for:

• UAE salaries
• US sign-on bonuses
• Saudi relocation packages
• Qatar rent allowances
• Spanish or Portuguese employment
• Thai property sales
• Cyprus investments

And it is very common.

Destination-Specific Traps

UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah)

Expats assume: “No tax = safe.”

But the UAE is a zero-tax jurisdiction, NOT a residency shield.

Common traps:

• onboarding remotely from the UK
• starting UAE job before leaving UK
• finishing UK work in April
• keeping UK home available
• spending summer in the UK
• family returning to UK for schooling
• working during UK trips
• too many UK days during first year

UAE expats must break UK residency cleanly or they pay UK tax on a £200k–£500k UAE income.

Qatar

Common traps:

• first 1–2 months spent in UK during move
• hybrid UK–Qatar working patterns
• family tie remains in UK
• 90-day tie
• leaving mid-year (Feb–Mar)

Qatar salaries are high and tax-free → meaning UK tax exposure is extremely painful if residency isn't broken.

Saudi Arabia

Common traps:

• short-term monthly rotations
• contractor roles
• working offshore and assuming “not UK salary”
• onboarding in London
• keeping UK home for family
• doing UK board meetings or director duties

Saudi expats often travel back frequently → creating risk of triggering the 90-day tie or work tie early.

Spain

Spain is aggressive.

Traps:

• Spain also wants to tax worldwide income
• dual residency common
• centre-of-vital-interests issues
• arriving before breaking UK residency = double taxation
• Spain’s 183-day test is simpler but harsher
• financial presence interpreted broadly

Spain + UK = highest-risk double-residency combination.

Portugal

With NHR abolished, traps increased:

• taxed on worldwide income
• foreign pension taxed
• arriving before breaking UK residency
• dual residency scenarios
• UK–PT DTA complex around pensions

Many British expats entering Portugal move too fast and become UK AND Portuguese resident.

Cyprus

Common traps:

• Cyprus Non-Domicile regime misunderstood
• Cyprus 183-day and 60-day tests poorly planned
• UK ties remain too strong
• moving before employment begins
• returning to UK frequently for family

Cyprus is an excellent expat hub - but ONLY with clean UK non-residency.

Thailand

New foreign income rules (2024+) make timing critical.

Traps:

• Thailand taxes foreign income brought in
• returning mid-year triggers UK tax
• dual-tax between Thai and UK rules
• poor planning of investments and pensions
• difficult split-year integration

Thailand+UK is one of the most misunderstood combinations.

United States

US–UK residency conflicts are brutal.

Traps:

• US taxes worldwide income regardless
• UK may still claim residency
• dual filing required if timing is wrong
• selling assets pre-move triggers UK tax
• onboarding or visa delays cause UK residency failures

US-bound expats NEED perfect SRT execution.

The Step-by-Step Process to Break UK Tax Residency Properly

If every British expat followed this sequence, 90% of the UK tax disasters I’ve seen would never happen.

Let’s break it down in order.

STEP 1 - Choose Your Departure Date Strategically (The Most Important Decision)

The date you leave the UK determines:

• whether split-year applies
• whether AOT3 can be met
• whether overseas work can be evidenced
• whether your UK income stays in or out of the UK system
• whether you will become UK resident again later
• how your treaty position looks to HMRC
• how much of the year you keep UK tax-free

Best time to leave: April.

It gives you:

✔️ a clean tax year

✔️ maximum time abroad

✔️ simplest SRT position

✔️ easiest split-year qualification

✔️ lowest risk of “shadow UK residency”

✔️ the strongest evidence of intention

Good time to leave: May–July.

This works well if:

• employment abroad begins quickly
• UK home is disposed/closed
• family relocates soon after
• UK visits are controlled

Dangerous time: January–March.

Leaving late in the tax year creates:

❌ split-year failures

❌ UK residency for the full tax year

❌ UK tax on foreign income earned after moving

❌ dual residency risks

❌ double taxation

❌ confusion with your employer’s payroll

❌ messy treaty claims

Most expat disasters begin with a poorly timed departure.

STEP 2 - Close Your UK Home (or Make It UNAVAILABLE)

Keeping a UK home “just in case” is the #1 reason British expats fail to break residency.

You must decide:

✔️ Sell it

or

✔️ Rent it long-term (not short-term)

or

✔️ Block access entirely

If the UK home is “available” → accommodation tie applies.

If you stay 1 night → the tie is activated.

This single tie reduces your allowable UK days drastically and ruins full-time overseas work status.

✔️ Airbnb? Still counts as “available”

unless under FULL exclusive commercial letting.

✔️ Furnished but empty? “Available.”

HMRC doesn’t care if you “don’t use it.”

✔️ Carve-out access for family? “Available.”

Even if you don’t personally use it.

If you want a clean break, your UK home must be:

• unavailable
• rented to tenants
• or disposed of

No exceptions.

STEP 3 - Stop Working From the UK Immediately (Remote Work Trap)

This is where most expats fail.

If you do any substantial UK work after your departure date:

• onboarding
• video calls
• strategic planning
• email sessions
• tying up loose ends
• finishing projects
• client updates
• internal meetings

…it counts as UK work for SRT.

3 hours = 1 workday.

40 UK workdays = a work tie.

Work tie + accommodation tie = UK residency in as few as 30–45 days.

UAE, Qatar, Saudi, US and Cyprus expats fail this constantly because they:

• finish handover from the UK
• use UK as a “base” between moves
• wait for visa processing
• start the new job from the UK remotely

This must be stopped before or on the day you leave.

STEP 4 - Start Working Overseas FULL-TIME Quickly

Full-time overseas work test (AOT3) is the most powerful way to break residency.

To qualify:

• you must work at least 35 hours/week on average
• the work must be performed outside the UK
• UK workdays must be <31
• total UK days must be <91
• you need evidence

This means:

• start your overseas job quickly
• avoid gaps
• avoid long holidays before starting
• avoid waiting months for a visa with no employment

Spain, Portugal, Thailand and US-bound expats often fail this because visas take time and they “limbo” in the UK.

STEP 5 - Eliminate Ties EXPEDITIOUSLY

Ties determine your allowable day count.

Let’s break down the ties and how to mitigate them:

1. Family Tie

If spouse/children remain in UK → you automatically have this tie.

It’s unavoidable unless family relocates.

Mitigation:

• move family as early as possible
• avoid family living in UK homes
• avoid children in UK schools (boarding school = dangerous)

2. Accommodation Tie

Most destructive tie.

Mitigation:

• sell UK home
• rent it out fully
• no access
• no UK base

3. Work Tie

40 UK workdays generate it.

Mitigation:

• no Zoom calls from UK
• no email days >3 hours
• no UK board meetings
• no UK-based onboarding

4. 90-Day Tie

If you spent 90+ days in UK in either of past 2 years, it carries forward.

Mitigation:

• reduce UK time in lead-up year
• carefully track days for 2 years preceding departure

5. Country Tie

If you spend more days in UK than any one overseas country → tie.

Expats who live:

• half in UAE
• half in Qatar
• half between US + UK
• half between Spain + Portugal

…fail this tie frequently.

Mitigation:

• establish one foreign country as core base
• spend most days there in the first year
• avoid bouncing between multiple destinations

Secure Split-Year Treatment The Right Way

Split-year is NOT guaranteed.

There are 8 split-year cases - but only three matter for movers:

✔️ Case 1 - Start full-time work overseas

Most relevant to UAE, Qatar, Saudi, US expats.

Requires:

• contract in place
• start soon after leaving
• evidence
• no significant UK work
• UK home unavailable

✔️ Case 2 - Ceasing to have a UK home

Relevant when you sell or fully rent out your UK home.

✔️ Case 3 - Joining a partner overseas

Useful for Spain/Portugal/Cyprus/Thailand moves.

❌ Cases fail if:

• you leave late in tax year
• family stays behind
• UK home is available
• you work too much in UK
• you spend too many UK days

If split-year fails:

→ You’re UK resident for the entire year.

→ ALL foreign income becomes taxable in the UK.

This is financially devastating.

The 18-Month Departure Method

This is the approach HIGH-NET-WORTH British expats use.

It is conservative, precise and extremely effective.

It separates departure into three phases**:**

Phase 1 - 6 Months Before Leaving

• minimise UK days
• stop 90+ day risk
• reduce UK workdays
• start transition planning
• prepare UK home for sale/letting
• plan family move
• prepare documentation
• assess split-year conditions
• restructure bank/investment accounts

Phase 2 - The Departure Window (0–3 Months Before Leaving)

• finalise residence break plan
• stop UK work entirely
• move family
• close UK home availability
• document departure date
• secure overseas contract
• avoid all UK economic ties
• prepare for full-time overseas work

Phase 3 - First 12 Months Abroad

This is critical.

You must:

• spend most days in ONE country
• avoid bouncing between countries
• keep UK visits low
• avoid UK work
• meet full-time overseas work requirement
• document everything
• avoid using UK as a “base”
• ensure UK home is not “available”

The first year determines whether SRT supports your break.

Real Case Studies

Case Study 1: The UAE expat who failed break because of Zoom calls

Left UK in May.

Worked remotely from UK for 11 days.

Failed full-time overseas test.

UK resident entire year.

UAE salary (£380k) taxed in UK.

Catastrophic.

Case Study 2: The Spain expat who kept a UK home

Kept UK flat “available”.

Stayed 3 nights.

Accommodation tie triggered → residency triggered.

Dual UK/Spain residency → double taxation mess.

Case Study 3: The US expat who left in February

Moved 2 months before tax year-end.

Split-year failed.

US income from March–April taxed in UK.

$60k double taxed.

Case Study 4: The Cyprus expat whose family stayed behind

Dad moved to Cyprus in April.

Wife + kids moved in September.

Family tie + accommodation tie meant UK residency continued until Sept → foreign income taxable.

Case Study 5: The Thailand retiree who sold UK home too late

Sold UK home AFTER leaving.

Home counted as “available” for 3 months.

Failed split-year.

Thailand pension taxed in UK.

Your Destination-Specific Departure Checklist

UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi)

✔️ Avoid UK workdays COMPLETELY

✔️ No onboarding from UK

✔️ Rent or sell UK home

✔️ Ensure family moves soon after

✔️ Track UAE day dominance

✔️ Avoid summer-long UK visits

✔️ Evidence full-time UAE work

Qatar

✔️ Relocate family early

✔️ Avoid hybrid Qatar–UK early year patterns

✔️ Don’t keep UK flat for occasional visits

✔️ Avoid bouncing between Qatar + other countries

✔️ Watch 90-day tie

✔️ Document Qatar residency & employment

Saudi Arabia

✔️ Avoid rotational UK travel

✔️ No UK “stopover work”

✔️ Track workdays precisely

✔️ Avoid maintaining UK home

✔️ Saudi residency evidence critical

Spain

✔️ Spain is aggressive: timing is everything

✔️ Break UK residency BEFORE arriving

✔️ Avoid dual residency from day one

✔️ Meet Spain residency test cleanly

✔️ Resolve UK home before moving

✔️ Avoid arriving close to summer

Portugal

✔️ With NHR gone - avoid UK overlap

✔️ Break UK residency first

✔️ Start Portuguese residency cleanly

✔️ Avoid UK visits > 30–45 days in year 1

Cyprus

✔️ Break UK residency BEFORE Cyprus relocation

✔️ Use the 60-day rule only if precise

✔️ Avoid UK ties completely

✔️ Cyprus home + employment must align

Thailand

✔️ Time move carefully (Thai foreign income rules)

✔️ Break UK residency FIRST

✔️ Beware mixed residency years

✔️ Avoid UK workdays

✔️ Evidence Thai residency clearly

United States

✔️ US worldwide taxation applies immediately

✔️ Break UK residency BEFORE US move

✔️ Avoid US/UK hybrid tax year

✔️ Evidence full-year US residency

✔️ Handle visas + start dates carefully

Clean Break Strategy

This is the exact strategy Shil uses with high-value clients.

Step 1 - SRT Modelling

Simulate your next 12–24 months.

Step 2 - Tie Reduction Plan

Limit ties strategically.

Step 3 - Departure Timing Plan

Align with:

• departure date
• overseas employment
• family movement
• home disposal
• tax year planning

Step 4 - UK Home Strategy

Sell or lock down.

Zero access.

Step 5 - Overseas Employment Activation

Start quickly.

Full-time.

Evidence.

Step 6 - UK Visit Control

Max 30–45 days if ties exist.

No UK work.

Step 7 - Documentation

Flights

Tenancy

Employment

Residency certificates

Time records

Work logs

Step 8 - First-Year Behavioural Discipline

The first 12 months determine everything.

Step 9 - Split-Year Evidence File

Proactively prepare documentation.

Step 10 - Annual Residency Review

Review every year to avoid creeping ties.

Conclusion

Breaking UK tax residency isn’t emotional - it’s mathematical.

You don’t leave the UK by boarding a flight.

You leave the UK by:

• breaking ties
• reducing days
• avoiding work
• closing homes
• moving family
• proving intention
• structuring your first year abroad
• and matching the exact requirements of SRT

If you do it right, you’re free.

If you do it wrong, the UK follows you - and taxes everything - no matter whether you’re in Dubai, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Thailand or the US.

Breaking UK residency is the most important financial decision of your expat life.

Get it right - before you leave.