Moving to the United Kingdom is a major life decision, and one of the first questions families ask is whether they will be treated as UK tax residents and, if so, from which date. UK tax residence is not a simple yes or no question. It is determined by the statutory residence test (SRT) introduced by the Finance Act 2013, which HMRC explains in its published guidance RDR3. The test looks at each tax year separately and combines the time you spend in the UK, the work you do in the UK, and the connections you keep with the UK.
For families who also retain strong ties to China, the position is more complex because China applies its own residence rules under the Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China. An individual can be treated as tax resident in both countries at the same time. When that happens, the tie-breaker rules in the 2011 UK-China Double Taxation Agreement, as amended in 2013, decide which country has the primary right to tax. The purpose of this article is to set out the main UK tests, the remittance basis, the records that matter, and how to coordinate the UK and China positions with professional advisers before the move.
How the statutory residence test works
The SRT is set out in Schedule 45 to the Finance Act 2013. HMRC's RDR3 guidance, last updated on 11 June 2026, describes the test as having three parts that are applied in a fixed order: the automatic overseas tests, the automatic UK tests, and the sufficient ties test. Each tax year is considered separately, so a person can be resident in the UK in one year and not the next, depending on their pattern of days and ties.
The starting point in practice is the first automatic UK test. RDR3 states that if you have been in the UK for 183 or more days in a tax year, you will be a UK resident, and there is no need to consider any other tests. The day count generally counts days on which you are present in the UK at midnight, subject to limited exceptions for transit.
The automatic tests
If you spend fewer than 183 days in the UK, the next step is to check the automatic overseas tests. You will not be resident in the UK for the tax year if, for example, you work full-time overseas for the whole tax year without a significant break from that work and spend fewer than 91 days in the UK, or if you were resident in the UK in one of the previous three tax years and spend fewer than 16 days in the UK in the current year.
Where none of the automatic overseas tests applies, HMRC applies the automatic UK tests. In addition to the 183-day test, you will be automatically resident if you have a home in the UK for a period of more than 90 days, are present in that home on at least 30 separate days in the tax year, and either have no overseas home or spend fewer than 30 days in any overseas home during the year. You will also be automatically resident if you work full-time in the UK for 365 days or more with no significant break from UK work, even where that period straddles two tax years.
The sufficient ties test
If neither the automatic overseas tests nor the automatic UK tests resolve the position, the sufficient ties test applies. This combines the number of days you spend in the UK with the number of UK ties you have. The ties counted are family ties, accommodation ties, work ties, the 90-day tie and, for those who were previously resident in the UK, the country tie. The legislation contains tables showing whether a given combination of days and ties makes you resident.
For a leaver who was resident in the UK in at least one of the three previous tax years, the table operates as follows: with fewer than 16 days in the UK, the individual is non-resident regardless of ties; with 16 to 45 days, four or more ties are needed for residence; with 46 to 90 days, three or more ties; with 91 to 120 days, two or more ties; and with 121 to 182 days, the individual is resident even with no ties. These thresholds show how a modest number of days, combined with a UK home or family, can produce residence unexpectedly.
The remittance basis and the 4-year foreign income and gains regime
For new residents, the tax treatment of foreign income and gains depends on the residence-based system introduced on 6 April 2025, which replaced the old rules for non-domiciled individuals. Under the current regime, an individual within the first four years of UK tax residence may be able to claim the 4-year foreign income and gains regime, which exempts foreign income and gains arising in those years from UK tax while they remain abroad. There is also Overseas Workday Relief for globally mobile employees, which can apply to earnings for overseas work duties performed in the first years of residence.
The regime has precise conditions and requires claims and elections within strict time limits. A family should map its foreign income and gains, bank accounts and investments before the move, because the availability of the relief depends on the source of the income, where the funds remain, and whether the money is brought into the UK.
Key Note: The 4-year foreign income and gains regime applies only to qualifying new UK residents within their first four tax years of residence. Relief is lost or restricted if foreign income or gains are brought into or used in the UK, and precise record keeping is essential.
The China side: 183 days, the six-year rule and the treaty
China taxes resident individuals on their worldwide income under the Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China. An individual who has a domicile in China, or who does not have a domicile but has resided in China for 183 days or more cumulatively within a tax year, is treated as a resident individual. Foreigners who are China residents benefit from the six-year rule: only China-source income is taxable while the continuous residence period is less than six years, and the six-year chain is reset if the individual is outside China for more than 30 consecutive days in a year.
When an individual is resident in both countries, the 2011 UK-China Double Taxation Agreement, as amended in 2013 and in force since 13 December 2013, provides the tie-breaker. The agreement directs the residence question to the country in which the individual has a permanent home, then the country of their centre of vital interests and habitual abode, and finally nationality, with a mutual agreement procedure as the last resort. The treaty also contains a standard employment article under which employment income is taxable only in the country of residence unless the employee is present in the other state for 183 days or more in any twelve-month period, the employer is not a resident of that other state, and the remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment there.
Records and planning before the move
Residence planning is documentation work. The family should keep a day-by-day calendar of time in the UK and China, records of accommodation availability and use, employment and work-duties records, and a schedule of foreign income and gains with the dates and amounts. Split-year treatment can apply in the tax year of arrival, so that only the part of the year after arrival counts for UK tax purposes; HMRC's guidance explains the split-year cases and the conditions that must be met.
Practical checklist
- Count your UK days before the move and throughout the first tax year, including transit days and partial days.
- Identify every UK tie: family, accommodation, work, the 90-day tie and any prior-residence country tie.
- Review foreign income and gains before arrival and decide whether the 4-year regime should be claimed.
- Keep separate records of money brought into the UK and the source of those funds.
- Coordinate with a Chinese tax adviser on the 183-day rule, the six-year rule and the treaty tie-breaker.
- Check employment arrangements against the treaty's 183-day employment article and Overseas Workday Relief.
- Plan the move date with split-year treatment in mind.
Conclusion
UK tax residence is a structured, evidence-based question rather than a matter of intention. The Finance Act 2013 SRT, the residence-based regime that began on 6 April 2025, and the China rules under the Individual Income Tax Law can all apply to the same family in the same year. The practical answer is to map the facts, keep the records, and take advice in both countries before the move, because the decisions that are hardest to reverse are the ones taken after arrival.
