INTM334550 - Double Taxation applications and claims: applicants/claimants - individuals: How you know whether an individual is resident in the other country for the purposes of the DTA

A key factor in relief from UK tax under a DTA is whether the claimant is a resident of the other country. A claimant is likely to be a resident of the other country if he normally lives there and spends at least some part of his/her time there. The certification by the other country’s tax authority of the DT application/claim form is evidence that they regard the individual as resident in that country. You should normally accept this certification.

Sometimes you may have some doubts about residence in the other country because:

• An individual claimant has only spent a very short time in the overseas country even though he claims he normally lives there.
• The individual did not spend any time in the overseas country. The treatment of such a case will depend on such factors as

• whether the individual normally lives in the other country and the year of absence was an isolated occurrence
• whether the individual is a national of the other country, because generally someone who is not a national of the overseas country is not regarded as resident there for any tax year if he was not physically in the country for any part of the tax year.

• The individual is not normally a resident of the other country but claims to be so because he visited. A strong factor affecting a decision in this case is whether the individual is a national of the other country.