TCTM02031 - Entitlement: Residence rules - Present and ordinarily resident: Ordinary residence: people deported to the UK

Tax Credits (Residence) Regulations 2003, Reg. 3(3)

To be ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, a person must be here voluntarily. This may not apply to people who are here as a result of deportation, expulsion or some other legal form of compulsory removal from another country. To avoid any doubts about their eligibility for tax credits such people are, therefore, automatically treated as ordinarily resident for the purposes of both WTC and CTC.

The Tax Credits (Residence) Regulations 2003, Reg. 3(4)

Nationals from countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland who are exercising their rights as workers in the United Kingdom, or their right to reside here, under Community law can claim WTC. For the purposes of WTC, EEA or Swiss nationals are treated as being ordinarily resident in the UK whilst they are exercising their right to work here, even though they may not be ordinarily resident here.

CTC is a family benefit under Community law, and is therefore subject to EC Regulation 883/2004 and 987/2009. This means that in certain circumstances, these EC Regulations help the claimant (or claimants in the case of a couple claim) meet the presence and ordinarily resident requirement for CTC. For new claims made on or after 1 May 2004 a claimant in the United Kingdom needs to have a ‘right to reside’ in the United Kingdom to be entitled to CTC.

Note: EC Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009 do not apply to nationals of Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland - for those countries EC Regulations 1408/71 and 574/72 continue to apply.