RFIG22330 - Statutory Residence Test (SRT): supplementary guidance: Family tie: Relevant relationships
Source: gov.uk (2025-04-07)


If an individual has a partner who is resident in the UK for a tax year and they are not separated, that individual will have a family tie for that tax year. Separated means separated under an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, by deed of separation or in circumstances where the separation is likely to be permanent.

If at any time during a tax year an individual is living with a partner and that other person is resident in the UK, then that individual will have a family tie for that tax year.

If at any time during a tax year an individual has a child under the age of 18 who is resident in the UK, that individual will have a family tie for that tax year. However, if the individual spends time with a child in person in the UK on fewer than 61 days (in total), in the tax year they will not have a family tie.

If the child turns 18 during the year, only the part of the year before the day on which the child turned 18 needs to be considered.

Example 1

Between May and November Jurgen visited the UK for 125 days, 104 of which were days on which he worked for more than 3 hours in the UK. When in the UK he stayed in a number of different hotels, so has no accommodation tie. He was not resident in the UK for any of the last 3 years. Jurgen’s 17 year-old son lives and works full-time in the UK and is UK resident.

Under the sufficient ties test, Jurgen will be resident if he has 2 or more UK ties. He has a work tie. However, the only tie Jurgen and his son spent together in the UK during his visit was 3 weeks in the summer. Therefore Jurgen has no family tie and, having only 1 tie is not resident in the UK for that tax year.

A day counts for the purpose of the test if the individual spends time with a child in person for all or part of the day. Days spent wholly outside the UK with the child do not count towards a family tie.

Example 2

Pierre has a company flat in the UK which is permanently available to him and which he always uses when he comes here. This year Pierre has been in the UK for 75 days, 41 of which were days on which he worked for more than 3 hours in the UK. He was resident in the UK the year before last.

Pierre’s ex-wife lives in the UK with their 15 year old daughter. Pierre has spent 70 days with his daughter this year.

Under the sufficient ties test (see RFIG20500 (https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/residence-and-fig-regime-manual/rfig20500)onwards), Pierre will be UK resident if he has 3 or more UK ties. He has an accommodation tie and a work tie.

However, although Pierre has spent 70 days with his daughter in the tax year, 21 of these days were spent at Pierre’s home in Paris, and 14 were spent in Spain. Only 35 of the days Pierre has spent with his daughter were spent in the UK. So, Pierre does not have a family tie, and because he only has 2 ties he will not be UK resident for this tax year.

If a child spends time in the UK solely for the purpose of their education, they are unlikely to create a family tie.

If a child is under the age of 18 and in full-time education in the UK, they will not be treated as resident in the UK for the purposes of the family ties test of the SRT, if they spend fewer than 21 days in the UK outside term-time.

For the purpose of the SRT half-term breaks are regarded as term-time.

Full-time education in the UK means full-time education at a university, college, school or other educational establishment in the UK.

Example 3

Clara is 14 years-old and her parents, who reside in Dubai, because of her father’s work, send her to boarding school in the UK. She spends 10 days of her summer break on a school trip to Scotland, and 1 week (7 days), of her Christmas break staying with friends in London. Clara has therefore spent 17 days in the UK outside term-time, but will not be regarded as resident in the UK for the purposes of the family tie, even though Clara herself is resident for tax purposes in the UK.

A child can be either an individual’s own natural child, or a child they have adopted. It does not include step-children, unless the individual has adopted them.