Exceptional Circumstances and the Statutory Residence

Almost six years after the Covid-19 pandemic, the current conflict in the Middle East has once again raised questions about what HMRC will consider to be an exceptional circumstance for the purposes of the Statutory Residence Test.

We have many clients living in affected locations, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Cyprus. Some are considering whether they should return to the UK temporarily, or whether they may be repatriated. Others happen to be in the UK on holiday and are currently unable to fly back to the Middle East.

For those concerned about breaching their UK day limit, it is important to take tax advice. In this article we outline some of the key points to consider.

Exceptional circumstances

The Statutory Residence Test (SRT) determines an individual’s UK tax residence status. There are several automatic tests that will classify an individual as either non-UK resident or UK resident. If none of those tests apply, residence is determined by counting UK days alongside the number of “ties” the individual has with the UK.

In certain exceptional circumstances, a day spent in the UK (defined as where the individual is at midnight) can be disregarded for some of the residence tests. However, the number of days that can be disregarded under exceptional circumstances is capped at 60 per tax year.

HMRC’s guidance at RFIG22250 states:

“Exceptional circumstances will generally not apply in respect of events that bring an individual back to the UK. However, there may be circumstances such as civil unrest or natural disaster where associated Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice is to avoid all travel to the region. Individuals who return to and stay in the UK while FCO advice remains at this warning level would normally have days spent in the UK ignored under the SRT, subject to the 60 day limit.”

On the face of it, this seems reasonably clear. In practice, however, HMRC have a history of challenging exceptional circumstances claims at tribunal when they are reported on self-assessment returns.

Our experience suggests that where a taxpayer is already in the UK, even if they cannot return to their usual country of residence (for example Dubai, if airspace is closed), HMRC may still expect them to take reasonable steps to leave the UK for another location if they wish to maintain non-UK residence.

Current FCDO travel advice

As at 3 March 2026, the FCDO travel advice for the relevant countries is as follows:

UAE: FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the United Arab Emirates. In our view this is unlikely to support a successful exceptional circumstances claim, as the advice is not to avoid all travel.

Saudi Arabia: FCDO advises against all travel to parts of Saudi Arabia. An exceptional circumstances claim may be possible if the taxpayer’s location falls within the affected areas (please refer to the FCDO map).

Lebanon: FCDO advises against all travel to parts of Lebanon. Again, a claim may be possible depending on the taxpayer’s location.

Cyprus: No relevant travel advice. An exceptional circumstances claim is therefore unlikely to succeed.

HMRC’s approach in practice

HMRC’s position that taxpayers should take reasonable steps to leave the UK is reinforced in their guidance relating to the war in Ukraine (RFIG22260). This guidance makes clear that even where a conflict prevents a taxpayer from returning to their home country, HMRC will still “look at the facts and circumstances of the situation”.

In our experience, HMRC have argued that a taxpayer could have left the UK even if they were unable to travel back to their original destination.

HMRC provide an illustrative example:

Philip is a structural engineer working in Africa.

In May, the government of the country in which he is working is overthrown in a military coup. In early July the FCO issued advice against all but essential travel to the country, but Philip continued to work there.

By mid-October the FCO upgraded its advice, warning against all travel to the country. Philip returned to the UK on 21 October.

On 29 January the FCO downgraded its advice, and Philip took the first available flight back, resuming work on 31 January.

In this scenario, the days Philip spent in the UK were due to exceptional circumstances beyond his control and could therefore be ignored for the SRT day-counting tests. However, the maximum period that can be disregarded is 60 days.

Philip was in the UK for 103 days during this period, meaning that 43 days must still be counted for the purposes of the SRT.

The example also highlights another important point: Philip returned to his place of work as soon as the advice was downgraded from “avoid all travel”.

Interaction with other SRT tests

Even where exceptional circumstances allow UK days to be disregarded, the exemption does not apply to every element of the SRT.

The family tie, accommodation tie, work tie and country tie still take into account time spent in the UK, even if those days arise due to exceptional circumstances.

For example, the work tie applies where an individual works in the UK for at least 40 days. If someone spends an additional 60 days in the UK due to exceptional circumstances and works during that period, they may still create a work tie because those days cannot be excluded for the purposes of that test.

The full-time work abroad test is particularly important. This test does not allow any relaxation for exceptional days. As a result, we often see taxpayers inadvertently become UK tax resident where they were previously relying on this test to remain non-resident but were prevented from travelling due to circumstances outside their control.

Important note

Where a taxpayer is relying on work-related tests (either in the UK or overseas), professional advice should be taken. Measures such as reduced working hours or changes in place of work (for example due to local stay-at-home or shelter-in-place advice) can have an impact on residence status.