Establishing residence under the common law

Questions of residence for the most part have been made markedly easier to answer with the introduction of the statutory residence test (SRT) in 2013. There are however some instances although they will be fewer in number with the passage of time where the SRT will be of limited assistance to answering such questions. The recent First-tier Tribunal decision in Batten (TC8524) was a case in point.

Before delving into this case it is worth noting that the SRT has simplified dramatically the process of answering questions on residence. For those that have never known anything other than the SRT Mr Batten’s case offers a glimpse into what professional advisors had to grapple with prior to its introduction. Equally Mr Batten’s case may serve as a reminder to more experienced advisors of the progress made in attempting to simplify the process...