The full-time work overseas test makes you automatically non-UK resident for a tax year if you average at least 35 hours a week of work abroad, spend fewer than 91 days in the UK, work more than three hours in the UK on fewer than 31 days, and take no significant break from overseas work. HMRC measures the 35 hours with a five-step calculation, not your employment contract.
People moving to Dubai often assume a full-time contract settles the question. It does not. HMRC counts hours you actually worked overseas, and UK workdays remove both the day and its overseas hours from the sum. We have seen clients on 40-hour contracts fail the test because of short Ramadan hours, a long UK handover and an untracked fortnight of sick leave.
Where the full-time work overseas test fits in the SRT
The Statutory Residence Test in Schedule 45 to the Finance Act 2013 runs in a set order. You check the automatic overseas tests first. If you meet any one, you are non-UK resident for that tax year, whatever your UK ties. HMRC's guidance note RDR3 sets out the order and the tests.
The full-time work overseas test conditions
Section 2.3 of RDR3 describes the third automatic overseas test. You must work full-time overseas over the tax year, spend fewer than 91 days in the UK, have fewer than 31 days on which you work more than three hours in the UK, and have no significant break from overseas work. A significant break is a run of at least 31 days with no day of more than three hours of overseas work, other than days of annual, sick or parenting leave.
How the three automatic overseas tests compare
| Test | UK days allowed | Other conditions | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| First automatic overseas test | Fewer than 16 | UK resident in one or more of the previous three tax years | Leavers who almost never return |
| Second automatic overseas test | Fewer than 46 | Not UK resident in any of the previous three tax years | Long-term non-residents |
| Third automatic overseas test (full-time work overseas) | Fewer than 91 | 35-hour average abroad; fewer than 31 UK workdays; no significant break | Employees and self-employed people relocating for work |
For someone who has just left London, the third test is usually the only one that allows regular trips home. That makes the hours calculation the whole case.
The five-step hours calculation
HMRC's Residence and FIG Regime Manual at RFIG20150 sets out the steps.
Steps 1 and 2: disregarded days and net overseas hours
Step 1 identifies "disregarded days", meaning every day you work more than three hours in the UK, even if you also worked abroad that day. Step 2 adds up the hours you actually worked overseas in the year across all jobs and trades, ignoring any hours on disregarded days. Contracted hours do not count.
Step 3: the reference period
Start with 365 days, or 366 if the year contains 29 February. Subtract the disregarded days. Subtract reasonable annual and parenting leave, sick leave and non-working days embedded in a block of leave, under RFIG20170. You can also deduct gaps between jobs, capped at 15 days for any single gap and 30 days in total.
Steps 4 and 5: weeks and the 35-hour line
Divide the reference period by seven and round down to a whole number of weeks. Then divide the net overseas hours by that number. An answer of 35 or more means you worked sufficient hours overseas.
Worked example: a move to Dubai
An operations director leaves London on 1 April 2026 for a job with a Dubai company, Monday to Friday. In the 2026/27 UK tax year, which runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, she makes three trips back: 44 UK days, of which 14 involve more than three hours of work. She takes 22 working days of annual leave in blocks that embed 8 weekend days, and 3 days of sick leave.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Disregarded days | UK days with more than 3 hours' work | 14 |
| 2. Net overseas hours | 194 days × 8.5 hours + 20 Ramadan days × 6 hours | 1,769 |
| 3. Reference period | 365 − 14 − 30 leave − 3 sick | 318 days |
| 4. Weeks | 318 ÷ 7 = 45.43, rounded down | 45 |
| 5. Average | 1,769 ÷ 45 | 39.3 hours: passes |
With 44 UK days and 14 UK workdays, she also clears the 91-day and 31-day limits, so she is automatically non-UK resident for 2026/27.
The colleague who fails
Her deputy has the same contract and the same diary, but actually works 7.5-hour days, and 5.5 hours during Ramadan, when UAE private-sector hours are shortened under the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation's annual announcement. His net overseas hours are 194 × 7.5 + 20 × 5.5 = 1,565. Divided by 45 weeks, that is 34.8 hours. He fails the full-time work overseas test by twelve minutes a week, and his residence status now depends on the automatic UK tests and the sufficient ties test.
The handover trap
A two-week UK handover in April, working full days, adds 10 disregarded days. That shrinks the reference period, which helps. But it also uses a third of the 30-day UK workday allowance before the year has properly begun. Push the UK workdays to 31 and the test fails outright, whatever the hours.
Evidence HMRC expects
HMRC can ask you to prove both the hours abroad and the UK workdays. Self-reported estimates are weak evidence. The records that hold up best are the ones created at the time.
- Timesheets or a work diary showing hours worked abroad each day.
- Building access, VPN or system log-in records.
- Flight records and passport stamps for every UK arrival and departure.
- A note of what you did on each UK day and how long you spent working.
- HR records of annual, sick and parenting leave, with dates.
- Your employment contract and any letter confirming the Ramadan working pattern.
Keep these for at least the period HMRC can enquire into your Self Assessment return. Our residency planning page explains how we set up day-count tracking before a move.
What the test does not settle
Passing the test makes you non-UK resident for income tax and capital gains tax for the year. It does not finish the job.
Split-year treatment and temporary non-residence
In the year you leave, split-year Case 1 uses the same hours calculation over the overseas part of the year, as our guide to split-year treatment when leaving the UK explains. If you return within five years, the temporary non-residence rules can claw back gains and some income, covered in our guide to temporary non-residence for UK leavers in Dubai.
US citizens and UAE residence
A US citizen who passes the test is still taxed by the United States on worldwide income, and UAE residence needs its own evidence through a UAE Tax Residency Certificate. The UK tax for US citizens pillar covers how UK residence interacts with US filing.
How Tranzesta can help
We run the five-step calculation from your actual records, model trips before you book them and prepare the residence pages of your Self Assessment return. If you are moving to Dubai in 2026 or 2027, book a consultation and we will build your day and hours tracker before your first UK trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the full-time work overseas test?
The full-time work overseas test is the third automatic overseas test in the UK Statutory Residence Test. You are automatically non-UK resident for a tax year if you average at least 35 hours a week of work abroad, spend fewer than 91 days in the UK, work more than three hours in the UK on fewer than 31 days and take no significant break from overseas work.
How many hours count as full-time work overseas?
HMRC treats an average of 35 hours a week as full-time. You divide the hours you actually worked overseas, excluding hours on UK workdays, by the number of whole weeks in the reference period, which is 365 days less UK workdays, reasonable leave, sick leave and limited gaps between jobs.
What counts as a UK workday for the Statutory Residence Test?
A UK workday is any day on which you do more than three hours of work in the UK, including time spent on emails, calls and travel that counts as work. For the full-time work overseas test you must have fewer than 31 such days in the UK tax year running from 6 April to 5 April.
Does annual leave reduce the 35-hour average?
No, provided the leave is reasonable. HMRC's Residence and FIG Regime Manual at RFIG20170 lets you deduct reasonable annual leave, parenting leave and sick leave, plus non-working days embedded within a block of leave, from the reference period before dividing, so holidays do not drag the weekly average down.
Do contracted hours count for the full-time work overseas test?
No. Step 2 of HMRC's calculation in RFIG20150 uses the hours you actually worked overseas, not the hours in your employment contract. Someone on a 40-hour contract who actually works shorter days, for example during Ramadan in the UAE, can fall below the 35-hour average.
Does the UAE have a test like the UK's full-time work overseas test?
No. UAE individual tax residence under Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 depends on your usual place of residence and centre of interests, 183 days of presence in a 12-month period, or 90 days with a UAE residence permit and a permanent home or job in the UAE. It does not use an hours test.
Can a US citizen use the full-time work overseas test?
Yes. The UK Statutory Residence Test applies regardless of nationality, so a US citizen working full-time in Dubai can become non-UK resident under it. The United States, however, continues to tax its citizens on worldwide income, so they still file a US return and may claim the foreign earned income exclusion.
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