5th May 2026
Success in the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) for Ximena Montes Manzano and Siobhan Duncan in Michael Parker v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 00652 (TC)
A significant Statutory Residence Test appeal concerning the treatment of transit days and exceptional circumstances.
The FTT has, for the first time, provided judicial consideration of the transit exception in paragraph 22(3) of Schedule 45 toFA 2013. It determined whether days spent in the UK as part of international travel count towards UK residence.
The Tribunal adopted a purposive approach to the concept of a “passenger”, confirming that individuals can still be treated as in transit, even where their journey involves separate tickets, meeting family members for onwards travel or an overnight stay near the airport.
It also clarified the scope of exceptional circumstances. A last-minute cancelled flight due to severe weather was held to prevent departure in a real and practical sense, with the focus on what was realistically possible at the time.
This decision provides important clarity on how paragraph 22 operates in practice and will be highly relevant to internationally mobile individuals and their advisers.
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