Full-Time Work Abroad Checker

What does the Full-Time Work Abroad Checker tell you?

Direct answer: It tells you whether you pass HMRC's third automatic overseas test — "full-time work overseas" — which makes you UK non-resident in one move. It checks all four conditions (sufficient hours of about 35 a week, no significant break, fewer than 31 UK working days, fewer than 91 UK days), names the exact condition that fails, and gives you the corrected figure (HMRC RFIG20140; RFIG20150; 2026/27).

Most resources tell you the test exists. This tool runs it — in HMRC's own terms, with the fiddly hours-averaging maths shown — and tells you which condition is sinking you, not just "fail". HMRC wrote the rules. We translated them, dated them, sourced them, and built the checker. It's general guidance, not advice — an estimate, not a ruling.

How does the third automatic overseas test work?

Direct answer: You pass — and become non-resident for the tax year — if all four of these hold: you work sufficient hours overseas (about 35 a week on average), there is no significant break from that overseas work, you do more than 3 hours of work in the UK on fewer than 31 days, and you spend fewer than 91 days in the UK in the tax year (HMRC RFIG20140; 2026/27).

1. Sufficient hours overseas — about 35 hrs/week average. Net overseas hours ÷ the weeks in your reference period (HMRC RFIG20150).
2. No significant break — no gap of 31+ days in which not one day is a more-than-3-hour overseas working day (annual / sick / parenting leave excepted) (HMRC RFIG20760).
3. UK working days — fewer than 31. Days you did more than 3 hours of work physically in the UK (HMRC RFIG20140; RFIG20560).
4. UK days — fewer than 91. Days in the UK at midnight; the deeming rule does not apply here, so day-trips aren't added back (HMRC RFIG20140; RFIG20720).

It's the cleanest exit because it resolves at the very first stage of the Statutory Residence Test: meet any automatic overseas test and you're non-resident, before the UK tests or the ties even get a look-in (HMRC RFIG20110). Run the whole SRT in order in the UK residence status calculator, and read the stage-by-stage explainer in the automatic overseas and UK residence tests guide.

How do I work out "sufficient hours overseas" — the 35-hour average?

Direct answer: Take your total overseas hours for the year, then divide by the number of weeks in your "reference period" — 365 days (366 in a leap year) minus your disregarded days (days you did more than 3 hrs of UK work), employment gaps, and reasonable annual/sick/parenting leave — divided by 7 and rounded down. If the answer is 35 or more, you've worked sufficient hours overseas (HMRC RFIG20150; 2026/27).

1. Disregarded days — count the days you did more than 3 hours of work in the UK.
2. Net overseas hours — add up all your overseas hours for the year, excluding hours on those disregarded days.
3. Reference period — start from 365 (or 366 in a leap year) and subtract the disregarded days, days in gaps between employments, and a reasonable amount of annual, sick or parenting leave (round the leave down to whole days).
4. Divide the reference period by 7 — if the answer is more than 1 and isn't a whole number, round down; the minimum is 1.
5. Net overseas hours ÷ the step-4 figure. 35 or more = sufficient hours.

The deductions are why the test is subtler than "did I work 35 hours a week?". A long stretch of UK working days, a gap between jobs, or a generous chunk of leave all shrink the reference period — which can raise your average over the line, or, if you didn't actually work the hours, leave you short. The tool's second mode runs this calculation for you and shows every number. Where it lands within a couple of hours of 35, treat it as a flag to check HMRC RFIG20150 or take advice.

What is a "significant break" — and why does it sink the whole test?

Direct answer: A significant break is 31 or more consecutive days on which you did not do more than 3 hours of overseas work — unless every one of those days was annual leave, sick leave or parenting leave. A single significant break disqualifies the full-time-work-overseas test, even if you clear the hours and both day limits (HMRC RFIG20760; 2026/27).

This is the landmine that catches good-faith movers. Gardening leave before you start, a long handover in the UK, a gap between two overseas jobs, an extended unpaid sabbatical — any 31-day stretch with no real overseas working day breaks it. The carve-outs are narrow: only genuine annual, sick or parenting leave keeps the run alive. Plan your departure so you don't open up a month-plus hole in your overseas work, and count your overseas working days as carefully as your UK ones.

What if I left part-way through the year — does Case 1 split-year still work?

Direct answer: Yes. If you start full-time work overseas part-way through the year, you don't pass the whole-year third automatic overseas test, but the year can split under Case 1: the same four conditions are applied to the "relevant period" (from the day your overseas work starts to 5 April), with the UK-day and UK-working-day limits reduced to HMRC's fixed permitted limits for the month your overseas work begins (HMRC RFIG21040; RFIG21070; 2026/27).

These limits come from a set table in HMRC RFIG21070 — they are not a simple "months ÷ 12" fraction. For example, if your overseas work begins in September, the permitted limits are 52 UK days and 17 UK working days; begin in October and they are 45 and 15. (And note the Case 1 wording is "no more than" the permitted limit, whereas the whole-year test is "fewer than" 91 / 31.) You must also be non-resident the following tax year specifically by the third automatic overseas test, and be UK resident for the departure year (and the previous year) for the split to apply (HMRC RFIG21030; RFIG21040). The checker switches to the Case 1 framing when you tell it you left part-way through, and flags it as a judgement area — read the detail in split-year treatment and, for the Dubai employee, Moving to Dubai: UK tax.

Is passing this test — and becoming non-resident — legal?

Direct answer: Yes. The third automatic overseas test is written into statute (Finance Act 2013, Schedule 45); passing it makes you UK non-resident, which you report to HMRC on a P85 or your tax return. It's the opposite of evasion — you're meeting published rules and telling HMRC you've left, not hiding anything (HMRC RDR3; gov.uk "Tax if you leave the UK"; 2026/27).

This checker is an estimate of how those rules apply to your facts. It doesn't file anything, doesn't store your numbers, and doesn't replace the official route or a qualified adviser. Read the whole legitimate journey in How to stop being a UK tax resident.