Ordinarily resident status

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Ordinarily resident status is a concept in the law of the United Kingdom which affects entitlement to the National Health Service. It formerly affected taxation, but the concept of ordinary residence was abolished for the purposes of tax years 2013/14 onwards. [1]

Contents

Indefinite leave to remain and right of abode are related concepts in immigration law. A person who is a British citizen is not necessarily an ordinary resident in the UK. The policy relates to the Home Office hostile environment policy.

Guidance

The Department of Health and Social Care states: [2]

A person is ordinarily resident if they are living in the United Kingdom:

Pre-settled or settled status for EEA/Swiss nationals [...] is required for EEA/Swiss nationals that were living or studying in the UK on or before 31 December 2020.

Guidance on implementing the overseas visitor hospital charging regulations is provided to assist NHS bodies to make and recover charges for NHS hospital treatment from chargeable overseas visitors. [3]

HM Revenue and Customs issued guidance (booklet HMRC 6) in respect of taxation which included reference to renting, leasing or buying property. This is not mentioned in the NHS guidance. [4]

The concept is also embedded in the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Scotland) Regulations 1989. [5]

Law

"Ordinarily resident" has not been defined by Act of Parliament. It has been developed in case law. The leading case is R V. Barnet London Borough Council, Ex parte Nilish Shah, which was decided by the House of Lords in 1982. [6] The case was concerned with the meaning of ‘ordinary residence’ as used in the Education Acts. The five appellants were all students who had come to the UK to study. None of them had the right of abode in the United Kingdom. It established these principles:

Ordinary residence is established if there is a regular habitual mode of life in a particular place "for the time being", "whether of short or long duration", the continuity of which has persisted apart from temporary or occasional absences. The residence must be voluntary and adopted for "a settled purpose".

A person can be ordinarily resident in more than one country at the same time. This is not the case in respect of domicile.

Ordinary residence is proven more by evidence of matters capable of objective proof than by evidence as to state of mind.

Administration in the NHS

In October 2016, it was reported that the government had set a target of recovering £500 million a year from overseas visitors treated in NHS hospitals in England, which had been "refined" to £346m for 2017-18, according to the National Audit Office. £289m was collected in 2015–16 and £73m in 2012–13. The NAO reported that only 58% of hospital doctors knew some people were chargeable for NHS healthcare at all. [7] According to Joseph Meirion Thomas, a former cancer specialist at the Royal Marsden Hospital, failure to enforce the charging regulations is costing the British taxpayer £3 billion a year. [8]

Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland there is a similar concept. People who have lived in the Republic for a minimum of one year or intend to live there for a minimum of one year qualify for help with prescription charges. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

Right of abode in Hong Kong entitles a person to live and work in the territory without any restrictions or conditions of stay. Someone who has that right is a Hong Kong permanent resident. Foreign nationals may acquire the right of abode after meeting a seven-year residency requirement and are given most rights usually associated with citizenship, including the right to vote in regional elections. However, they are not entitled to hold territorial passports or stand for office in some Legislative Council constituencies, unless they also naturalise as Chinese citizens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indefinite leave to remain</span> British immigration status

Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) is an immigration status granted to a person who does not hold the right of abode in the United Kingdom (UK), but who has been admitted to the UK without any time limit on their stay and who is free to take up employment, engage in business, self-employment, or study. When indefinite leave is granted to persons outside the United Kingdom it is known as indefinite leave to enter (ILE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxation in the United Kingdom</span> United Kingdom tax codes

In the United Kingdom, taxation may involve payments to at least three different levels of government: central government, devolved governments and local government. Central government revenues come primarily from income tax, National Insurance contributions, value added tax, corporation tax and fuel duty. Local government revenues come primarily from grants from central government funds, business rates in England, Council Tax and increasingly from fees and charges such as those for on-street parking. In the fiscal year 2014–15, total government revenue was forecast to be £648 billion, or 37.7 per cent of GDP, with net taxes and National Insurance contributions standing at £606 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nursing and Midwifery Council</span> British healthcare regulator

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the regulator for nursing and midwifery professions in the UK. The NMC maintains a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses and nursing associates eligible to practise within the UK. It sets and reviews standards for their education, training, conduct and performance. The NMC also investigates allegations of impaired fitness to practise.

Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such legal status is known as a permanent resident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Health Insurance Card</span> Health insurance card in Europe

The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is issued free of charge to anyone who is insured by or covered by a statutory social security scheme of the EEA countries or Switzerland and certain citizens and residents of the United Kingdom. It allows holders to receive medical treatment in another member state in the same way as residents of that state—i.e., free or at a reduced cost—if treatment becomes necessary during their visit, or if they have a chronic pre-existing condition which requires care such as kidney dialysis. The term of validity of the card varies according to the issuing country. The EEA countries and Switzerland have reciprocal healthcare arrangements with the United Kingdom, which issues a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) valid in the EEA countries and, in most cases, in Switzerland.

In law and conflict of laws, domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal law", which includes the law that governs a person's status and their property. It is independent of a person's nationality. Although a domicile may change from time to time, a person has only one domicile, or residence, at any point in their life, no matter what their circumstances. Domicile is distinct from habitual residence, where there is less focus on future intent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxation in the Republic of Ireland</span> Irish tax code

Taxation in Ireland in 2017 came from Personal Income taxes, and Consumption taxes, being VAT and Excise and Customs duties. Corporation taxes represents most of the balance, but Ireland's Corporate Tax System (CT) is a central part of Ireland's economic model. Ireland summarises its taxation policy using the OECD's Hierarchy of Taxes pyramid, which emphasises high corporate tax rates as the most harmful types of taxes where economic growth is the objective. The balance of Ireland's taxes are Property taxes and Capital taxes.

The right of abode is an individual's freedom from immigration control in a particular country. A person who has the right of abode in a country does not need permission from the government to enter the country and can live and work there without restriction, and is immune from removal and deportation.

In conflict of laws, habitual residence is the standard used to determine the law which should be applied to determine a given legal dispute or entitlement. It can be contrasted with the law on domicile, traditionally used in common law jurisdictions to do the same thing.

The criteria for residence for tax purposes vary considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and "residence" can be different for other, non-tax purposes. For individuals, physical presence in a jurisdiction is the main test. Some jurisdictions also determine residency of an individual by reference to a variety of other factors, such as the ownership of a home or availability of accommodation, family, and financial interests. For companies, some jurisdictions determine the residence of a corporation based on its place of incorporation. Other jurisdictions determine the residence of a corporation by reference to its place of management. Some jurisdictions use both a place-of-incorporation test and a place-of-management test.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right of abode in the United Kingdom</span> British immigration status

The right of abode (ROA) is an immigration status in the United Kingdom that gives a person the unrestricted right to enter and live in the UK. It was introduced by the Immigration Act 1971 which went into effect on 1 January 1973. This status is held by British citizens, certain British subjects, as well as certain Commonwealth citizens with specific connections to the UK before 1983. Since 1983, it is not possible for a person to acquire this status without being a British citizen.

A person's primary residence, or main residence is the dwelling where they usually live, typically a house or an apartment. A person can only have one primary residence at any given time, though they may share the residence with other people. A primary residence is considered to be a legal residence for the purpose of income tax and/or acquiring a mortgage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Health Service</span> Publicly-funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom

The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom, comprising the NHS in England, NHS Scotland and NHS Wales. Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland was created separately and is often locally referred to as "the NHS". The original three systems were established in 1948 as part of major social reforms following the Second World War. The founding principles were that services should be comprehensive, universal and free at the point of delivery—a health service based on clinical need, not ability to pay. Each service provides a comprehensive range of health services, provided without charge for people ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom apart from dental treatment and optical care. In England, NHS patients have to pay prescription charges; some, such as those aged over 60, or those on certain state benefits, are exempt.

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a social security benefit in the United Kingdom paid to eligible claimants who have personal care and/or mobility needs as a result of a mental or physical disability. It is tax-free, non-means-tested and non-contributory. The benefit was established by the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, integrating the former benefits Mobility Allowance and Attendance Allowance and introducing two additional lower rates of benefit. Prior to 2013 it could be claimed by UK residents aged under sixty five years. However, the benefit was phased-out for the majority of claimants between 2013 and 2015 and replaced by a new Personal Independence Payment. DLA can still be claimed by children under sixteen and can still be received by existing claimants who were aged sixty five or over on 8 April 2013.

A qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme, or QROPS is an overseas pension scheme that meets certain requirements set by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). A QROPS can receive transfers of British pension benefits. The QROPS programme was part of British legislation launched on 6 April 2006 as a direct result of EU human rights requirements of the freedom of capital movement.

In tertiary education in the United Kingdom, the term home student is used to refer to those who are eligible to pay university tuition fees at a lower rate than overseas students. In general, British, and Irish citizens qualify for home student status only if they have been "ordinarily resident" in the UK for three years prior to the start of university. From Autumn 2021, EU citizens lost their home student status and since have had to pay the higher international tuition fees. There are other criteria to be satisfied. All other students, even British citizens, who do not qualify as "home students" are considered to be overseas students and must pay higher overseas students tuition fees at university.

The immigration health surcharge was introduced by the Cameron–Clegg coalition by the Immigration Order 2015, made under the provisions of the Immigration Act 2014, to deal with the issue of medical tourism involving the NHS in England. Once the surcharge is paid people are entitled to use the NHS in a similar way to UK residents.

The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme was established across the United Kingdom National Health Service in 1988. Patients and their children in receipt of means tested benefits, or on a low income, could get help with the cost of travel to hospital appointments. It does not apply to primary care or community services and it does not apply to visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK Global Health Insurance Card</span> UK successor to the European Health Insurance Card

The UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) is a card issued by the NHS Business Services Authority on behalf of the Department for Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. It is issued free of charge to anyone covered by the social security system of the United Kingdom and provides evidence of entitlement to the provision of healthcare services under the UK's reciprocal healthcare agreements with the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Guernsey and some British Overseas Territories. It is also accepted by Australia as proof of eligibility to enrol in Medicare.

References

  1. ↑ "When does someone become ordinarily resident?". Tax guide for students. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Ordinary Residence Tool" (PDF). Department of Health and Social Care. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "NHS visitor and migrant cost recovery programme". UK Government, Health and social care. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "When does someone become ordinarily resident?". Tax guide for students. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Overseas Visitors". Scottish Government. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "(1982) 81 LGR 305, 81 LGR 305, [1983] 2 WLR 16, [1982] UKHL 14, [1983] 2 AC 309, [1983] 1 All ER 226". United Kingdom House of Lords Decisions. Bailii. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "NHS set to miss target on foreign patient costs". BBC News. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Cost of treating health tourists is killing the NHS, says Ross Clark". Daily Express. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
  9. ↑ "Drugs Payment Scheme". Citizens's Information. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
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