The 10-year non-residence test
The core condition is 10 consecutive tax years of non-UK residence immediately before the tax year you become UK resident, with each of those years judged under the Statutory Residence Test. It is a residence test, not a domicile test: a British citizen returning after 12 years abroad qualifies just like a first-time arrival. A single year of accidental UK residence inside the 10-year run breaks eligibility, so each prior year needs checking before any claim is filed. Two smaller conditions also apply: an age floor of 10 at the start of the tax year, and no claim for any year in which you sit in the House of Commons or House of Lords.
The four-year window and the transitional rule
Qualifying gives you relief for your first four consecutive tax years of UK residence, and the clock starts in year one whether or not you claim. The window is fixed: it does not pause, roll over or extend. Because the regime went live on 6 April 2025, arrivers already part-way through their window fall under a transitional rule. Someone who became UK resident in 2023/24 has a window running 2023/24 to 2026/27 but can only claim for 2025/26 and 2026/27. Anyone resident since 2021/22 or earlier has no window left at all.
What qualifying actually gets you
A qualifying new resident can claim full UK tax relief on qualifying foreign income and gains arising from 6 April 2025, and can bring that money into the UK with no remittance charge. UK-source income and gains stay taxable as normal, and foreign employment income sits outside the claim; it is relieved separately through Overseas Workday Relief. You claim each year on the SA109 pages of your Self Assessment return, and each claim costs you the £12,570 Personal Allowance and £3,000 Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount for that year. Our full FIG regime guide covers when that trade-off pays and when it does not.