Domicile

[Daviea_79]

Does anyone really understand what domicile is. There seems to be different kinds. Some people born in England are non domiciled but resident and other are non resident but domiciled. Confusing or what?:|

[Zeno]

You won't go far wrong with thinking of domicile as the tax equivalent to citizenship.

[David Griffiths]

Confusing or what?:|

Is it? Just because people can have different domiciles and residences.

Briefly, domicile is the country that you ultimately think of as "home" - the place where you belong, if you like. You get a "domicile of origin" the moment that you are born - normally the domicile of one of your parents, so somebody born overseas of British parents is domiciled here.

You can acquire a different domicile - "domicile of choice" - by making a permanent move to another country. Just going to live there is not enough - many people take up residence in other countries but have no intention of settling there permanently. You have to take active steps to show that the new domicile is your permanent home - there are various classic actions varying from applying for citizenship to making a local will. You'd also be expected to sever all ties with "home". It's difficult to claim that your move to, for example, Spain is permanent if you don't sell the family home in the UK.

It's a topic that gets more complicated with increased mobility of people around the world, but I suspect the great majority are born, live and die in one country. Others may see citizens of two widely separated countries produce a child born in a third country where they may only have lived for a couple of years. That's a bit more complex, as is the case for second generation migrants. But as I said for most people it's quite obvious.

[Ray Coman]

You are domiciled in the country where you have a permanent home. You cannot have more than one current domicile in accordance with UK law. Domicile of origin is, form birth, in most cases your father’s domicile.
A domicile of origin may be by a domicile of dependence until you are16. The child's domicile follows that of their father, unless the parents are living apart and the child is living with the mother.

A domicile of origin or dependency will continue unless and until displaced by a domicile of choice, which requires two elements:

The fact of residence in a particular country, and

The intention to reside indefinitely in that country.

No formal steps are necessary to acquire a domicile of choice, and the question will be determined in the overall review of the circumstances of the case. Relevant factors include nationality, citizenship, residence, family and business interests, wills and the ultimate resting place, for example, the reservation of a grave plot.