When you travel between two countries and stop in the UK on the way, that stop does not always count as a day spent in the UK. Under the UK Statutory Residence Test (SRT), a day spent passing through the UK can be treated as a transit day and left out of your day count.
Note: Other countries have their own rules for days spent in transit, and the conditions vary. This article covers the UK Statutory Residence Test only. Always check the local tax guidance for the jurisdiction you are travelling through.
What makes a day a transit day
A transit day is a day you spend passing through the UK while travelling between two countries outside the UK. It does not count towards your total number of days in the UK, provided all three of the following apply:
You arrive in the UK as a passenger.
You leave the UK the next day.
Between arriving and leaving, you do not carry out activities that are to a substantial extent unrelated to your passage through the UK.
If any one of these three conditions is not met, the day counts as a day spent in the UK.
The rules for transit days are set out in HMRC's guidance note on the Statutory Residence Test (RDR3).
What breaks a transit day
Some things you do on a stopover are part of the journey. Others are not, and they stop the day being a transit day.
Still a transit day:
Staying overnight at an airport hotel
Having dinner or breakfast as part of your journey
No longer a transit day:
Meeting friends or family
Shopping or sightseeing
Spending time at your UK home
Doing any work
If you carry out activities unrelated to your travel, the day counts towards your total UK days under the Statutory Residence Test.
Important: A transit day cannot also be a work day. If you worked while you were in the UK, the day is not a transit day.
How Daysium handles transit days
Daysium logs your transit days for you from your recorded movement, so you do not need to declare them yourself.
A UK day is counted when you are in the UK at midnight, so a stopover appears in your day count to begin with. Once your onward travel the next day is recorded, Daysium identifies the day as transit and removes it from your count.
Whether an activity was unrelated to your passage is your judgement, not Daysium's. If you did something on a stopover that breaks transit, you can change the day yourself — see How to Manage Transit Days.
Note: If you are unsure whether something you did on a stopover breaks transit, speak to your tax adviser. Keep your flight details and hotel receipts either way.
Why it matters
For anyone with an international travel pattern, correctly identifying transit days can make a meaningful difference to a UK residence position. Every transit day Daysium logs is supported by the movement record behind it, so the day you leave out of your count is a day you can evidence.
Related articles
How to Manage Transit Days
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