Glossary/Tax residency

Relocation glossary

Tax residency

The status that decides which country has the right to tax your income — usually triggered by spending enough time there or making it your main home.

Tax residency is separate from your visa or citizenship. It's the test a country uses to decide whether it can tax you, and on what. Most countries treat you as a tax resident once you spend 183 or more days there in a year, or once your 'centre of vital interests' — home, family, main economic ties — sits there.

Becoming tax-resident somewhere usually means that country can tax your income; whether it taxes only local income or your worldwide income depends on its system. You can sometimes be tax-resident in two countries at once, which is what tax treaties exist to untangle.

Why it matters for your move

Where you're tax-resident is often the single biggest financial consequence of a move — bigger than rent. Knowing when you'd trigger it (and where) is the first thing to model before you go.

Related terms

The 183-day ruleWorldwide taxationTerritorial taxationTax treaty

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change — verify current rules with official sources or a qualified professional before you act. Updated 2026-06.

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