Difference - employed abroad or living abroad
In their documentation HMRC are very clear - if you have a contract of employment to work abroad you are automatically ordinary non resident, as long as you keep to the 90/180 day rule. This is irrespective of ties with UK.
If you choose to live abroad, but dont have a contract of employment to work abroad you may need to justify to HMRC you have severed ties with UK to obtain ordinary non resident status, as refered to in the above posts.
Its clear and any accountant will tell you - if you have a contract of overseas employment, as you would have working here in UAE, you are ordinary non resident as long as you keep to the rules.
Any UK derived income you must declare though....eg house rental income, for which HMRC have a special scheme for non resident (employed overseas) landlords.
Where the water gets muddy is where, for example, your employed by a UK company, working in UK as your base, (so your work is not overseas) but choose to live abroad......these are the people HMRC are interested in and insisting they prove UK ties have been broken.....
It actually is very clear if you research properly and thoroughly....
Last edited by harrypic; 20th February 2011 at 17:55.