NIM33555 | special cases: international - people going to or coming from abroad: row: meaning of "ordinarily resident"

Note: A new International NICs manual is under development and will be published in due course.

Section 1(6) Social Security Contributions & Benefits Act 1992 Regulations 145, 146 and 149(2)(a) Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001

The words "ordinarily resident" are not defined in the above legislation. So they must be given their natural and ordinary meaning. But there is some non-NICs case law which helps with the meaning of the words:

Levene v Commissioners of Inland Revenue [1928] 13 TC 486

Lysaght v Commissioners of Inland Revenue [1928] 13 TC 511

Shah v Barnet Borough Council [1983] 1 All ER 226

The last case was about students and whether or not they were "ordinarily resident" in the United Kingdom for the purposes of qualifying for educational grants from their local authorities. In its judgement, the House of Lords stated:

"…in their ordinary and natural meaning the words [ordinarily resident] mean "that the person must be habitually and normally resident here, apart from temporary or occasional absences of long or short duration."

"…ordinarily resident" refers to a man's abode in a particular place or country which he has adopted voluntarily and for settled purposes as part of the regular order of his life for the time being, whether of short or long duration."

For guidance on:

• the factors to take into account in considering whether a person is "ordinarily resident", see NIM33560

• the definition of "ordinarily resident" for tax purposes, see the Residence Manual.