RDRM24190 - Domicile: Illustrative Scenarios: Mr Z
Z was born and brought up in Poland, which is his domicile of origin. Since summer 2004 Z has been living and working in England.
During 2006 Z set up a business in partnership with his two brothers, who came to England at that time. Z has a wife and three children in Poland and intends to give up the business in about ten years, by which time he calculates that he will have enough money to go back to Poland in semi-retirement. Z has not acquired a domicile of choice in England and Wales.
Z’s elder brother met a wealthy local businesswoman during 2007 and after a whirlwind romance he has married her and settled in England. He enjoys his work but will be quite content to dissolve the partnership and remain in England indefinitely when Z wishes to return to Poland. Z’s elder brother has acquired a domicile of choice in England and Wales.
Z’s younger brother has recently purchased a plot of land in Poland, and is obtaining planning permission for a residential property to be built upon it. His fiancée was born in England, but she is the granddaughter of a member of the Polish Air Force who made his way to England in 1940. Her grandfather was a prominent member of the Polish community in the UK, and up to his death in 1986 he retained a fierce determination to return to Poland when the political situation changed. The family in the UK all speak Polish and have fostered links with relatives in Poland since the early 1990s. Z’s younger brother and his intended wife have not rejected the possibility of bringing up a family in England, but their current plan is to build a house in Poland while he is working in the UK and then move there when the partnership ceases. In view of the nature of the contingency upon which Z’s younger brother will leave England, and the present likelihood of its occurrence, his operative domicile is currently Poland.
For the purposes of deemed domicile the provisions will apply to the brothers, as long as they remain non-UK domiciled in common law. If Z remains resident in the UK for 15 years he will be deemed domiciled in the UK from year 16 as a long-term resident non-dom. The elder brother cannot access the deeming rules as he has acquired a domicile of choice in common law. The younger brother will be caught by the deeming provisions if he remains here long term.