The habitual residence of a person is sometimes relevant to the question of whether a particular court has the jurisdiction to deal with a person’s divorce.
That is certainly the case when considering divorce proceedings being brought in England and Wales or in other contracting states of the Brussels II Convention (see Brussels II).
Habitual residence (as with domicile) can also be relevant to a person’s tax status in England and other countries and so it is often important to have an eye on the possible tax consequences of suggesting a person is habitually resident in a particular country.
In English law, habitual residence refers to a person’s abode in a particular place or country which the person has adopted voluntarily and for settled purposes.
A person can be habitually resident in a particular country or state for short or longer periods of time. This could depend on, for example, the duration of a contract of employment. An important factor is for the person to have a sufficient degree of continuity in place in order to be described as settled.
It is possible for a person to be habitually resident in two different countries at the same time, depending on the particular situation.