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(i) Does the surcharge for 2nd homes on UK property stamp duty apply if the first home is foreign / i.e. outisde the UK? If not, does this mean that the surcharge only applies if it's the second *UK* property, irrespective of how many foreign properties are owned? (ii) Foreign buyers pay a different stamp duty surcharge when buying UK property. if the purchaser then relocates to the UK (i.e. is purchasing for a planned relocation) does this foreign buyer surcharge apply? If not, how long does a foreign person have, between purchasing the property and relocating to UK, before the foreign buyer stamp duty surcharge would apply regardless?

I left the UK 10 years ago and currently I live abroad in a home purchased for me by my parents (who also live abroad). This has been our principal residence. We need to sell this home and buy one in the UK ahead of a planned relocation to UK in Q3 2025. (i) we may visit UK for brief periods (1 or 2 weeks at a stretch) in order to search for a property prior to our actual relocation. How does HMRC determine the actual date upon which we relocate? is it the date of our removals company / the date our family travel to UK with no return ticket? (ii) if we sell our foreign property at any date prior to our relocation to UK (even the day before), will UK CGT be due on the foreign property sale? (iii) if we relocate to the UK before we are able to sell our foreign home, and it only sells after we relocate, do we have to pay CGT even though it was only ever our principal residence? (iv) if we end up buying our UK home (intended as our principal residence) before we sell our foreign home, then for the purpose of UK stamp duty, does the UK purchase count as our first home, or does the foreign property make it the higher second-home stamp duty rate?