Naturalisation. Residence requirements. Absences from the UK in the final year
If you apply to naturalise as a British citizen, you must satisfy the residence requirements. One of these requirements is that the number of days on which you were absent from the UK in the period of 12 months ending with the date of the application does not exceed 90.
If you you were absent from the UK for more than 90 days in the period of 12 months ending with the date of the application, the next question is whether you have already decided, or intend to break your links with the UK (if you meet the future intentions requirement).
If you have already decided, or intend to break your links with the UK, your application will normally be refused.
But if you meet the future intentions requirement or if you are married to a British citizen, the next question is how many days you were absent from the UK in the period of 12 months ending with the date of the application.
If you were absent from the UK for 91-100 days in the period of 12 months ending with the date of the application, discretion will be exercised by the caseworker, and this requirement will be overlooked.
If you were absent from the UK for 101-180 days in the period of 12 months ending with the date of the application, but the number of days on which you were absent from the UK in the period of 5 years ending with the date of the application does not exceed 450 (or 270 in 3 years, if married to a British citizen), your application might not be refused if you demonstrate strong links through the presence of family, employment and your home in the UK.
If you were absent from the UK for 101-180 days in the period of 12 months ending with the date of the application, and the number of days on which you were absent from the UK in the period of 5 years ending with the date of the application exceeds 450 (or 270 in 3 years, if married to a British citizen), your application will normally be refused unless you demonstrate that you have made UK your home by establishing a home, employment, family, property and finances here, and if your absence is justified by Crown service or by compelling occupational or compassionate reasons, including inability to travel because of a global pandemic.
If you were absent from the UK for more than 180 days in the period of 12 months ending with the date of the application, but the number of days on which you were absent from the UK in the period of 5 years ending with the date of the application does not exceed 450 (or 270 in 3 years, if married to a British citizen), your application will normally be refused unless you demonstrate that you have made UK your home by establishing a home, employment, family, property and finances here.
If you were absent from the UK for more than 180 days in the period of 12 months ending with the date of the application, and the number of days on which you were absent from the UK in the period of 5 years ending with the date of the application exceeds 450 (or 270 in 3 years, if married to a British citizen), your application will normally be refused unless you demonstrate that you have made UK your home by establishing a home, employment, family, property and finances here, and there are exceptional circumstances justifying your absences.
It is important to know that the day of departure from the UK and the day of arrival in the UK are considered days in which you were not absent from the country. If you left the UK on 1 March 2021 and returned on 5 March 2021, the days counted toward your absence from the UK are 2, 3 and 4 March 2021. Therefore, you will not be considered as being absent from the UK for 5 days, but only for 3 days.
If you want to apply for British citizenship or for a British passport and need specialist advice, feel free to contact me. Please note that I am an accredited immigration adviser, not an employee of the UK Visas and Immigration. I charge fees for the advice provided.