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British Naturalisation - more than 90 days absence in any 12-month period

Law Asked by Claudio on February 27, 2021

I’ve come across this webpage
www.sableinternational.com/blog/don-t-do-the-long-distance-thing-extend-your-uk-spouse-visa
stating that:

you cannot be outside of the UK for more than 90 days in any 12-month period in the five years preceding your naturalisation application

This is not aligned with any other source I found, including the Guide AN which states:

To satisfy the residence requirement you should not have been absent for more than 90 days in the last 12 months.
If you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen the total number of days absence for the whole 3-year period should not exceed 270.
Otherwise, you should not have been outside the UK for more than 450 days in the 5-year qualifying period.

Absences totaling more than 90 days seem to be allowed as long as they are not within the last 12 months

One more interesting statement is made in the document:
Nationality policy: Naturalisation as a British citizen by discretion
This guidance tells Home Office staff how to consider applications for naturalisation as a British citizen
Quoted from section: Future intentions requirement
subsection: Principal home in the UK

If applicants say their intention is to have their principal home in the UK, you should accept that they meet the requirement if they:

there is no information to cast doubt on their intention, for example:
a recent absence from the UK for a period of 6 months or more

This is indirectly saying that it would be ok an absence up to almost six months, it obviously wouldn’t have to completely fall within the last year

One Answer

The "Booklet AN" is an official document, released or updated March 2019. The information at Sable International is more a throwaway comment - they are discussing spouse visa rules in detail, and just say "by the way, the rules for naturalisation are different". So normally I would trust the "Booklet AN" more.

To be on the safe side, avoid leaving over 90 days in any consecutive 12 month period. Knowing the UK home office and how they love to mess up people's lives, I wouldn't trust even official advice from them and would stay on the safe side if at all possible.

Answered by gnasher729 on February 27, 2021

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