What are absences from the UK for citizenship?

Absences from the UK, for citizenship, are the days you spent outside the UK in the qualifying period before you apply to naturalise. The limits are 450 days in 5 years or 270 days in 3 years, and 90 days in the last 12 months. The Home Secretary has discretion to disregard some excess absences.

How absences work

When you apply to naturalise as a British citizen, you are asked to list all your absences from the UK during the qualifying period. This helps you decide whether you meet the residence requirement.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)} See qualifying period for naturalisation for the period itself.

The limits are set in Schedule 1 to the British Nationality Act 1981. On the 5-year route you must not have been absent for more than 450 days in the 5 years, or more than 90 days in the last 12 months. On the 3-year route for spouses and civil partners the limits are 270 days and 90 days.^{[2]legislation.gov.uk, British Nationality Act 1981, Schedule 1: Naturalisation}

Only whole days count. The Home Office does not count the day you leave the UK or the day you return. If you left on 22 September and returned on 23 September, you are not classed as absent.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

When you apply you give as much detail as you can, using your own records such as emails or boarding passes. The Home Office checks its own records and fills in gaps or makes corrections for you.^{[3]GOV.UK, Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or settled status} The AN guide says you do not need to request the Home Office entry and exit records before you apply.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

The limits and what the Home Office normally disregards

Schedule 1 lets the Secretary of State treat an applicant as meeting the absence limits in special circumstances, even though the number of days is over.^{[2]legislation.gov.uk, British Nationality Act 1981, Schedule 1: Naturalisation} The Home Office AN guide says how it uses that discretion.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

For the final 12 months the figures are the same on both routes.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

The guide also sets expectations about residence. On the 5-year route, if absences are up to 730 days it expects you to have been resident in the UK for the last 7 years. If they exceed 730 days it expects 8 years, unless the absences resulted from one of the reasons the guide lists.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)} The 3-year route has matching figures of 450 days, 4 years and 5 years.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

The reasons the guide lists are a posting abroad in Crown or designated service, an unavoidable consequence of the nature of your work such as being a merchant seaman, exceptional or compelling reasons of an occupational or compassionate nature, and being unable to return to the UK because of a global pandemic.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

The guide says that absences above 900 days, or 540 days on the 3-year route, would be disregarded only very rarely. In the final 12 months, absences over 180 days would be disregarded only in the most exceptional circumstances.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

If you have indefinite leave to remain, long absences can also affect that status. GOV.UK says you may have lost it if you have been away for more than 2 years at any time since you got it, and you would need a returning resident visa. For settled status the period is more than 5 years.^{[3]GOV.UK, Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or settled status}

Example

Amina applies on the 5-year route. She was abroad for 470 days in the 5 years and 95 days in the last 12 months. Both are over the normal limits of 450 and 90 days. The Home Office AN guide says absences up to 480 days in the period and up to 100 days in the final 12 months are normally disregarded, so her figures fall in that band.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

Kofi applies on the same route. He was abroad for 600 days in the 5 years. That is more than 480 days. The guide says absences up to 900 days are normally disregarded only if he meets all other requirements and has established his home, family and a substantial part of his estate in the UK. For absences up to 730 days, the guide expects him to have been resident in the UK for the last 7 years.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)} The Home Office decides each case on its facts.

What people get wrong

Many applicants compare their total days abroad with 450 and stop there. There is a second limit of 90 days in the final 12 months, and it applies on both routes.

The second mistake is to treat the figures above the limits as a right. The Home Office guide describes them as discretion. It says that if absences are more than the upper limit, the application is likely to fail and the fee will not be fully refunded.^{[1]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)} GOV.UK also says you should not have spent more than 450 days outside the UK in the 5 years, or more than 270 days in the 3 years for spouses.^{[3]GOV.UK, Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or settled status[4]GOV.UK, Apply for citizenship if your spouse is a British citizen}

The bottom line

Absences are the days you spent outside the UK in the qualifying period. The limits are 450 days in 5 years, or 270 days in 3 years, and 90 days in the last 12 months. The Home Office normally disregards modest excess days and has discretion beyond that in special circumstances. Count whole days, keep your travel records, and check both limits before you apply. See British citizenship by naturalisation for how Compass can help.