What is the qualifying period for naturalisation?

The qualifying period for naturalisation is the time you must have lived in the UK before applying for British citizenship. It is 5 years, or 3 years if you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen. You must have been in the UK on its first day and within the absence limits.

How the qualifying period works

Naturalisation is the route to British citizenship for adults aged 18 or over.^{[2]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)} It has a residence test, and the period you must cover is called the qualifying period. It is counted back from the date of your application.^{[1]legislation.gov.uk, British Nationality Act 1981, Schedule 1: Naturalisation}

Schedule 1 to the British Nationality Act 1981 sets the tests. On the standard route, under section 6(1), you must have been in the UK at the beginning of the 5 years ending with the date of your application. You must not have been absent for more than 450 days in that period, or more than 90 days in the last 12 months. In the last 12 months you must not have been under any immigration restriction on how long you could stay. You must not have been in the UK in breach of the immigration laws during the 5 years.^{[1]legislation.gov.uk, British Nationality Act 1981, Schedule 1: Naturalisation}

If you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, section 6(2) applies. The period is 3 years. The limits are 270 days in the 3 years and 90 days in the last 12 months. You must be free of time restrictions on the date of application, and not in breach of the immigration laws in the 3 years.^{[1]legislation.gov.uk, British Nationality Act 1981, Schedule 1: Naturalisation} GOV.UK says a spouse or civil partner can apply as soon as they have indefinite leave to remain, settled status or indefinite leave to enter, once they have lived in the UK for at least 3 years.^{[4]GOV.UK, Apply for citizenship if your spouse is a British citizen}

The date of application is the date the Home Office receives it. GOV.UK says that if you apply online it is received on the same day, and that it takes longer if you apply by post.^{[3]GOV.UK, Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or settled status}

The two routes side by side

The Home Office AN guide confirms these figures and gives the same test for both routes.^{[2]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)} It says you may need to wait until you have been in the UK for at least 6 years before you apply on the standard route. That is because of the 12 months free of time restrictions.^{[2]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)} GOV.UK says that with indefinite leave to remain you must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting it.^{[5]GOV.UK, Check if you can become a British citizen} See ILR vs British citizenship.

The first day of the period

You must have been physically present in the UK on the first day of the qualifying period. The AN guide gives an example. If the Home Office receives your application on 5 January 2022, you must have been in the UK on 6 January 2017 for the 5-year route.^{[2]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)} Time spent in the UK as a diplomat, as a member of a diplomat’s staff or household, or as a member of visiting armed forces does not count.^{[3]GOV.UK, Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or settled status}

The guide says that if you cannot meet this requirement your application is likely to be refused. If you did not realise you were abroad on that day, the Home Office may look for a later date that lets you qualify and consider the application on or after it. This is not guaranteed, may cause delays and you must pay the full fee in force on any date used.^{[2]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

Only whole days count as absences. The days you leave and enter the UK are not counted. For the detail on absence limits, see absences from the UK.^{[2]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

Example

Dev has indefinite leave to remain and lives in Leeds. He wants to apply on the standard route and plans to apply on 20 June 2027. This example follows the GOV.UK worked example with the years moved on.^{[3]GOV.UK, Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or settled status}

On 21 June 2022 he was abroad. He left the UK on 10 June 2022 and came back on 25 June 2022. He was not physically present on the first day of his qualifying period, so he does not meet the requirement. The earliest he can apply is 24 June 2027, when the first day of the qualifying period becomes 25 June 2022, the day he came back.

He also checks his absences. He has been away for 120 days in the 5 years and 40 days in the last 12 months. Both are inside the limits of 450 and 90 days.^{[2]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)}

What people get wrong

Many applicants check their total days abroad and stop there. The first-day presence is a separate legal requirement. If you were abroad on that day, the Home Office guide says the application is likely to be refused.

The AN guide also says that if absences go past the upper limits the application is likely to fail and the fee will not be fully refunded.^{[2]Home Office, Form AN: guidance (accessible)} A second mistake is to count the qualifying period from the day you received indefinite leave to remain. The 5-year period is counted back from the date of the application, and the 12 months free from time restrictions is a separate test.^{[1]legislation.gov.uk, British Nationality Act 1981, Schedule 1: Naturalisation}

The bottom line

The qualifying period for naturalisation is the 5 years before you apply, or 3 years if you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen. You must have been in the UK on the first day and stay within the absence limits. Check the first-day rule before you apply. See British citizenship by naturalisation for how Compass can help.