Absence from UK and proof of address

[biftekos]

Hi everyone.

My wife and I have been married for nearly 5 years (Feb 2021) and are due to apply for her ILR soon (5 yr route and she currently holds the FLR). She is Brazilian and I am British. During 2018-2019 we went travelling for about 6 months to Brazil, Greece, Turkey and Italy. We came back to the UK in June 2019. In the form it asks to specify if we spent any time (more than two weeks) outside the UK. Apart from that time, we have lived in the UK full time for the last 5-6 years with proof of address and all related docs.

I have three questions. Firstly, should I report this time spent outside the UK or not? I read that for the spouse visa route, absence from the UK for more than 6 months is not a problem. How would they know anyway. Would they check her passport for stamps and calculate? Do they have access to any information other than what we present?

The second question is.
Her FLR visa expires in April so we can apply for ILR in March. We are thinking of buying a place so we might temporarily stay at my parents in Guernsey or short term accommodation in the UK while we house hunt. Will this be a problem if we dont supply proof of address for the last 6 months prior to applying? How would they check where and when we were staying? Do they have access to Council tax data?

Last but not least, Once we get the ILR (We are planning to fast track, covid permitting), can she apply for citizenship immediately and get her British passport and how long does that normally take? Also, are there any limits for absence if you have citizenship?

Thank you so much. We are so looking forward to the end of this looooong process.

[CR001]

1. You need to state absences in the form as it asks. Therr is no absence limit for spouse visa holders. And yes, they check the stamps as she has to scan and upload all her stamped and biometric passport pages with her application. Yes they do have access to the airline advance passenger I formation and the immigration officers information. She can apply no sooner than within 28 days before the 5th anniversary of the date she entered the UK in a spouse visa ( not a 6 months fiance visa as this doesn't count).

2. You are required to provide proof of cohabitation from 3 to 6 sources in both names for the 2 years immediately preceding the date of ilr application. Yes, they have access to all civil and government department databases.

3. Yes, if she meets all the requirements to apply based on 3 years residence. Yes there are absence limits, no more than 270 days in the 3 years preceding date of application and no more than 90 days in the final 12 months before application date. There is also a mandatory requirement that she must have been physically present in the UK at the start of the qualifying period. It can take anywhere from 2 months to 6 months for the naturalisation approval. Then the ceremony comes after that and depends on how long the wait is with the council. Only once she has attended her ceremony, can she apply for a passport.