Naturalisation caseworker guidance wrote:
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Where the applicant has absences of between 480-900 for applications under section 6(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981,... and otherwise meets the requirements you must only consider exercising discretion where the applicant has established their home, employment, family and finances in the UK,
and one or more of the following applies:
• at least 2 years residence (for applications under section 6(1)),..., without substantial absences immediately prior to the beginning of the qualifying period. If the period of absence is greater than 730 days (for section 6(1))...the period of residence must be at least 3 or 2 years respectively
• the excess absences are the result of:
o postings abroad in Crown service under the UK government or in service designated under section 2(3) of the British Nationality act 1981.
o accompanying a British citizen spouse or civil partner on an appointment overseas
• the excess absences were an unavoidable consequence of the nature of the applicant’s career, such as a merchant seaman or employment with a
multinational company based in the UK with frequent travel abroad
• exceptionally compelling reasons of an occupational or compassionate nature to justify naturalisation now, such as a firm job offer where British citizenship is a statutory or mandatory requirement
• the excess absences were because the applicant was unable to return to the UK because of global pandemic.
Where an applicant’s absences exceed those covered above it is highly unlikely that discretion would be appropriate. You should normally refuse the application and advise them to re-apply when they are able to bring themselves with the statutory requirements, unless there are specific circumstances that warrant exceptional consideration at a senior level.
