Nationality enquires

Hi
I was granted long residence Ilr in October 2022 based on my lawful residence in uk from June 2002 till January 2013.i was absent from uk from January 2013 till March 2022.i came back to uk in March 2022 and got my historic long residence ilr.
Can I apply for citizenship in October 2023.if not when I can apply for citizenship.

You need 5 years residence before you can apply for citizenship. The 5 years legal residence must be immediately before the date you apply for citizenship.

ILR is granted under the Immigration Rules, and the rules for ILR Long Residence allow you to apply for ILR based on any 10 year period of continuous lawful residence.

Naturalisation, on the other hand, is not a part of the immigration pathway, which ends at ILR.

It works backwards from the date of naturalisation application and has absence requirements for the five years (no more than 450 days) and one year (no more than 90 days) period immediately preceding the date if application.

In addition, you need to be physically in the UK exactly five years to the day before the date of naturalisation application.

Given that you only returned to the UK in March 2022, you are looking at a timeframe of March 2027 before applying for naturalisation.

Ok thank you so much .