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tier-1 wrote:Hello Friends,

I got ILR on 14-Mar-2013 by spending all five years without any break ( except for annual paid leaves) in UK.

If I move to my home country for say an year and then return to UK, Will I still be able to apply for citizenship by living in UK 12 months since the return?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

tier-1 wrote:Hey D4109125,

Many Thanks for reply.

Saw that page. I am aware of the restriction rules that I cant be away for more than two years otherwise I lose my ILR.

Will my absence not be discounted if I am going back to my home country because my wife ( here in UK ) is pregnant and we need help and support from friends/family-member during this stage.

The page you mentioned does say this but it is under "European Economic Area nationals and Swiss nationals" heading.

Please help me by clarifying on this.

Thanks

Discretion on absences from the UK during the residential qualifying period wrote:

If you have been absent for between 301 and 540 days, we will disregard this if you meet all the other requirements and have established your home, family and a large part of your estate here. We would also expect that:
for absences of up to 450 days, you have been resident in the UK for the past four years; or
for absences of more than 450 days, you have been resident in the UK for the past five years; orthe absences occurred because you were serving abroad in Crown service or because your husband, wife or civil partner was serving abroad in Crown or designated service; or
the absences were unavoidable owing to the nature of your work - for example, because you are a merchant seaman or you work for a UK-based business which requires frequent travel abroad; or
there are exceptional or compelling reasons of an occupational or compassionate nature, such as having a firm job offer for which British citizenship is a genuine requirement.

Absences during the final year wrote:
If you have been absent from the UK for more than 180 days in total during the final year, we will only disregard the absence if:
you have met the residence requirements over the qualifying period; and
you have demonstrated a link with the UK by establishing your home, family and a large part of your estate here; and
the absence occurred because you were serving abroad in Crown service, or for a compelling occupational or compassionate reason.

If your absence lasted more than 180 days and you have not met the residence requirements over the qualifying period, we will only consider disregarding the absence in exceptional circumstances.