last 12 months criteria for naturalisation

[sammie007]

Hi there,

I received my ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) on 15 February 2015. Thereafter, I was out of U.K from 7th April 2015 and came back on 7th Oct 2015 (182 Days) for personal reasons.

I match all the other criteria required for naturalization. I had the follow question regarding one of the criteria ‘that you cannot be out of the country for more than 90 days in the last 12 months prior to your application’:

Question : I was back in country on 7th Oct 2015, so rather than applying for naturalization on 7th Oct 2016, can I apply on 7th July 2016 (a few days more or less depending on what equates to 90 days) and count the 90 days as part of my leave that I had between 7th April 2015 to 7th Oct 2015?

Has any one done this before?

Your guidance will be much appreciated

Thanks,
Sam

[secret.simon]

Your approach is doable, though I would tend towards caution and apply closer to October 2016. The fewer the days of absence in the year, the better. Bear in mind the 450 days in five years requirement too.

Remember that there is a non-negotiable requirement to physically be in the UK exactly five years to the day before the date of application. Make sure you meet that requirement. There is no discretion on that.