Tier 2 Dep - ILR and Citizenship query for current situation

[virtual7887]

The situation :
I am currently on tier 2 (General) visa.
Going by the plan, I assume that
[*] I will get ILR by Oct 2018 (file year rule) and
[*] I will get british passport by Oct 2019

My spouse(wife) got the tier 2 dependant partner visa on 20 Dec 2014 until sept 2016 and was recently renewed to another 3 years until sept 2019.

Below are the travel dates of my wife out and into the UK since she first got the visa,

from | to | days outside UK
21-Dec-14 | 30-Jan-15 | 41
5-Jan-16 | 29-Jan-16 | 25
4-Sep-16 | 30-Apr-17 | 239
Total 305

The questions:
The continous periods table assuming application made for ILR is made on 21st Dec 2019 for my wife is as below,

year number | Start | End | days outside UK
year 1 | 21-Dec-18 | 20-Dec-19 | 0 (in the future and will be less then 180 days)
year 2 | 21-Dec-17 | 20-Dec-18 | 0 (in the future and will be less then 180 days)
year 3 | 21-Dec-16 | 20-Dec-17 | 129
year 4 | 21-Dec-15 | 20-Dec-16 | 135
year 5 | 21-Dec-14 | 20-Dec-15 | 41

1. As you can see above, in each continuous year she spent less that 180 days outside UK.
But, she will end up with 180+ days outside UK from 4-Sep-16 to 30-Apr-17 (which fall in 2 different continuous periods - year 3 and year 4). Is this ok to still be eligible for ILR?
This is very important for me to know as we can prepone her ticket to come into UK earlier than 30-Apr-17.

2.Also, If she gets an ILR 31 Dec 2019, When will she be eligible for british passport ? [assuming I will already be a british citizen by Oct 2019]
Is the one year wait after ILR and the rule of only 90 days outside UK applicable to even spouses, as it will be for me?

The answers to the above questions are very valuable to me, to plan our travel in the coming years.
So, the guidance and help will be very much appreciated.

[CR001]

1. As you can see above, in each continuous year she spent less that 180 days outside UK.
But, she will end up with 180+ days outside UK from 4-Sep-16 to 30-Apr-17 (which fall in 2 different continuous periods - year 3 and year 4). Is this ok to still be eligible for ILR?
This is very important for me to know as we can prepone her ticket to come into UK earlier than 30-Apr-17.

PBS Dependents do not have the same absence limit as PBS main applicants. There is no limit but absences should be limited and for good reason. Should not be an issue for ILR provided you can submit evidence of subsisting marriage and communication while she has been away.

2.Also, If she gets an ILR 31 Dec 2019, When will she be eligible for british passport ? [assuming I will already be a british citizen by Oct 2019]
Is the one year wait after ILR and the rule of only 90 days outside UK applicable to even spouses, as it will be for me?

If you are BC, once she gets ILR she can apply for BC naturalisation (passport comes after this) immediately, provided she meets ALL the requirements to apply for BC under section 6(2) of BNA as the spouse of BC. If applying as spouse of BC, the residence requirement is 3 years and the absence limit is 270 days in the 3 years and 90 days in the final 12 months. If you are not BC, then she will have to wait for 1 year on ILR.

[virtual7887]

Hi CR001,

Many Thanks for your response. A couple of further clarifications please,

PBS Dependents do not have the same absence limit as PBS main applicants. There is no limit but absences should be limited and for good reason. Should not be an issue for ILR provided you can submit evidence of subsisting marriage and communication while she has been away.

Could you please refer to the section where it says there is no limit for absences for spouses?
I struggled but could not find this clarity anywhere in the documentation.

What will be an evidence of communication while she is away?
I do not know how to prove this, do I have to record calls or can it be simpler than that? I am confused.

If you are BC, once she gets ILR she can apply for BC naturalisation (passport comes after this) immediately, provided she meets ALL the requirements to apply for BC under section 6(2) of BNA as the spouse of BC. If applying as spouse of BC, the residence requirement is 3 years and the absence limit is 270 days in the 3 years and 90 days in the final 12 months. If you are not BC, then she will have to wait for 1 year on ILR.

Does that mean she can have 89 days in final 12 months and no days in previous 12 months and 180 days in the even previous 12 months?

Thank you.

[CR001]

You won't find anything relating to PBS Dependent absence limits because there isn't any. She obviously cannot live in her home country and only visit the UK and then expect to get ILR.

Evidence of communication, whatsapp and skype screen shots, etc.

Does that mean she can have 89 days in final 12 months and no days in previous 12 months and 180 days in the even previous 12 months?

For British Citizenship ONLY, she is allowed 270 days absence in the WHOLE 3 years immediately prior to applying and 90 days absence in the FINAL 12 months. The 90 days is INCLUDED in the total of 270. It is not 180 days per year.