Time spent in Channel Islands

[David5516]

Hello.
To get ILR there is a maximum amount of time the holder of a spouse visa can be outside the UK each year. How is time spent in the Channel Islands treated? Is it an absence or is it regarded as if she had remained on the UK mainland?

[secret.simon]

Technically it is an absence from the UK.

The Immigration Act 1971, the law that governs leave to reside in the UK, does not define the term "United Kingdom", but the Interpretation Act 1978 (which provides definitions for terms not specified in Acts of Parliament) states that the United Kingdom consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (i.e. not including the Crown Dependencies such as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man).

The British Nationality Act 1981, on the other hand, explicitly defines “the United Kingdom” as "Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Islands, taken together" ("The Islands" are separately defined as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man).

Therefore time spent in the Channel Islands is an absence from the UK for the purpose of ILR, but counts as time in the UK for the purpose of naturalisation.

Leave under specific parts of the PBS can be aggregated across both the UK and the Channel Islands (and the Isle of Man), but that is because the Immigration Rules make specific provision for that.

Also see this Freedom Of Information request.

[David5516]

Thanks the advice. What a confused system we have!