United Kingdom
Naturalisation as the spouse of a British citizen: 270 days in 3 years
A section 6(2) application — made as the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen — has a 3-year qualifying period rather than 5. The guidance names not more than 270 days outside the UK across it, and not more than 90 days in the 12 months ending with the date of application. Only whole days count, and the period starts the day after the application date minus its own length.
What the rule names
Whole days only: the day you left and the day you came back are not counted.
How the count works
- 1A whole day abroad is an absence; the days you leave and return are not.
- 2The 3-year period ends on the date of application and starts the day after that date minus 3 years.
- 3The rule names 270 days across that period, and 90 days across the final 12 months.
- 4There is no separate free-from-immigration-time-restrictions waiting year on this route, but the absence arithmetic below is the same in every respect.
Count your own dates against this rule
Type the trips you already know. The arithmetic happens in this tab, nothing is sent anywhere, and there is no account to make.
What catches people out
- Only whole days count: the day you left and the day you returned are not absences.
- The Home Office publishes your travel history on a subject access request; reconcile this output against it before submitting.
- The qualifying period ends on the date of application and starts the day after that date, minus its own length: a 5-year period ending on 17 September 2026 starts on 18 September 2021.
- The guidance allows discretion over excess absences in some circumstances; the figures here are the reference thresholds only.
The rule in its own words
[section 6(1)] not absent from the UK for more than: 450 days in that 5-year period; 90 days in the period of 12 months ending with the date of application. [section 6(2)] not absent from the UK for more than: 270 days in that 3-year period; 90 days in the period of 12 months ending with the date of application
To identify the start of the qualifying period, you calculate the day after the application date minus the length of the qualifying period
Must not have had more than 90 days outside the UK in the 12-month period before making the application (but see the section on Absences from the UK)
We only count whole days' absences from the UK. We will not count the dates when you leave and enter the UK as absences. For example, if you left the UK on 22 September and returned on 23 September you will not be classed as having been absent from the UK.
Questions people ask about this rule
- How is this different from the standard route?
- Only the period and the larger figure. A section 6(1) application counts 450 days over 5 years; this one counts 270 days over 3. Both name 90 days in the 12 months ending on the date of application, and both count whole days only.
- Which days count as an absence?
- Whole days only. The Form AN guidance: "We only count whole days’ absences from the UK. We will not count the dates when you leave and enter the UK as absences."
- When does the 3-year period start?
- "To identify the start of the qualifying period, you calculate the day after the application date minus the length of the qualifying period." So a 3-year period ending on 17 September 2026 starts on 18 September 2023, one day later than subtracting 3 years from the application date would give you.
- How do I check my travel history against an official record?
- The Home Office holds your own travel history and will give you a copy on a subject access request, free. Ask for it and reconcile any count against it before you submit a form: a record you can produce beats a figure you worked out.
- Will it tell me whether I qualify?
- No. It gives you the count and the figure the rule names, and stops there. Not immigration advice.