Citizenship Application - Absence in last 12 months

[a66013]

Hi,

I got my British Citizenship in 2023 through the 5 year route (ILR) and my wife moved to the UK in 2021 and I am preparing her ILR application which plan to submit in April 2026.
If her ILR application is successful, she will be able to submit the British Citizenship application straight-away. However, I have questions around the 270 days of absence in the last 3 years + 90 days of absence in the last 12 months. For the last 12 months if ILR approved in April 2026, she was not in the UK for 140 days due to baby delivery in her home country. We don't have family support here so we decided to have the baby delivery in her home country.

1. I am planning to provide the following evidence, please advise whether they are enough? is it a high risk that this application would be refused?
- pregnancy / birth records
- a short statement explaining why family support in Taiwan was needed
- proof that her settled life is in the UK, such as tenancy/mortgage, employment, bank activity, council tax/utility records, and evidence of returning to the UK as soon as reasonably possible

2. Should I wait until the 90 days of last 12 months is clear? That would be December 2026 which is totally a 8 months later. And I also don't need to pay for priority service for her ILR application as there is no rush to apply the British Citizenship once ILR approved...

Please advise.Thanks

[a66013]

Would there be anyone can help on this please? thank you.

[alterhase58]

Hi,

I got my British Citizenship in 2023 through the 5 year route (ILR) and my wife moved to the UK in 2021 and I am preparing her ILR application which plan to submit in April 2026.
If her ILR application is successful, she will be able to submit the British Citizenship application straight-away. However, I have questions around the 270 days of absence in the last 3 years + 90 days of absence in the last 12 months. For the last 12 months if ILR approved in April 2026, she was not in the UK for 140 days due to baby delivery in her home country. We don't have family support here so we decided to have the baby delivery in her home country.

1. I am planning to provide the following evidence, please advise whether they are enough? is it a high risk that this application would be refused?
- pregnancy / birth records
- a short statement explaining why family support in Taiwan was needed
- proof that her settled life is in the UK, such as tenancy/mortgage, employment, bank activity, council tax/utility records, and evidence of returning to the UK as soon as reasonably possible
I'm assuming you have read the guidance and you are preparing accordingly.
Couldn't say for certain this would be an ouright refusal, or otherwise. Your explanations and documentation should help. Again couldn't say for sure.
2. Should I wait until the 90 days of last 12 months is clear? That would be December 2026 which is totally a 8 months later. And I also don't need to pay for priority service for her ILR application as there is no rush to apply the British Citizenship once ILR approved...
This is something I normally recommend, wait til the absences are down to 100 or a few over. Then you save yourself stressing over it.
Please advise.Thanks

[a66013]

Hi,

I got my British Citizenship in 2023 through the 5 year route (ILR) and my wife moved to the UK in 2021 and I am preparing her ILR application which plan to submit in April 2026.
If her ILR application is successful, she will be able to submit the British Citizenship application straight-away. However, I have questions around the 270 days of absence in the last 3 years + 90 days of absence in the last 12 months. For the last 12 months if ILR approved in April 2026, she was not in the UK for 140 days due to baby delivery in her home country. We don't have family support here so we decided to have the baby delivery in her home country.

1. I am planning to provide the following evidence, please advise whether they are enough? is it a high risk that this application would be refused?
- pregnancy / birth records
- a short statement explaining why family support in Taiwan was needed
- proof that her settled life is in the UK, such as tenancy/mortgage, employment, bank activity, council tax/utility records, and evidence of returning to the UK as soon as reasonably possible
I'm assuming you have read the guidance and you are preparing accordingly.
Couldn't say for certain this would be an ouright refusal, or otherwise. Your explanations and documentation should help. Again couldn't say for sure.
2. Should I wait until the 90 days of last 12 months is clear? That would be December 2026 which is totally a 8 months later. And I also don't need to pay for priority service for her ILR application as there is no rush to apply the British Citizenship once ILR approved...
This is something I normally recommend, wait til the absences are down to 100 or a few over. Then you save yourself stressing over it.
Please advise.Thanks

Thank you for your reply. I try to search if there is any successful cases in this forum and it seems rare to find someone with similar situation.

[lolo2]

When the absences in the final year are between 100 and 180 days, the applicant can ask for discretion if they demonstrate strong ties to the UK.

Read: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... final-year