150 days absence in last year for Naturalization.

[tripas33]

Dear Friends,
I am looking forward to applying for British Citizenship by naturalization.
I have been on ILR for more than a year now.
Only issue I can think about in my case is absence of 150 days in my last year of the 5 year period.
I was going through the guidebook on requirements for naturalization and it says they do consider absence upto 179 days. Below is the excerpt from the guide book.

Total number of absences normally disregarded only if all other requirements are met and: 101-179 days
a) you have demonstrated links with the UK through presence of family, and established home and a substantial part of your estate.

I think I meet the requirements for extended absence , would be great if someone can provide more clarity on my case.Below are the details...

through presence of family : My wife is in UK on settlement visa.
established home : I have been in UK for more than 7 years and renting a flat for my wife and myself.
substantial part of your estate :I am looking to buy a flat in UK for the same all my savings are in UK.I have a limited company registered in UK which has been active for past 4 years.

Do you think with above answers to the conditions , I have a valid case to apply for BC ?

Thanks

[CR001]

No, you are misunderstanding the estate requirement

Your spouse is not British, you do not own a property, many people have limited companies.

Any reason you cannot wait just two months to bring the absence closer to the limit before applying?

[tripas33]

No, you are misunderstanding the estate requirement

Your spouse is not British, you do not own a property, many people have limited companies.

Any reason you cannot wait just two months to bring the absence closer to the limit before applying?

Hello CR001,

I was away from UK for 100 days at a stretch so I will have to wait till September 2016 to bring the absence to 90 day limit.
Another reason is due to travelling nature of my work and also due to my parents back home I have to travel out of UK hence I can't guarantee if I can keep my absence to 90 days limit.

Thanks.,

[CR001]

What are your travel dates and days away in the last 12 months (counting backwards from today)

[tripas33]

What are your travel dates and days away in the last 12 months (counting backwards from today)

Hi,

Absence in the last year.

Away from UK : 6th May 2015 to 30th Aug 2015 ( for training and marriage )
Away from UK : 6th Nov 2015 to 26th Nov 2015 (official trip)

Thanks,

[noajthan]

No, you are misunderstanding the estate requirement

Your spouse is not British, you do not own a property, many people have limited companies.

Any reason you cannot wait just two months to bring the absence closer to the limit before applying?

Hello CR001,

I was away from UK for 100 days at a stretch so I will have to wait till September 2016 to bring the absence to 90 day limit.
Another reason is due to travelling nature of my work and also due to my parents back home I have to travel out of UK hence I can't guarantee if I can keep my absence to 90 days limit.

Thanks.,

Best advice is as above;
ie to defer your application to give yourself a safety margin on your absences in the immediate 12 months before date of application.

In immigration/naturalisation terms the reasons for travel you have described are ordinary reasons, not exceptional or compelling reasons;
(however important they may be from a personal & human viewpoint).
So they are not good enough for major exceptions to be made.

From a HO official's point of view 'rules is rules'.

Deferring your application by an appropriate amount of time is the most prudent way to deny the HO 'wriggle room'.
If you can position yourself such that you don't rely on HO discretion it is better for you (ie less risk to your application & fee).

[tripas33]

Agreed with your point.
But like I said I can't guarantee my absence less than 90 days due to travelling nature of work and personal commitments back at home country hence I am thinking to apply under discretion.

Can you tell me , what can I do to make my case stronger considering the rule in the guidance notes as below and what is the real meaning for this rule ?

Total number of absences normally disregarded only if all other requirements are met and: 101-179 days
a) you have demonstrated links with the UK through presence of family, and established home and a substantial part of your estate.

I my case my wife and I am employed in UK.
I am looking to buy a home in UK.
I have been in UK for more than 7 years.

Thanks.

[TheMouseReturns]

Can you tell me , what can I do to make my case stronger considering the rule in the guidance notes as below and what is the real meaning for this rule ?

To make your case stronger, then absences from the UK should be within the allowable limit.

A reason for this can be found in the question "Please tell us in which country you intend to have your main home if you are naturalised". If a person is unable to be in the UK within the naturalisation limits, then the question must be raised how that person can intend on having their main home in the UK once naturalised.

If you don't meet the requirements for naturalisation, then you can simply remain with ILR. ILR allows up to 2 years absence as long as you return to live in the UK after any absence.

[noajthan]

Agreed with your point.
But like I said I can't guarantee my absence less than 90 days due to travelling nature of work and personal commitments back at home country hence I am thinking to apply under discretion.

Can you tell me , what can I do to make my case stronger considering the rule in the guidance notes as below and what is the real meaning for this rule ?

...

Thanks.

Time spent in UK is not really an issue. It's more about where your future lies.
The paragraph is about demonstrating a level of commitments and integration within UK.

If your spouse is not yet a British citizen and you currently do not own property in UK then it does not demonstrate that a substantial part of your 'estate' lies in UK;
(especially if you do not have other British citizen family members in UK).

This is why it may be prudent not to rely on discretion.

To increase your portion of estate in UK you could work towards a situation where wife is a citizen, you own a main family property & hold other assets in UK (& etc).

If all this estate-building takes longer than 2 or 3 months its clear that simply deferring the application for 3 or 4 months will be much more straightforward (& probably quickest route).

[tripas33]

Hello CR001,

I have booked a house in UK for buying. Do you think I got a case now to apply for BC with 150 days absence ?

Thanks.

[geriatrix]

How will you convince HO that you will not cancel the booking after being naturalised?

[tripas33]

How will you convince HO that you will not cancel the booking after being naturalised?

I have made the payment and processed the mortgage. I have booked the property for buying and make UK my home and not just for BC application.Like I said I can't guarantee maximum days of 90 days absence due to travelling nature of my work hence I want to apply for BC which could make travelling easier without keeping count of days outside UK. Do you think , I can now apply hoping a positive answer on my application ?

Thanks.

[geriatrix]

You will not own the property until completion when the keys are handed to you. It is only after that that land registry will show you as the owner of a property in UK.
Until then it is nothing but paper-pushing in pursuit of an "intention" (that you can still backout from).

Can you defer your application until then? Because only then your request for discretion to be in your favor may carry some weight ... not before then, IMHO.