Days outside the UK for ILR and citizenship

Settlement and citizenship both ask how long you were out of the country, and they count it differently. Mixing the two up is the usual mistake.

This guide explains how the count works, with the official source for every figure. Rules change and your own circumstances matter, so check the source and take decisions to an adviser.

Settlement: 180 days in any 12 months

Many routes to indefinite leave to remain, Skilled Worker among them, need continuous residence. Appendix Continuous Residence of the Immigration Rules says that, to meet it, you must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period.

"Any" matters. It is a rolling year: every 12-month stretch of your qualifying period has to pass. A long trip that straddles two calendar years can break it even if neither calendar year looks bad.

The appendix lists exceptions and older rules for some routes, so read the section for yours.

Citizenship: 450 days in five years, 90 in the last year

For naturalisation after indefinite leave to remain, GOV.UK says you should not have:

• spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the 5 years before your application
• spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months

These are totals over fixed periods that end on your application date. Choosing when to apply changes which trips fall inside them.

Counting it

1. List every trip abroad with the date you left and the date you came back.
2. For settlement, slide a 12-month window along your qualifying period and check that no window holds more than 180 days away.
3. For citizenship, count back 5 years from your planned application date and total the days away, then do the same for the last 12 months.
4. If a total is close, move the application date and count again.

The list is the hard part

The form asks for your absences. GOV.UK says to give as much detail as you can using your own records, such as emails or boarding passes, and that the Home Office will check its own records and fill in gaps.

In Residency

Residency keeps the list as you travel, with dates, and rebuilds earlier trips from your photo library. When you come to apply, the absences are already written down.

Updated 11 November 2026.