ILR since 2000. When exactly is the QP to for naturalisation

[wahg]

Hi.

This SHOULD be clear from the Home Office (HO). But, alas, it is not.

I have held Indefinite Leave to Remain since 2000. And am finally getting around to applying for UK citizenship. (I regret not doing it 10 years ago when it cost a third of what it costs now!)

cannot figure out what 5-year period constituents the Qualifying Period (QP).

HO sources are possibly misleading or unclear. On the one hand, they say at the time of applying for citizenship one "should not have been absent for more than 90 days in the last 12 months." But then they talk about another time variable related to "the final 12 months of your qualifying period." Are these two things one and the same, or two distinct time periods they examine?

Presumably one's QP starts when the applicant received ILR, correct? In my case, my Qualifying Period is 2000-2005.

So, is it thatt:

A/ The applicant for citizenship must show they were not absent more than 90 days both in the last 12 months AND during a the Qualifying Period (which, in my case, is 10 years ago)

-or-

B/ It is the only 5 year Qualifying Period that is under scrutiny.

I presume it is . But I hope not, because in the last year I have been out of the UK for 120 days. 1

Does my 16 years of ILR not matter? For 14 of those years I was never out of the UK for more than 25 days in any given year-period! It just so happens that this past year-period I was away a lot.

Thank you!
Wahg

[vinny]

The appropriate start date of the qualifying period is calculated backwards, from the date of the naturalisation application.

[WR1]

Hi.

This SHOULD be clear from the Home Office (HO). But, alas, it is not.

I have held Indefinite Leave to Remain since 2000. And am finally getting around to applying for UK citizenship. (I regret not doing it 10 years ago when it cost a third of what it costs now!)

I beleive the cost was a tenth back then of what it costs now. Around 2005-2006, it was £268, so in 2000, i would guess it was probably around the £150-£200 mark (used to be free a long time ago). Currently its at £1005 and the proposed fee from April 2016 hikes it up to £1236.

Not to mention there were no requirements for Life in the UK test and English B1 either...