Residency requirement: Visa expire outside UK in last 5 year

[hbf81]

Hi

My wife granted ILR in May 2015 and now going to apply for Citizenship in May 2016.

And for 5 years residency requirement;she was in UK in May 2011 on student visa. She went to Pakistan in September 2011, a week before her student visa expiry date.

Then she successfully applied for fresh entry clearance in February 2012 as my dependent ( PSW dependent) and re-enters in UK in March 2012; total 168 days outside UK.

Now my only question is that because of my wife visa expired outside UK in last 5 years, does that time spent in Pakistan would count in 5 years residence period ?

Note: Her total absence outside UK since in last 5 years is not more than 300 days including those 168 days I have mentioned above.

[geriatrix]

Query Irrelevant to naturalisation requirements, hence no effect.
Moreover, if you are a British citizen then your wife doesn't need to fulfill "5 years" residency requirement but only "3 years". She should apply under section 6(2).

[hbf81]

Thanks for reply.

Just to clarify I am not British, we both, husband and wife got ILRs.

I didn't get why my query is irrelevant!
5 years residence is the key requirement for citizenship!

But it would be interesting that a person is abroad, without a UK visa and still that time can counts in the 5 years residency requirements

[secret.simon]

First things first;
Naturalisation is granted under different rules, made under different laws, by different teams in the Home Office, from immigration. So, don't assume that the rules are similar or even related.

The rules for naturalisation require
a) Good character (as defined by the SSHD).
b) Settled status (ILR/PR) in the UK.
c) Five years residence in the UK with no more than 540 days absence in the five years and no more than 90 days absence in the year immediately preceding the application
d) Physical presence in the UK to the day five years prior to the application.

She is allowed 540 days of absence from the UK in the five years (there is no requirement that she needs to have held a UK visa throughout that period) and provided that she is under that limit and provided that your wife was not illegally in the UK at any time in the past ten years, I see no reason for her naturalisation application to fail (assuming it is submitted before September 2016).