UK Citizenship — Time Away in the Last Year: the rule, how days are counted, examples

Summary

In the 12 months before you apply for British citizenship by naturalisation, you must not have been outside the UK for more than 90 days. This limit is the same on the 5-year route and on the 3-year route for people married to a British citizen. It applies together with the total limit for the full period. The Home Office normally accepts up to 100 days, and more only for special reasons. If you are over, you can wait until old trips fall out of the 12 months.

Limit: 90 days outside the UK
Period: The 12 months that end on the day your application is received
A day counts when: You are outside the UK for the whole day. Travel days do not count
Normally accepted: Up to 100 days, by Home Office discretion
Law: British Nationality Act 1981, Schedule 1, paragraphs 1(2)(b) and 3(b)
Run by: The Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration)

Who it applies to

People who have indefinite leave to remain or settled status and plan to apply for British citizenship in the next months.
People who took a long trip, such as a stay of two months with family abroad, in the year before they want to apply.
People married to a British citizen, whose total limit is different but whose last-year limit is the same 90 days.
People who travel often for work and need to choose an application date that keeps the last 12 months under the limit.

The rule

The residence requirements for naturalisation are in Schedule 1 of the British Nationality Act 1981. Paragraph 1(2)(b) says that the number of days on which you were absent from the UK in the 12 months that end on the date of your application must not be more than 90. Paragraph 3(b) sets the same 90 days for people who apply under section 6(2) as the husband, wife or civil partner of a British citizen.

This limit never stands alone. On the 5-year route you must also have no more than 450 days away in the full 5 years, which is the sister tracker UK Citizenship - Time Away in 5 Years. On the 3-year route the total is 270 days in 3 years. You must also have been in the UK on the first day of the full period.

The last 12 months matter for a second reason. On the 5-year route, paragraph 1(2)(c) says you must not have been under any time limit on your stay at any time in those 12 months. That is why most people wait 12 months after they get indefinite leave to remain or settled status. People married to a British citizen only need to be free of time limits on the day they apply.

The Home Secretary can accept more than 90 days (paragraph 2). The Home Office guidance gives three bands. Up to 100 days is normally accepted. From 101 to 179 days can be accepted only in limited cases, for example Crown service or compelling reasons of work or family, and your links to the UK over the full period are looked at. More than 180 days is accepted only in the most exceptional circumstances. The Home Office looks at the whole application.

Why it exists

The total limit over 5 years shows that you lived in the UK in the past. The limit for the last 12 months shows that you still live there now, at the moment you ask to become a citizen. The state does not want to give citizenship to a person who has already moved away. Because the limit is low, one long trip can be enough to go over it.

Counting the days

You count the whole days you were outside the UK in the 12 months that end on the day the Home Office receives your application. The day you leave and the day you return are not counted.

Choose the day your application will be received. Go back 12 months and add one day: this is the first day of the period.
List every trip abroad that falls inside the period, with the date you left and the date you came back.
For a trip that started before the period, count only the days that fall inside it.
For each trip, count the days between the two travel dates. A trip from 3 May to 10 May is 6 days.
Add the trips together. If the total is 90 or lower, the limit is met. If it is higher, find the later date on which enough old days have left the period.

How Countr counts it. Countr counts whole days outside the UK in the 12 months that end today and compares them with 90. It measures as if you applied today, so the number goes down when an old trip leaves the period. It warns you 15 days before the limit. The sister tracker checks 450 days in 5 years. If you are married to a British citizen, your total limit is 270 days in 3 years, and the 5-year tracker shows more room than you have, but this 90-day tracker is right for you too. Days in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man count as days in the UK. Countr does not apply the discretion for up to 100 days. Only days the app can see count as days away. If your photos have big gaps, your real time away can be higher.

Track UK Citizenship — Time Away in the Last Year on your phone.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

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Examples

Three trips that fit

Amara's application is received on 1 November 2026, so her last 12 months run from 2 November 2025 to 1 November 2026. She was away for 20 whole days in December 2025, 35 whole days in April and May 2026, and 30 whole days in August 2026. The total is 85 days. She is under the limit of 90 and meets this part of the test.

Six days over

Daniel counts 96 whole days away in the 12 months before his planned application. That is over the legal limit of 90. The Home Office guidance says up to 100 days is normally accepted, so his application can still succeed, but this is a discretion. If he does not want to depend on it, he can apply later, when 6 or more of the old days are outside the 12 months.

Waiting moves a long trip out of the period

Mei left the UK on 5 November 2025 and came back on 26 December 2025. That is 50 whole days, from 6 November to 25 December. She has 60 more days away in 2026. If her application is received on 1 November 2026, the period starts on 2 November 2025 and holds 110 days. If it is received on 26 December 2026, the period starts on 27 December 2025. The long trip is now outside, and the total is 60, as long as she does not travel again.

Exceptions

Up to 100 days in the last 12 months is normally accepted by the Home Office when you meet the other requirements.
From 101 to 179 days can be accepted in limited cases, such as Crown service or compelling reasons of work or family, when you also show strong links to the UK.
More than 180 days is accepted only in the most exceptional circumstances.
Days in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not absences, because the Act treats them as part of the United Kingdom (section 50(1)).
People married to a British citizen have the same 90 days, but they do not need 12 months without a time limit on their stay before they apply.
Some people in Crown service or in the armed forces abroad are treated differently, and their time away can be accepted.

Common misconceptions

“If I am under 450 days in total, the last year does not matter.”: Both limits apply together. You can have only 150 days away in 5 years and still fail, because 95 of them are in the last 12 months.
“The last year means the last calendar year.”: It is the 12 months that end on the day your application is received. If you apply on 1 November 2026, the period starts on 2 November 2025.
“Partners of British citizens have a lower limit for the last year.”: Their total limit is lower, 270 days in 3 years, but the last-year limit is the same 90 days.
“If I am over 90 days, I must wait a full year.”: You only wait until enough old days leave the 12-month period. If a long trip was 11 months ago, a few weeks can be enough.

Questions and answers

How many days can I travel in the year before I apply for British citizenship?

No more than 90 whole days outside the UK in the 12 months before your application is received. The Home Office normally accepts up to 100, but the limit in the law is 90.

Is the 90 days part of the 450 days or on top of it?

It is part of it. The days in your last 12 months are also counted inside the 5-year total. You must be at 90 or lower for the last 12 months and at 450 or lower for the 5 years.

Do the day I leave and the day I return count?

No. Only whole days outside the UK count. The Home Office guidance gives the example of leaving on 22 September and returning on 23 September, which is not an absence.

Can I travel after I send my application?

The 90-day limit is measured up to the date of your application, so trips after that date are not in this count. The law also asks that you intend to keep your main home in the UK, so a move abroad right after you apply can raise questions.

What if my trip started before the 12 months and ended inside them?

Only the days that fall inside the 12 months count for this limit. The earlier days still count for the 5-year total.

Why do people wait 12 months after indefinite leave to remain before they apply?

On the 5-year route the law says you must have been free of any time limit on your stay for the 12 months before you apply. That is the same 12 months in which the 90-day limit is counted.

Sources

Other rules for United Kingdom

EU Settled Status — Keeping It 1,825 days away in one trip
UK Citizenship — Time Away in 5 Years 450 days away in any 5 years
UK Settlement (ILR) — Getting It Your 3, 5 or 10 qualifying years, with at most 180 days away in any 12 months. Shows the day you can apply.
UK Settlement (ILR) — Keeping It 729 days away in one trip
UK Tax Residence (SRT) 15, 45, 90, 120 or 182 midnights in each tax year from 6 April
UK Visitor Visa or Visa-Free Visit 184 days in one visit

See all trackers

This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.