Absence calculator
What effect will absences from the UK have on my legal status?
We have created two useful tools for the most commonly asked questions regarding absences from the UK and how these impact on EU citizens' immigration status.
- a simple quiz which asks a few yes/no questions to work out whether you can get settled status in the future
- an Excel absence calculator which allows you to enter trips abroad and calculates your 'rolling annual' absence
Continuity of residence
The words "Continuous residence", or "continuity of residence" are used throughout the EU Settlement Scheme immigration rules.
Basically it means living in the UK. However, too much absence from the UK can break continuity of residence.
The rules are different depending on whether you are applying to the EU Settlement Scheme, or for British citizenship.
EU Settlement Scheme
You are allowed six months’ absence (or a one-off absence of up to 12 months*) from the UK out of any 12 month period before breaking your continuous residence.
‘Six months’ actually translates to 180 days, rather than six calendar months. (Though see this useful article on the FreeMovement website which gives more details).
The ‘out of any 12 month period’ is trickier to calculate than you might think, because you really do have to look at any 12 month period, not just checking each calendar year.
For example, if you are away for 4 months between August and November in one year, and then 3 months from February to April the next, you might think that you didn’t break your continuity of residence. Unfortunately you did, because you were away for 7 months between July of the first year and July of the second.
To help you calculate your greatest total absence in any rolling 12-month period, we have created an ‘absence calculator’ for you. Clicking the download button will automatically download an Excel file. Open it and enter your absence dates.
For best usability, we recommend you do this on a laptop/computer that has Excel installed. Please note the3million cannot be held responsible for any errors in this calculator, or any decisions taken as a result of using it. If you are in any doubt, please seek legal advice.
* A one-off absence of up to 12 months is allowed for some specific reasons (some examples are pregnancy, childbirth, serious illness, compulsory military services). See the Home Office Covid-19 guidance for the EU Settlement Scheme. In some cases an Covid-19 related absence of more than 12 months is also allowed - see the guidance for more details.
VERY IMPORTANT: To be eligible for settled status, you normally need to show five years’ continuous residence which needs to have started before 31 December 2020. This means you cannot break your continuity of residence, come back to the UK after 1 January 2021 to restart your continuity of residence and apply for settled status once you reach five years. Your pre-settled status will have expired before you are able to get to five years of continuous residence, and you will not be able to renew your pre-settled status. Instead you will then have look at the UK’s immigration rules outside of the EU Settlement Scheme.
IF YOU DO HAVE SETTLED STATUS: You can then be out of the UK for 5 years (4 years if you are Swiss) without losing your status. Returning to the UK for visits will 'reset the clock' so you can be away for a further 5 (or 4 if you are Swiss) years - make sure you carefully keep the evidence of returning to the UK! See also our FAQ 'I have settled status but left the UK. How long can I be away without losing my status?'
Covid absences could not break "continuous residence"
Thanks to the work of the charity Here for Good, the Home Office has now updated their EUSS Covid-19 Guidance:
Absences longer than 12 months for COVID-19 reasons will not break "continuous residence".
Great for those EU citizens affected who will be able to:
- Re-apply for pre-settled status build-up residence for settled status;
- Apply for pre-settled for the 1st time if they were resident in the UK before 2021 but thought they didn't qualify because of the old absence rule.
British citizenship
The requirements for applying for British citizenship are stricter than for the EU Settlement Scheme.
Generally, to apply for naturalisation as a British citizen, you need to prove 5 years’ residence without gaps outside the UK of more than a 450 days in total, and that you were not absent for more than 90 days in the last year before application.
If you are married to a British citizen, you need to prove 3 years' residence without gaps of more than 270 days in total, and again that you were not absent for more than 90 days in the final year.
