Short answer: no. In the notorious Appendix FM, which contains the Immigration Rules for spouses and partners, there is no rule that says a person with a spouse or partner visa can’t leave the UK for a certain number of days. But this doesn’t mean that people who take this route can get a visa, rarely visit the UK, and then move here.

For many types of UK immigration, the visa holder (you) can’t be out of the country for more than 180 days in a 12-month period if they want to apply for indefinite leave to remain. The good news is that people with spouse or partner visas don’t have to follow this rule. But a lot of the people are worried that they may have spent too much time outside of the UK don’t seem to know this.

When applying for more time to stay in the UK or indefinite leave through the “spouse route,” Appendix FM does not say how many days you can spend outside of the UK. But this doesn’t mean that the visa holder can just show up in the UK one day a year and stay there the rest of the time. It just means that the couple is fine as long as their absences are for good reasons and fit with their plan to live together permanently in the UK.

What, then, is a good reason? 

Surely subjective, and the Home Office seems to agree. Advice on this is in a document called the Family Policy:

“A good reason could be that the applicant or their partner spent time abroad for work, vacation, training, or school. If the applicant, their partner, or both of them spent most of the time outside of the UK, this could be a sign that they don’t plan to stay together in the UK. Each case must be looked at on its own, taking into account the reasons for travel, the length of time away, and whether or not the applicant and their partner travelled and lived together during that time. These things will have to be weighed against what the rules say.”

If the applicant, their partner or both have spent the majority of the period overseas, there may be reason to doubt that the couple intend to live together permanently in the UK.

Intention to live together in the UK for good
When someone first gets a spouse or partner visa, they will be allowed to stay in the UK for a certain amount of time. This will be for 33 months if you apply from outside the country, or 30 months if you apply in the country.

This first application will only be accepted if the Home Office is sure that the applicant and their partner meet all the requirements, such as wanting to live together permanently in the UK (paragraphs E-ECP.2.10 and E-LTRP.1.10 of Appendix FM).

From there, there are two ways to get “indefinite leave to remain,” which is also called “settlement” or “ILR”: the standard five-year path and the longer ten-year path. The second is for people who have “exceptional circumstances” that are hard to meet. If you want to settle after five years, you only need one visa extension at the halfway point. If you want to settle after ten years, you need three extensions.

When applying to extend a spouse or partner visa or for ILR, the intention to live together (read page 25) in the UK is tested again. This time, officials will look at the couple’s home life in the past and what they plan to do in the future. Paragraph E-LTRP.1.10 says:

The applicant and their partner must intend to live together permanently in the UK and, in any application for further leave to remain as a partner (except where the applicant is in the UK as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner) and in any application for indefinite leave to remain as a partner, the applicant must provide evidence that, since entry clearance as a partner was granted under paragraph D-ECP1.1. or since the last grant of limited leave to remain as a partner, the applicant and their partner have lived together in the UK or there is good reason, consistent with a continuing intention to live together permanently in the UK, for any period in which they have not done so.

Can you spend time together abroad and still show that you want to stay together?

Sure, but…

Normal trips abroad, like vacations, visits to family, work trips, etc., won’t be a problem. However, the Home Office’s policy on family life says that spending a lot of time away from the UK could be a problem:

If the applicant, their partner or both have spent the majority of the period overseas, there may be reason to doubt that the couple intend to live together permanently in the UK.

This doesn’t mean that someone who has lived abroad for a long time, or even most of their life, can’t get an extension or ILR.

The policy goes on to say that “each case must be judged on its own merits, taking into account the reasons for travel, the length of absence, and whether the applicant and their partner travelled and lived together during the time spent outside the UK.”

Keeping in mind the “good reason” and “intention” criteria, I tell clients to keep records of all trips outside of the UK, whether they go with their partner or not. Each trip should have a record of the flight and a reason for it. For example, a family vacation might include plane tickets, hotel reservations, and photos. A business trip could include tickets for a flight and a confirmation of a reservation for the event that was attended. If you’re going on a trip by yourself, keep some way to get in touch. These can be in the form of emails, Whatsapp logs, or FaceTime calls. All of these pieces of evidence can then be put together to make a strong case for the next visa.

After getting the right to stay indefinitely, the visa holder can apply to become a British citizen. If you are still married to a British citizen, you can get this right away. If the marriage ends, there must be a one-year wait after the settlement. When someone wants to become a British citizen, their absences do matter.

If you are applying because you are married to a British citizen, I advised that you can’t have spent more than 270 days outside the UK in the three years before you apply. I strongly advised that you as the visa holder can’t be out of the country for more than 90 days in the year before the application date. In some special cases, the Home Office can use its own judgement, but most people who work in immigration will tell you that it’s never a good idea to depend on this. 

If becoming a citizen is your ultimate goal, it is best to plan ahead and keep track of those days.

If you require help with making spousal visa application from within or outside the UK, or a citizenship application, please get in touch with us at donm@queensparksolicitors.co.uk or queensparksolicitors@gmail.com.