One of the requirements for applying for British citizenship through naturalization is:

During the last five years you must not have been outside the United Kingdom for more than 450 days (about 15 months);

How is that proven as an EU citizen? Does the government already automatically know how long you stayed in the UK for (using their airport records) if you're a EU student?

Or do you need to show your flight tickets?

Please explain to me how this process works exactly. Thanks!


You will need to show evidence of your travels. The government will not necessarily check your immigration records automatically, though you may want to file a subject access request to see what immigration records they do have for you. To ensure that the records are considered with your application, you should include a copy with the application.

In addition to evidence of the trips you took outside the UK, you should consider providing evidence of your presence in the UK, which is, after all, what you are seeking to prove. If you can get attendance records from your school, for example, that could be useful.

  • Thank you for your answer! So you're suggesting I should give my immigration records when applying for citizenship? – user17501 Jun 24 at 17:24
  • Even things like rental agreements or utility bills for residences in the UK count as evidence. – DJClayworth Jun 24 at 18:53
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    @DJClayworth yes indeed. I was trying to think of a way to work that into the answer. But one has to be careful: such evidence establishes that the applicant has maintained a residence in the UK but it does not necessarily establish when she was actually present in it (or even if she was using it at all). – phoog Jun 24 at 19:09
  • It's not proof, but it is evidence. And my guess is that the more evidence you send the more convinced they will be. Even records of when you were absent aren't proof, because you could have decided not to tell them about one big long trip. My guess is that they ask you to tell them when you were away, and if their records don't contradict they will believe you, and if they find evidence of a trip you didn't own up to they will slam you with misrepresentation – DJClayworth Jun 24 at 19:17
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    @DJClayworth that seems about right, though with some of the Home Office horror stories I've seen, I would be worried if I were applying for naturalization. I suppose those stories are less common than they might seem from reading the news, but I don't think I would chance an application without either engaging professional support or doing a good deal of research on my own (i.e., trying to find cases where this issue came up and judging the strength of my own evidence in that light). – phoog Jun 24 at 19:28

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