In that time we've also had a new addition to our family!
Aww, congratulations!
![[smiley=balloon.gif]](https://www.talk.uk-yankee.com/Smileys/classic/balloon.gif "Balloon")
My wife is planning to go and stay with her parents abroad for a few months just so she could have some support with the baby from my in laws, and to make the most of the year off with maternity leave. So we're thinking she would go in December time and I would then join her in February. I'm not able to go now due to work commitments but I would be able to get two months paternity leave in February and we'd return as a family in at the end of March/early April.
Would this cause an issue when we apply for ILR? In the past I know some people have mentioned that there was a 180 day limit but I understand this doesn't apply to the year 5 year spouse visa route, if I'm not mistaken.
No, there is no formal limit on the amount of time you can be outside the UK when applying for ILR as the spouse of a UK citizen. You do; however, need to demonstrate that you will continue to live together permanently in the UK, and have been doing so since the grant of the last visa unless there has been an exceptional reason. So, this is really only an issue if you plan on spending significant time outside the UK and/or apart. Even then, if I recall correctly, it's not an automatic refusal, but just that the application will likely require a lot more evidence to justify/explain the time spent abroad and/or apart.
When applying for UK citizenship; however, there are limits on the amount of time allowed outside the UK proceeding the application. If married to a UK citizen, the applicant must have not spent more than:
- 90 days outside the UK in the 12 months up to the application; and,
- 270 days in total outside the UK in the 3 years up to the application
So, if she's planning on applying for UK citizenship, she may have to delay that application until she's back in the UK and meets the residency requirements again. But there's no deadline to apply once she has ILR, so that application can be done whenever she's ready.
I just wanted to check if there would be an issue with us being apart for a couple of months? We've not travelled since Covid and the wife has had about 3 short trips where she has travelled on her own since she had the spouse visa approved and entered the UK in 2017.
Shouldn't be an issue for just a few months while she's visiting her family on holiday, and especially if you join her for some time before both returning to the UK.
Being outside the UK and apart from each other is problematic when it's overly prolonged without good reason (e.g., she spends 9 months out of the year outside the UK and you remain in the UK).
