Hi can you make your question bit clear, have you been any where outside uk since 10 / 03 / 2002 ?

I might be wrong but in my opinion your stay will start from the day you return on 10/03/2002.  I am also not sure of what status you had at that time and why you spent more then 4 months in your country. I always said that there are exceptions and you do need professional(Wait for Paul suggestions) opinion for that because all cases are different and it does matter why you were out for that long.

So if you were settled here after 10/03/2002 (Meaning you had work permit, student etc...) then your stay will count.  If this is the case then all you need is one year of ILR. I think you should wait for March 2007 before applying..

I don't think you need to renew the passport unless you have any plans to travel. Check this with Passport Agency because when I applied, they wanted a valid passport for my British Passport application.

Waheed

Hi,
Thanks for a quick response
I was away for 7 months(Oct 2003 - June 2004) but not more than 450 days in total.
My question is that I qualify based on all the criteria except 1 criteria that I have to be in the country on exactly 5 years before I apply for Naturalisation (see note 3). If I apply say in January I dont meet that criteria as I was not physicaly present in this country

Thanks Waheed for a good point about valid Passport. I will check with them
I was always on work permit. only thing is that i was away for some personal reasons. but that doesnt matter much as i was not away for more than 450 days isnt it.
I know i am a big fool for not applying naturalisation for over a year specially when i was eliible even before this exam came in picture

I dont think that you have to make a big issue of the exam as it will be very easy for you.  I do suggest that you wait till March to apply because the criteria you mentioned is very important and they strictly look at it.

After you return in 2002, you will be completing 5 years in march 2007 and as long as you are not out of the country for more then 90  days in last year, you should be able to qualify.  Wait till March 10 and then apply.

Thanks I will follow your advice
better safe than sorry.
Also the valid passport is a point that otherwise put me in unwanted trouble.
I will get my passport renewed and then apply for naturalisation
thanks once again.
I have dropped a query to ind through email(over phone I got contradacting advise from the staff but as it said there is no proof of tele con. If their suggestion give me advice to apply for naturalisation than i will apply now otherwise i will wait till march.
Aother ques i can apply for naturalisation within 6 months of clearing the test isnt it?
Cheers
Swami

There is discretion for the Home Office to overlook absences from the UK exceeding 450 days in the five years prior to applying for naturalisation, but there is no escaping the requirement that you must have been in the UK on a day precisely five years before the date of application. The Home Office simply have no power to waive this, however deserving the case...

So, March  next year it is, then....

But I should say - and this is not the first time this question has arisen here - that you do not need to  renew your present passport in order still to qualify for naturalisation. Clearly, you won't be able to travel if your passport isn't up to date - and that might or might not be a problem for you -  but you will still be perfectly "legal" if you just let your present passport expire.

hth

paul

Just a quick PS on the question of needing a valid passport in order to apply for a British passport once you qualify. It may be true that the Passport Office generally ask for it but I don't think that a passport that has expired only a few months earlier will cause any great problems. Provided you are still recognisable from your photo, it should be OK.

After all, consider that many refugees, for example, won't have had a valid passport for many years, nor any prospect of getting one from their original country. I think it would be very difficult for the Passport Office to justify refusing a passport to someone who their bosses at the Home Office have only just naturalised....

paul

Hello,
I came to UK on 04/10/2000 went to my home country on 30/09/2001
Came back on 10 / 03 / 2002
I am here for 6 years( 13 months break in 3 span).
I fulfill all the criteria they laid, except for 1.
I have PR for 2+ years
Somewhere I read that if I apply for Naturalisation on 01/12/2006 I have to have in this country on 01/01/2001. Anotherplace I read that if you believe that you have an exception then you can write in writing (home office advisor also told me to fill on page 14)
What do you think Can I apply now or do I have to wait till March 07
My home country passport is expiring on Jan end so if I have to wait till March means I have to apply for passport for 2 months then by the time I get passport apply for Naturalisation. (unnecessary hasstle and waste of money)
On the other hand I do not want to end up in wasting 268£ for not meeting the criteria of 5 years.
What is your advice on this?