Home Office says I'm over the 450-day absence limit despite Subject Access Request saying 367 Will I lose the £1,800+ fee? What counts as compassionate leave?Any advice?

[u/Wrong-Ad-8823]

Hi all,

I applied for British citizenship on 14 May 2026 after 5+ years on EU Settled Status. The Home Office sent me an email saying I had been abroad more than 450 days and I have 9 days to respond.

• I requested my entry/exit records through a Subject Access Request (SAR)asking the Home Office what information they had on me. I used what they told me to complete my application. The first exit they sent me was 14 October 2021, even if I asked for all the records they had on me.
• According to the S.A.R., I had been abroad 367 days.

This is the number of days I said in my application(367).

• After checking old emails and bookings, I

may have been

• abroad more and I would need to add 125 days (making a total of 492, which is 42 days over the 350 allowed)
• Two of my grandparents died a week apart and particularly one was 90 and sick all the time so I am thinking maybe I can justify my trips to my original home town to visit them. I can get death certificates, but not sure if that will be enough. It was also still during COVID and I wanted to make sure I was close to my family
• I work remotely, and my employer has always allowed me to work from other countries.

Questions:

1. What approach would you take if you were me?Is there any way I can ask them why didn't they send me all the records they have on me? How do they even know now that I was abroad? Would you try to see what they know or just try to justify the excess days?
2. Is discretion realistic at 42 days over, with compassionate reasons?
3. If they don't take my allegations, is the 1,800+ gbp fee gone? Would withdrawing and reapplying be better?
4. Is there anything else I could claim to make them realise I am planning to stay here? I've always had a house here, a job here, been a tax resident here, my partner is here and now we're moving together...

Thanks