Past presence in the Common Travel Area

If living in the UK, each of the following groups:

• UK nationals;
• third country nationals; and
• EEA and Swiss nationals not in the ‘protected cohort’,

must have been present in the Common Travel Area for 26 of the past 52 weeks before the date they apply for PADP (PADP Regs, Reg 9 (1) (e)), this is known as the ‘past presence test’.

There are certain situations in which no past presence test ever applies:

• terminally ill applicants; (PADP Regs, Reg 9 (6))
• applicants who are a serving member of the armed forces or a civil servant, or a member of their family;
• applicants who are a mariner, aircraft worker or continental shelf worker and their absence is in connection with their contract of employment;
• applicants who are refugees or their dependant; (PADP Regs, Reg 15)
• applicants arriving in the UK from Afghanistan who have been awarded leave to remain in the UK under either the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, the previous scheme for locally-employed staff in Afghanistan (sometimes referred to as the ex-gratia scheme), or the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, and their dependents; (PADP Regs, Reg 9 (7) (a), (b) and (c))
• people who were residing in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022, and left Ukraine in connection with the Russian invasion which took place on 24 February 2022; (PADP Regs, Reg 9 (7) (d))
• people who were residing in Sudan before 15 April 2023 and left Sudan in connection with the escalating violence which started on 15 April 2023; (PADP Regs, Reg 9 (7) (e))
• people who were residing in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or Lebanon before 7 October 2023 and left in connection with the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel in October 2023, or the violence which rapidly escalated in the region following the attack (PADP Regs, Reg 9 (7) (f)).
• people who were residing in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories (the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza) or the occupied Golan Heights immediately before 13 June 2025, and left in connection with the escalation of violence between Israel and Iran that began on that date, and arrived in the United Kingdom on or before 13 December 2025 (PADP Regs, Reg 9 (7)(g));
• people who are British or Irish nationals, or third country nationals who have leave to remain in the UK, who previously resided outside the UK and have returned from that location because the UK Government:
  • issued public information to leave now; or
  • evacuated them back to the UK (PADP Regs, Reg 9 (7)(h)); and
• people who, as part of a safe and legal humanitarian immigration route, have leave in accordance with the immigration rules or leave on a discretionary basis outside the rules (PADP Regs, Reg 9 (7)(j))

Both:

• EEA or Swiss nationals in the ‘protected cohort’; and
• their family members;

applying for PADP, generally do not have to satisfy the past presence test. See Residence requirements under the Coordination Rules.

Some absences do not count for the purpose of the past presence test. These absences should be treated as presence: 

• up to 13 weeks for any reason; and
• up to 26 weeks where the absence is related to medical treatment for a condition which commenced before leaving the CTA; and
• absences up to 26 weeks caused by a crisis where the UK Government has issued guidance to leave a country, or arranged an evacuation of British nationals from a country, and it would be unreasonable to expect the individual to return from that country.

Special rules also apply to some types of workers who routinely work overseas.