To meet the condition on continuous residence you must not have stayed abroad for longer than 90 days in total in each 12-month period of your respective residential qualifying period.

If you have stayed abroad for more than 90 consecutive days in a 12-month period, that stay will be deducted from the residential qualifying period that you must fulfil in order to be eligible to apply.

An exemption can be made from the continuous residence condition, however the respective residential qualification period must still be fulfilled.