When can/should I, an Italian citizen, send an application for the British citizenship?

Question

tl;dr

Two different parts of the relevant page seem to suggest that I should apply after 5 years and after 6 years respectively. What is the truth?

Full question

I am an Italian citizen, and I intend to become a British citizen.

I have been in UK since early 2019, i.e. for a bit more than 5 years, so I was granted the Settled Status not long ago.

A few days ago I passed the Life in the UK test.

The page Apply for citizenship if you have indefinite leave to remain or 'settled status' starts like this,

Eligibility and fees

You can apply for citizenship if you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years and have had one of the following for 12 months:

• indefinite leave to remain in the UK
• ‘settled status’ (also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme’)
• indefinite leave to enter the UK (permission to move to the UK permanently from abroad)

You do not need to wait 12 months to apply if you’re married to a British citizen.

You must also:

• be over 18
• prove you were in the UK exactly 5 years before the day the Home Office receives your application
• prove your knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic
• have passed the life in the UK test
• intend to continue living in the UK
• be of good character - read the naturalisation guidance

This confuses me a bit as regards the 5 vs 6 years. I mean

if you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years and have had one of the following for 12 months […] 'settled status'

makes me think that I can apply after 5 + 1 = 6 years, but at the same time

prove you were in the UK exactly 5 years before the day the Home Office receives your application

makes me think I have to apply after 5 years (i.e. now, for me). Otherwise, if I send the application after 6 years, it would mean that the Home Office wants the proof that I was in the UK exactly one year after I moved to the UK, which would be a bit weird, to say the least.

Answer 1

The wording of documents can be somewhat broad, mainly due to the wide variety of scenarios that make it possible to qualify (or I suppose be disqualified) for citizenship.

In your very particular case, assuming you've met the residency criteria (minimum in the UK previous 12 months, minimum overall, present to the day - exactly 5 years on the day of application), you can apply now.

it would mean that the Home Office wants the proof that I was in the UK exactly one year after I moved to the UK, which would be a bit weird, to say the least.

No matter when you apply, they expect to look back exactly one year on that date and be able to confirm that you were physically present in the UK on that specific day. It's a bit of quirky UK thing I suppose, but they are astonishingly picky about this one.