I am happy to tell my hon. Friend that they would indeed be included, and I am grateful to her for raising that point.
It cannot be fair that a regular civilian or a solider who has been based in the UK can successfully apply for residency but a soldier who was serving in Afghanistan, or a member of the Royal Air Force or the Royal Navy who was posted overseas five years before his or her application, cannot successfully apply for residency.
Every day that members of the services have spent abroad should have the same value in the eyes of the immigration authorities as a day spent in the UK.