Passport Stamps / E-Tickets conundrum

[the_searcher]

Hi,

Hong Kong stopped tamping passports in 2013. They were giving out these little paper slips that they are supposed to staple inside your passport. Unfortunately the IO at HKG didn't staple mine so it fell out over time.

Hence I can't prove what date I entered HKG for the purposes of my SET(O)

These days no one in the UK gets paper airline tickets anymore (as they used to be, rectangular pieces of card - the good old days )

So I have my e-ticket, but of course it is an email. I can print this, but will the caseworkers accept it?

I have no other way to prove when I left the UK for this holiday.

Thanks

[noajthan]

Hi,

Hong Kong stopped tamping passports in 2013. They were giving out these little paper slips that they are supposed to staple inside your passport. Unfortunately the IO at HKG didn't staple mine so it fell out over time.

Hence I can't prove what date I entered HKG for the purposes of my SET(O)

These days no one in the UK gets paper airline tickets anymore (as they used to be, rectangular pieces of card - the good old days )

So I have my e-ticket, but of course it is an email. I can print this, but will the caseworkers accept it?

I have no other way to prove when I left the UK for this holiday.

Thanks

Try a SAR from UKVI; see what 'big brother' has on you - your entry/exits (or some of them) may show up:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... mmigration

[kanswam]

@The_Searcher
I was worried about proving my exits and entries and in the end all I showed them was simply the dates with a "personal" or "work related" comment. I didn't make any distinction between holiday, medical or anything nor I attached proof of my travel or stamps in passport.

I doubt the HO is bothered with such trivial things. If you haven't breached the condition of leave of absence overall then you shouldn't worry about justifying your trips out of UK.

I had shared my covering note for my absences in another thread and you can look it up for reference and use it as you see fit

Best wishes!

[the_searcher]

@The_Searcher
I was worried about proving my exits and entries and in the end all I showed them was simply the dates with a "personal" or "work related" comment. I didn't make any distinction between holiday, medical or anything nor I attached proof of my travel or stamps in passport.

I doubt the HO is bothered with such trivial things. If you haven't breached the condition of leave of absence overall then you shouldn't worry about justifying your trips out of UK.

I had shared my covering note for my absences in another thread and you can look it up for reference and use it as you see fit

Best wishes!

Thanks - what you say makes sense.

But.

Surely the HO want to check what you write on the form is the truth. Otherwise people would just lie on the form.

Do they have other ways of checking your absences aside from the evidence you present?

[kanswam]

Why would they want to check on the purpose of your travel if you haven't breached the overall conditions imposed? Ask the question this way, if someone had been out of UK for only 50 days or 180 days over 5 years - why would HO bother about that? What difference does it make to them as to the reason for the exit and evidence for the same? This is not like in school or some companies where they expect you to provide medical certificate for sickies taken.

Please don't tie yourself up in knots trying to justify a simple trip out of the country.

One of the questions on the Set(O) form is to submit previous passport if used to enter the UK - I didn't submit it. I only gave my current passport even though my original entry to the UK was in an older passport.

The rules are clear - You cannot be out of the country over 90 or 180 days in a year and cumulatively there is a number that you cannot breach. So long as you have not breached, then minimum explanation should suffice. Just my view

[noajthan]

...

Do they have other ways of checking your absences aside from the evidence you present?

Yes. Many.

[kanswam]

NOajthan must be right. Because, I didn't submit my old passport with the entry and exit stamps for my absences and they must have other mechanism to check it even without me providing any support for them.

Anyway, so long as we don't lie about our time away from the country I seriously doubt they would care too much for the reason especially for Tier 1 General applicants.

[the_searcher]

That's a relief then to know I don't have to kill myself trying to find non existent proof I left the country, if they can just scan their own records to see when my passport was used.

I have no intention of lying, I just don't have any "proof" (passport stamp) for one date due to reason listed in my original post.

[the_searcher]

Why would they want to check on the purpose of your travel if you haven't breached the overall conditions imposed? Ask the question this way, if someone had been out of UK for only 50 days or 180 days over 5 years - why would HO bother about that? What difference does it make to them as to the reason for the exit and evidence for the same? This is not like in school or some companies where they expect you to provide medical certificate for sickies taken.

Please don't tie yourself up in knots trying to justify a simple trip out of the country.

One of the questions on the Set(O) form is to submit previous passport if used to enter the UK - I didn't submit it. I only gave my current passport even though my original entry to the UK was in an older passport.

The rules are clear - You cannot be out of the country over 90 or 180 days in a year and cumulatively there is a number that you cannot breach. So long as you have not breached, then minimum explanation should suffice. Just my view

I'm not talking about proving or justify the purpose. I'm talking about proving the dates. Without proving the dates there is no way to prove how many days you have been outside the country.

[noajthan]

That's a relief then to know I don't have to kill myself trying to find non existent proof I left the country, if they can just scan their own records to see when my passport was used.

I have no intention of lying, I just don't have any "proof" (passport stamp) for one date due to reason listed in my original post.

Be careful here.
It is still the applicant's responsibility to support adequate documentary supporting information to support their application.
Or it could fail.

A SAR will cost £10 or so. Seems a worthwhile investment to me.

[the_searcher]

Hi noajthan

What's wrong with an e-ticket printout?

I also read the part of the underlying Immigration Rules,

Part 5 - Paragraph 192-SD which plainly states for ILR, Ancestry visa holders only need to present proof of absences which were due to serious or compelling reasons.

People on here seem so ****-scared of the HO that the advice is always to go totally OTT on what's required. One thing I will have in my back pocket is the print out of their own Immigration rules.

In addition, a SAR would not show my date of entry to Hong Kong. The UK has not had exit clearance for many many years.

[noajthan]

Hi noajthan

What's wrong with an e-ticket printout?

I also read the part of the underlying Immigration Rules,

Part 5 - Paragraph 192-SD which plainly states for ILR, Ancestry visa holders only need to present proof of absences which were due to serious or compelling reasons.

I'm fed up with this. People on here seem so ****-scared of the HO that the advice is always to go totally OTT on what's required. One thing I will have in my back pocket is the print out of their own Immigration rules.

Chillax!
Fed up with what?

You are free to take on board or ignore absolutely anything anyone says here.
At the end of the day you are responsible for your application whether or not you trust me or anyone else here.
And regardless of hiring any OISC advisor or an immigration barrister - its all immaterial to me &, in fact to the HO.

Based on my experience with HO for my family (ie where I care & I want to get it right)...
Play it safe.
Belt & braces.
Don't give HO 'wriggle room'.
£10 is small price to pay for peace of mind.

[the_searcher]

Hi noajthan

What's wrong with an e-ticket printout?

I also read the part of the underlying Immigration Rules,

Part 5 - Paragraph 192-SD which plainly states for ILR, Ancestry visa holders only need to present proof of absences which were due to serious or compelling reasons.

I'm fed up with this. People on here seem so ****-scared of the HO that the advice is always to go totally OTT on what's required. One thing I will have in my back pocket is the print out of their own Immigration rules.

Chillax!
Fed up with what?

You are free to take on board or ignore absolutely anything anyone says here.
At the end of the day you are responsible for your application whether or not you trust me or anyone else here.
And regardless of hiring any OISC advisor or an immigration barrister - its all immaterial to me &, in fact to the HO.

Based on my experience with HO for my family (ie where I care & I want to get it right)...
Play it safe.
Belt & braces.
Don't give HO 'wriggle room'.
£10 is small price to pay for peace of mind.

Bro I'm sorry - wasn't med to be a dart at you.

My problem isn't solved by a SAR - I'm looking to show when I entered HKG, SAR won't show that - and the UK don't scan passports on exit, only entry.

[noajthan]

Bro I'm sorry - wasn't med to be a dart at you.

My problem isn't solved by a SAR - I'm looking to show when I entered HKG, SAR won't show that - and the UK don't scan passports on exit, only entry.

Depends when you travelled; UK exit checks are certainly being rolled out with increasing coverage over time.

A SAR's contents may yet surprise you.

Otherwise submit what you have; if that's an email, so be it.

Or else estimate dates & add a note to explain what you've got (&/or what/why you can't remember full details).

Good luck.

[kanswam]

the_searcher
one last post on this from me -
You were clearly away from UK on the said date. If I were you, I would simply mention the dates in the entry and exit column and leave it at that. Given that you have no proof of the date of entry in HK, then there is nothing you can do about it.

There is nothing in the rules that states you have to show proof of every entry and exit. If you claim inordinate number of absences due to medical or other extenuating circumstances thats when they want to see some proof. If you mark things as personal or holidays or similar then it is no skin of their teeth. Again, the bottom line is have you breached the total number of days per year and cumulative number of days over 5 years or not is the question.

Best wishes to you!

[Richard W]

My problem isn't solved by a SAR - I'm looking to show when I entered HKG, SAR won't show that - and the UK don't scan passports on exit, only entry.

But they do collect passenger manifests form the airlines, for both incoming and outgoing flights. Of course, it won't show when you [entered Hong Kong, but it may show when you left for Hong Kong.

Or have I got this wrong - what happens with John Smith's flights?

[noajthan]

My problem isn't solved by a SAR - I'm looking to show when I entered HKG, SAR won't show that - and the UK don't scan passports on exit, only entry.

But they do collect passenger manifests form the airlines, for both incoming and outgoing flights. Of course, it won't show when you [entered Hong Kong, but it may show when you left for Hong.

+1

Spot on.