correct way of counting days out of UK

[black_bird]

Hi all, please may I double check with you the right way to count days outside of the UK?

My understanding is only whole days outside are counted, is it safe for me to only count the days in between the dates of two stamps?

An example of one trip, say on my passport there is one morocco entry stamp dated 01/01/2013 and one UK entry stamp dated 03/01/2013,only 1 day will be counted as out of UK?

Do I need to provide any additional evidence of traveling apart from the passport stamp? (eg, flight tickets) My employer can only provide a letter stating i've been a full time employee and I am entitled to 25 days of annual leaves each financial year, is this enough? (I'm on Tier 1 General) Employer is not willing to break down annual leaves by each visa year (Jun to Jun)

I have 230+ stamps in my passport, really struggling a bit here..... (All short trips so still within 180 days limit)

Any helps much appreciated!

[sheraz7]

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

[barker]

Hi Black_bird,

You can ignore the dates you left the UK and the dates you entered the UK. The calculation that you have mentioned is all right. The only thing to check is if the entry stamp from Morocco is for the same day that you left the UK. For example if you took a night flight from the UK on the 01/01/2013 and landed in Morocco on the 02/01/2013 then you can ignore 01 Jan but will need to count 02 Jan as a day outside the UK.

As long as all the absences within each 12 month period are within the the limit the letter should be enough. You will need a detailed explanation if the days outside the UK are not consistent with annual leave.

[black_bird]

Hi Black_bird,

You can ignore the dates you left the UK and the dates you entered the UK. The calculation that you have mentioned is all right. The only thing to check is if the entry stamp from Morocco is for the same day that you left the UK. For example if you took a night flight from the UK on the 01/01/2013 and landed in Morocco on the 02/01/2013 then you can ignore 01 Jan but will need to count 02 Jan as a day outside the UK.

As long as all the absences within each 12 month period are within the the limit the letter should be enough. You will need a detailed explanation if the days outside the UK are not consistent with annual leave.

Thanks Barker,
 
Re date leaving UK, the issue is I haven't kept my air tickets and I cannot recall or prove for each short trips whether I flew out of the UK on the same day or before midnight previous day, since there are no exit stamps from UK. My worry is I won’t be able to provide additional evidence if asked.
 
I think my total days are just under 150 if I remove both stamp dates.
 
Again with employer letter, work didn’t keep the exact dates of my annual leaves, they are only willing to provide total annual leave numbers from Apr to Apr each year (it’s a fixed number), but my visa year is (Jun to Jun).
 
Any further thoughts please? Help much appreciated!

(i.e. if I do manage to get an employer letter stating total number of days of annual leaves each year jun to jun, as long as from my calculation the total number of working days away from uk is under the annual leave limit,would this be sufficient?)
 

[SureShot]

Hi Black_bird,

You can ignore the dates you left the UK and the dates you entered the UK. The calculation that you have mentioned is all right. The only thing to check is if the entry stamp from Morocco is for the same day that you left the UK. For example if you took a night flight from the UK on the 01/01/2013 and landed in Morocco on the 02/01/2013 then you can ignore 01 Jan but will need to count 02 Jan as a day outside the UK.

As long as all the absences within each 12 month period are within the the limit the letter should be enough. You will need a detailed explanation if the days outside the UK are not consistent with annual leave.

Sorry but seek a little clarification about your comment. If the stamp from Morocco is on the 02-Jan then the person could have taken a morning flight from the UK on 2 jan itself or a night flight on the 01 jan. Is there any way they can check this. or even for that matter the passport holder to recall exactly what time their flight left the UK.

Any thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

[barker]

I would use the entry date as the date of travel where the trip was short haul, like to Europe for example. And the previous day if the trip was long haul, like to Australia for example. From what you say you are way below the threshold so it shouldn't be a problem.

If you read the guidance on absence from the UK they ask that this be in line with the type of visa that is issued. So if you have a reasonable number of days spent outside the UK in line with the number of holidays your employer provides you with, there should not be a reason to investigate further. I believe the additional reasoning / documentation is required if your absence was not for a vacation. For example if you took time off for an extended trip or someone went back to their native country for maternity leave etc.

Seniors could correct me if I am wrong here...