6.2 Immigration History: How???

[rickname]

Hi all,

I feel a little stupid at the moment as I have been reading the forum now for the past hour searching for someone who has had the same question I have...but haven't found anything yet.

For section 6.2—does anyone have any pointers on how to go about figuring out when you had travelled in the last 5 years?

I travel a LOT for work and haven't really kept the best records (which was stupid, I know). Now I am wracking my brain to figure out how I will do this and not miss a trip. I suppose my passport stamps might be a good first bet, but if anyone has any pointers on how they easily figured this out (and how strict the Home Office might be if I miss a trip), it would be massively appreciated.

Regards,
Joel

[Amber]

I assume this is for a PBS set(o) application? If so, as long as your absences do not exceed 180 days per 12 month period you should be ok.

To work out absences, check credit card/bank statements to see if/when the card was used abroad perhaps?

[rickname]

Hiya, yes, sorry this is for SET(O). Credit card is a good start—still quite tricky as I have travelled to the same locations for business and pleasure, but it's definitely a good start. I fear that perhaps I was abroad using a cash advance from the company (therefor not using a card).

Do you know how strict the case workers are on this if I missed it? I know it wasn't out for more than 180 days (especially non-business related), but I don't want to give them an excuse to refuse my application.

[Amber]

They'll still expect you to list absences, though shouldn't question them if <180 days per 12 months.

[momo_2013]

Passport will be your best bet. As colleague of mine did not remember the travels and had forgotten one of his trips on the form. The case worker found out while checking the stamps.

So probably passport

[wpilr_nov12]

if you work for an organisation that uses a dedicated travel agent like amex, they can get you the travel dates.

[Stace_ILR]

I would say your best bet is to go through your passport and make a note of every stamp that is in your passport and then link them up. I did this in Excel which was the easiest. Most stamps have the name of the place anyways which makes it easy. Its slightly time consuming but probably the easiest

[natasha.madhok]

Passport does seem to be best / exhaustive list of all travels. I travel a lot too and have made a simple excel with references to In and Out stamps on the passport.

If you cover all the in / out stamps within the 5yr period, you know you havent missed any... hope this helps

anyway my appt is on 9th sept so i will post any feedback i get.

All the best!

[rickname]

Thanks so much all for all your help.

I spent some time going the passport route — all very time consuming, but seemingly foolproof I suppose.

Problems I have had with this route are:
1. Some stamps were just poorly inked. There are several I can barely make out.
2. The USA (I am American)—inconsistent stamping in general. Seem I rarely get stamps when I travel to the US, so I am hunting through my emails to find flight confirmations that compliment my incoming flights. Tricky!

Mostly there now...I will let you know how I fair as well. Any other tips are appreciated.

Best,
Joel