DATES FOR CALCULATING ABSENCES

[coolguycp1]

Can someone please guide that when filling the absences spreadsheet for SET (O), if we dont exactly remember the outbound and inbound dates, can we use the dates stamped on the passport both for outbound (ie, dates stamped on the passport when arriving at the destination country) and inbound ( ie, dates stamped on the passport when entering UK)?

[genorp]

That's what most people do as far as I'm aware. There's no better source than your passport stamps. In fact, some people put the page numbers of their passport stamps on the spreadsheet for the case worker (I've read where some wanted them and some didn't care). Use those dates to list exit and entry but don't count the exit and entry days in the total. If you left on 12 December and returned 15 December that's 2 days absent (13th and 14th).

In my case I'm missing a few stamps since the US doesn't always put a stamp in for US citizens so I had to look back at my flight information for those.

[wf]

Say you leave the UK on the 12th, arrive at destination on 13th, then return on the 15th and arrive on the 16th, as I understand the only absent day would be the 14th - is this correct?

[SunnyG]

I'd ask the same question. If the stamp is on 26 Dec but I took the flight which departed on 25 Dec and return on 13 Jan (with the uk stamp), should I count the 25 Dec into the absence as well?

Many thanks in advance!

[xyz123]

Please read the form carefully. SET(o) form asks for "Date left the UK" and "
Date returned to the UK".

So technically it is the day you left UK and not date of stamp from the country where you are going.

however if you dont know exact dates of flights, then there is noting to worry about. List dates of stamps in destination country and you will be ok. They hardly look at dates carefully...

[genorp]

If you left on the 12th you don't count the 12th since you were physically in the UK that day. You'd still count the 13th even if it's the day you arrived at the other country because at no time on the 13th were you in the UK. So you would count the 13th, 14th, and 15th. You were present on the 12th. You were present on the 16th. 3 days total.

Use your stamps combined with the flight knowledge. So you know you arrived on the 26th to the other country because that's your stamp AND you know you left the UK on the 25th. Since that's the day you left you had to be physically present in the UK on that day so you don't count it.

That being said, that's for tallying up the number of days absent. The settlement application doesn't ask for a total. The caseworker will add it up but many people provide a spreadsheet with all sorts of helpful data. The settlement form specifically asks for the day you left and the day you returned and the reason. The naturalisation application guidance specifically mentions counting days and says: Insert the number of days you were away from the UK in the last column ignoring the day you left and the day you arrived back in the UK. The settlement guidance doesn't mention it.

[nafe12]

The naturalisation application guidance specifically mentions counting days and says: Insert the number of days you were away from the UK in the last column ignoring the day you left and the day you arrived back in the UK.

Where does it say this, exactly?
Thanks