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Hi all. I had a similar question but wondered if anyone had more info: when putting in time I've been outside uk (applying for SET(M)), how much info should I be including? I've just been designating holiday or work meeting - as there are several of both. Do I need to put in more info?

There are probably roughly the same number of each, maybe a bit more for work, not many more than a week or two; many of the 'holiday/visit' ones are me going to see my parents or aging grandparents; my husband rarely comes with me for those, and certainly not for work trips (and we haven't holidayed together out of the UK for a couple of years now, mostly we go walking here) - as they'll see, our passports are quite different. This has never struck me as odd but now I'm worried they might think it is (we are, after all, our own people!!). I've been in the UK for over 8 years now (first 3 were student years, before marriage), so i have a lot of 'absences' to input. I just want to make sure I'm providing enough info to not seem dodgy, but without answering anything 'wrong' by accident!

Anyone have experience with being asked about this, or asked to provide more/specific info?

(if there is a thread about this please do point me to the right place, I didn't see another one but happy to move to the right spot!)
Also, am assuming I'll have to include my old passport for all this - my current one includes my 5 years here as spouse but because I've been here 8yrs4mos, and it asks me to list absences form the uk 'since I started living here', I'm assuming I need to go through all absences since I arrived in 2010, which I'd also guess means they'll want my old passport that has pre-2013 in it too...

If you're basing your application on a 5 year category, you only need to account for 5 years of absences.

Hm, ok, thanks. That would make sense, but the new online Set(M) application uses the following wording:
'time lived in the UK: [8 years, 4 months]
Have you been out of the UK since you started living here? [yes]'
then 'add absence' and under each 'add absence' it says
'date you left the UK', 'date you returned to the UK', 'reason for this period of absence'

It doesn't specify anything about 'since you started living here' (eg since I started living here 8 yrs ago as the previous question asks, vs since my 5 years as a spouse started, which it never actually asks!)

In answering here, I realise that nowhere in the application does it actually ask me the dates of my last two FLR(M), so nowhere does it make it possible for the person looking at this to know the date my 5 years on FLRM started... ! This seems odd. I should try to find a place to include it somehow, but really odd it doesn't ask. Closest it asks is the category I'm applying in (partner of ... 5 year route) and whether my original leave was granted as a partner before Jul 2012.

All in all, the questions in the online form are MUCH shorter than the old paper SET(M) form and have next to no information about what they expect (unlike the paper form).

Hi Specky, just wondering if you got an answer on this.....or what did you do?
I'm in a similar situation. I've been here for 11 years but just now applying under a spousal visa and not sure how far back to go. Can you help?

Thanks!

It should be the last 5 years. SET(M) has no absence limit anyway