Question about section 5A

[callaars]

Hi.

I am having a question related to the "countries visited" part of section 5A. In my case me (Dutch nationality) and my wife (also Dutch) moved over in March 2009 and got our kids here (2011, 2014). We have had many visits to the Netherlands in those years (4 times a year, about a week long or so) and would never even come close to cross the 6 months absence from the UK in any given year.

However, they do ask for any countries visited in those 5 years. As you might understand we've got a hard time recalling when we actually went to visit the Netherlands. So my question is:

1. Is it necessary to fill in this section when we haven't been out of the country for long?
2. How "accurate" are these dates need to be?

I'm sorry if this is an obvious question, but I don't want to spend days of my time trying to find out exact dates if it isn't necessary.

Thanks!

[LilyLalilu]

I assume you are referring to form EEA PR?!

These dates should be as accurate as possible, maybe submit a SAR (Subject Access Request) to UKVI to see if any dates come back. This has apparently worked for some members.

If you really cannot remember I suggest to be honest and write a cover letter stating that you have been on several short trips to the Netherlands which you cannot remember the dates for but that none of them would break your residence. Just so they do not think you are trying to deceive them.

[callaars]

To be perfectly honest I didn't want to deceive them, it's just that we haven't thought about documenting all our trips over the years (captain hindsight coming in). Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely put a request in, and if nothing comes back I'll just need to go through the bank statements.

[LilyLalilu]

I didn't think that was your intention, but with the HO playing hardball these days it's better to be careful as an overzealous caseworker may get the wrong impression...