How would an EEA citizen provide proof of physical presence

[Noetic]

This came up on another thread and I'm just throwing it out out if curiosity. How would an EEA citizen whose passport doesn't get stamped actually *prove* they were physically in the UK 3/5 years prior to applying for naturalisation?

Would a case worker expect you to still have a diary / appointment book from 5 years ago or would they be content with the information from their own entry controls (passport scan) matching with the dates of your absences over the past 5 years? (Since surely if you omitted a trip that fell on that date, UKBA would have an entry record that doesn't match any of your stated absences)

[LilyLalilu]

They would just check against the absences you declared and their records (so that's why people who cannot remember whether they were abroad 3/5 years before the date of application should do a SAR).
The caseworker guidance says at some point that they should give the applicant the benefit of the doubt unless they have reason to believe that they were out of the country on a certain day.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... r_18_B.pdf (p.2)

[Noetic]

Thanks - I don't know how I used to keep track of these things (absences, exact flight dates etc) before I had a smartphone that retains all calendar entries and an email account that I can search back for flight tickets etc!

In my case I had only just started a new job in February that year and there was no direct flight provider anymore so I know I didn't leave the country again (after a brief visit home for among other things Mum's 60th birthday) until the following year - Mum and a family friend came to visit that September which was just after they started doing direct flights to Manchester again.

But if someone travels a lot for business finding a safe application date sounds like a nightmare, especially if they didn't book the flights themselves (eg a secretary did it) and they no longer work for that company!

[LilyLalilu]

True, I find it quite tough to remember too - I'm constantly in and out of the country on short trips to continental Europe. But will try to look at my annual leave record from 5 years ago before I apply, that should provide some clues

[Noetic]

True, I find it quite tough to remember too - I'm constantly in and out of the country on short trips to continental Europe. But will try to look at my annual leave record from 5 years ago before I apply, that should provide some clues

Quite - sadly in my case the employer I had from 2011-2013 no longer exists so I had to rely solely on my emails and calendar to piece things together.