4 ms·

Don't you think that listing every and each trip you've done abroad for the past 10 years is bit excessive and tormenting?

jacquesm 11y ago
I wouldn't even be able to list every trip I've done abroad for the past 10 years. I'd probably forget to mention half of them, which no doubt would trigger a whole pile of nasty sanctions for lying on an application. In some places that might even be reason to detain you.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  Google Location History to the rescue. That is about the only thing that could help me with filling such a form, and I don't even travel much. The requirement is ridiculous in modern times.
  - jacquesm 11y ago
    Google does not have my location history and I very much plan to keep it that way.
rahimnathwani 11y ago
That's orthogonal to the point I was making. My point was this: The article compared (i) the UK's 10-page form with (ii) the USA's visa waiver program. However, this isn't a fair comparison. The USA's visa waiver form requires pre-registration and payment. The UK's equivalent does not. The USA's visa waiver program applies to 28 countries. The UK's equivalent applies to 56 countries, plus all EU countries. Regarding your question: I have had to do that (to get a visa for India) and I found it surprising and inconvenient. Now that I book all travel online, though, it's not that difficult. I wouldn't call it 'tormenting'.
- _delirium 11y ago
  Even with a digital record of air ticket purchases, I find it basically impossible to fill these things out to the detail that's requested. They want a record of the exact dates you've entered and exited every country, but I've crossed uncontrolled Schengen borders probably hundreds of times, usually with just a local transit ticket, nothing that shows up in my email with a receipt like airfare would. If they counted "the Schengen zone" as de-facto a country (for visa purposes), I might have a chance of filling the application out accurately, but at least formally I'm supposed to state the exact date for every time I exited Denmark and entered Sweden, which there is no way I can do.
  - rahimnathwani 11y ago
    I can see how that would be a problem. I've only ever lived in the UK and China, and have crossed land borders fewer than 10 times ever.
  - Canada 11y ago
    They're just fishing for information. It's really offensive they even ask, as if it's any of their business at all. Just don't tell them.
tacostakohashi 11y ago
Pro tip: keep a spreadsheet in Google docs with your travel history. Lots of visa forms require this (e.g., the US DS-160 form asks for a list of countries visited in the last 5 years, and also a list of previous US entry dates.) It's definitely tormenting trying to reconstruct this after the fact, but its pretty trivial to keep track of with some effort. Kind of like a tax return or something.

jacquesm 11y ago

I wouldn't even be able to list every trip I've done abroad for the past 10 years. I'd probably forget to mention half of them, which no doubt would trigger a whole pile of nasty sanctions for lying on an application. In some places that might even be reason to detain you.

TeMPOraL 11y ago
Google Location History to the rescue. That is about the only thing that could help me with filling such a form, and I don't even travel much. The requirement is ridiculous in modern times.
- jacquesm 11y ago
  Google does not have my location history and I very much plan to keep it that way.

rahimnathwani 11y ago

That's orthogonal to the point I was making. My point was this: The article compared (i) the UK's 10-page form with (ii) the USA's visa waiver program. However, this isn't a fair comparison. The USA's visa waiver form requires pre-registration and payment. The UK's equivalent does not. The USA's visa waiver program applies to 28 countries. The UK's equivalent applies to 56 countries, plus all EU countries. Regarding your question: I have had to do that (to get a visa for India) and I found it surprising and inconvenient. Now that I book all travel online, though, it's not that difficult. I wouldn't call it 'tormenting'.

_delirium 11y ago
Even with a digital record of air ticket purchases, I find it basically impossible to fill these things out to the detail that's requested. They want a record of the exact dates you've entered and exited every country, but I've crossed uncontrolled Schengen borders probably hundreds of times, usually with just a local transit ticket, nothing that shows up in my email with a receipt like airfare would. If they counted "the Schengen zone" as de-facto a country (for visa purposes), I might have a chance of filling the application out accurately, but at least formally I'm supposed to state the exact date for every time I exited Denmark and entered Sweden, which there is no way I can do.
- rahimnathwani 11y ago
  I can see how that would be a problem. I've only ever lived in the UK and China, and have crossed land borders fewer than 10 times ever.
- Canada 11y ago
  They're just fishing for information. It's really offensive they even ask, as if it's any of their business at all. Just don't tell them.

tacostakohashi 11y ago

Pro tip: keep a spreadsheet in Google docs with your travel history. Lots of visa forms require this (e.g., the US DS-160 form asks for a list of countries visited in the last 5 years, and also a list of previous US entry dates.) It's definitely tormenting trying to reconstruct this after the fact, but its pretty trivial to keep track of with some effort. Kind of like a tax return or something.