Citizenship application - all overseas travel outside of Australia from age 18

We moved here from the UK in 2013 and are currently completing the citizenship application online lodgement. I have reached a question that asks me to state all overseas travel outside of Australia from age 18. To include work, holidays etc. It requires dates from and to...how on earth can I remember exactly when I went on holiday 20 years ago?! My husband will have even more problems as he frequently travelled on business from the UK all over the world, several times a year. How have other people tackled this section?

Back when I did my citizenship application they only wanted to know about overseas travel "Since turning the age of 18 and holding a permanent Australian visa". Since I didn't have a permanent Australian visa 20 years before applying for citizenship I didn't have a difficult in answering. Perhaps they've changed the application recently and now you do need to provide the information even if you didn't have a permanent Australian visa, but I'd suggest you double check.

They will mean trips outside of Australia since you moved her. Had you been under the age of 18 when you moved but have turned 18 in the last 3 years, they only want to know the travel since you've turned 18.

Thanks for the replies.

Just to clarify - Exact wording of question is

"Since the age of 18 has the applicant lived or travelled outside of Australia? Give details of all countries that the applicant has lived in or travelled to since turning age 18". It asks to include work/study, holiday/leisure etc

no mention of only including travel outside Australia since obtaining permanent visa. I have searched online for help for this question but can't find info anywhere. I guess I will phone the helpline today, when the open. I certainly won't be able to list the exact dates every time I've been abroad in the past 20 years!

Do let us know. They must have changed the form. I will be applying later this year and struggled with the form 80 which ran to three pages in the end and that was just 10 years back!

As I am a widely and frequently travelled 54 year old that will really tax my grey cells, what is left of them.

Thanks for the replies.

Just to clarify - Exact wording of question is

"Since the age of 18 has the applicant lived or travelled outside of Australia? Give details of all countries that the applicant has lived in or travelled to since turning age 18". It asks to include work/study, holiday/leisure etc

 

no mention of only including travel outside Australia since obtaining permanent visa. I have searched online for help for this question but can't find info anywhere. I guess I will phone the helpline today, when the open. I certainly won't be able to list the exact dates every time I've been abroad in the past 20 years!

So you list all the countries you have lived in with dates For holidays etc., if you are unsure of the dates then put the year and duration

Easier said than done since age 18 though! That is 36 years worth of travel for me! And we went abroad a lot from the Uk not just an annual 2 week holiday a year.

Thanks for the replies.

Just to clarify - Exact wording of question is

"Since the age of 18 has the applicant lived or travelled outside of Australia? Give details of all countries that the applicant has lived in or travelled to since turning age 18". It asks to include work/study, holiday/leisure etc

 

no mention of only including travel outside Australia since obtaining permanent visa. I have searched online for help for this question but can't find info anywhere. I guess I will phone the helpline today, when the open. I certainly won't be able to list the exact dates every time I've been abroad in the past 20 years!

I would answer that as follows:

1) Lived in UK from age 18-35 (1996-2013)

2) Lived in Australia from age 35 (2013-present) and have travelled outside of Australia since then, as folllows:

- Trip 1 details

- Trip 2 details

-Trip 3 details

etc

Although it is open to interpretation!

Yes - you do need to list EVERYTHING since the age of 18. The easiest is to go by passport stamps if you still have the old passports. If not, then any emails about bookings or calendar entries, etc. and pictures, if taken on holiday. You can skip the EU if they didn't give you passport stamps and you can't remember - there really isn't any way of knowing those.

I didn't have e mail 36 years ago!

I didn't have e mail 36 years ago!

But, hopefully, you still had passports, right?

I'd say do your best effort, especially with the more recent ones and tell them at the interview that you may have left a few places out due to not remembering / not having records. They asked me to mention all the countries during my interview but not the dates (I did fill out the dates that I had records for in the form though) - so as long as you remember those, you should be good.

I'd be screwed if I had to do this. I am 28 and have been to 25 different countries. Most of them in the EU where there is no stamps. I dread to think how many pages my form 80 is going to be if they ask for one.

I'd be screwed if I had to do this. I am 28 and have been to 25 different countries. Most of them in the EU where there is no stamps. I dread to think how many pages my form 80 is going to be if they ask for one.

You will need it if you ever want citizenship. I had about 30 pages, a lot of it EU. I had the bookings though so I figured it out that way. Took me a whole afternoon.

But I too was thinking that when I got my PR. They didn't ask for form 80 then, but a year later I had to do it anyway. I just did an excel file with it all and when I was done I copied it over. Same with addresses, I moved a fair bit.

Hi hannah,

Just wondering if you got an answer from the helpline on this. On the paper form it states to only consider the past 10 years, so that cuts down some of this... but because of the wording on the penal clearance I thought they were just looking for travel since living in Australia.

Thanks!

This should be fun for me when I eventually get to that stage. I travelled with the military a lot, can't remember all of them and a lot did not involve stamping passports as such stamps can stop you getting into other countries.

So, i am about to apply for citizenship. I was cabin crew in the uk. 2 years European flights, then 13 years Long haul. I've been around the world a few times. How on earth will i fill in the form. We didn't get stamps in our passports. I certainly haven't saved any rosters. I have no way of getting a copy of the roster for 15 years!! Looks like i need to call the help line monday too. I am sure i am not the only cabin crew member to have applied for citizenship

Let us know what they say!

I'd just do the recent things that appear on your passport. Sounds like bureaucratic rubbish to me!

Yep, I will call Monday and let you know.

Just put the best you can remember.

Firstly its not a memory test, it just wants you to be honest.

And secondly, think about this sensibly. DIBP are looking for patterns of travel. They don't really care if you went to Spain or France every summer in your 20sto soak up the sun and sangria. They are looking for people who have a lot of travel to hgh risk areas. People who have spent 2 months every year in maybe, Pakistan, or Syria or Afghanistan. Someone on whom they may need to do more security checks.

Yep, I have been to some of those places. But, always for one night. And never too regularly

Hi all, I called the help line and they said you need to just consider the last 10 years (I guess this is only helpful if you are over the age of 28). They said to just remember as much as possible and estimate dates if needed, and that they would contact me if they had questions.

Thanks! I just came on here to ask this exact question as my list of excursions and work trips runs very long and I had to fudge some of the dates and certainly missed out some.

Hi all, I called the help line and they said you need to just consider the last 10 years (I guess this is only helpful if you are over the age of 28). They said to just remember as much as possible and estimate dates if needed, and that they would contact me if they had questions.

Thank god for that lol. Thanks for checking.

I am helping my daughter with her Citizenship by Descent.  We have the same problem as she has worked as cabin crew for the past 12 years!  Think we'll just list all trips in her passport that have stamps.  Not all have exit stamps and some have Arabic dates!  

I did email the helpdesk and they just said I could add an attachment!  Is there unlimited space in the form for dozens of flights.  I don't know whether the attachment is to explain her profession or to add additional flights over and above what will fit in the form.