Hi everyone,

Just filling out our PR application, God they want to know the whereabouts of a cats arse!!! Theres a saying for you all...lol

Now my mum moved so many times that I can't remember all of the addresses I've had since I was 18. I've sort of guessed and even prob missed a couple out!!!

My question is: Do they check everything with a fine tooth coomb (another saying!!)? Same with jobs, theres been jobs i only had for a few weeks!!! Do I tell them about those???


HELP.....

Anyone please? I've looked through previous posts but nothing...

I don't know the amount of detail they will check. My guess it that there is some random checking and they'll get very detailed if there is something that attracts their attention.

However, I would never lie on a form like this. Even if it only seems a little white lie. You just never know when it might come back to haunt you. If you really can't find out all the details then I would attach a covering letter explaining the situation and giving as much detail as you possibly can.

If you don't look as though you have made the effort they might conclude that you are not serious about getting the visa.

Hi , I am also in the process of filling them in! took about a day on google maps to find the places I had lived (15 in total in 10 years) and even then it was hard to remember the house numbers!

At the end of the day how are they going to check that I lived in a rented flat from 1999 to 2000?

I filled it in to the best of my knowledge, left no gaps and ensured the addresses were valid.

another issue was that a house i lived in is now a business!

And another was knocked down

I just don't think they can check to that level, unless that's why it takes so bloody long to process?

You're talking about the Schedule 1 Background Declaration presumably?

The honest answer is that I doubt anyone on this forum knows. The background check is sort of the "black bag" side of the operation.

If you want me to guess here is what I think probably happens...

They will run all the addresses you provide through an interpol-type database to see if any of them come up as having been linked previously by known criminals or terrorists. Same with employers probably - if one of your employers had links to known undesirables that might raise a red flag. If most of your employment was fiarly normal no big deal but if you worked for a "security company" that contracted out personal to warzones etc it might get investigated more closely.

What they absolutely dont want to see I expect is a gap in your address or employment history that you havent accounted for. If you were unemployed for 6 months and you say that fine but if one date ends and the other starts six months later and you provide no explanation that will raise suspicion.

I think if you are as honest as possble and where you cant remember an address write down as much of it as you can remember that should be okay. Also if you were in a job or address for a matter of weeks you would probably get away with omitting it but I wouldnt risk missing big chunks of your life out.

Who knows what they can actually check. I suspect they dont check every application thoroughly - probably they use a system that looks for certain patterns in the information that would trigger a more thorough investigation. I know thats how credit card companies work - certain patterns or transactions raise an alert for someone to check more closely.

I'm intrigued as to why you are completing the forms anyway ... not being funny, but why bother?

What do you mean? I'm completing them to apply for PR... Thinking that if I decide to leave, then my PR application will already be in. Then if I become a ping ponger, I can return to Canada...

Fair enough! I just thought you were not at all happy in the time you have spent here and had already made the decision to go back in the new year? Seriously, I wasn't being funny - but now that you have mentioned the words ping-ponger, I figure something may have gotten under your skin afterall. Good luck with it all anyway (We probably changed our minds 3 times in the first year )