Journey Tracking Instructions

Learn how to properly track your journeys for accurate residency calculations

Stopover vs Connection Rules
Understanding when to split journeys vs keep them as single trips

Stopovers = Separate Journeys

When you leave the airport/station and enter the country/city

✅ Leave airport terminal✅ Clear immigration/customs✅ Stay overnight✅ Explore the city
Example:

Journey 1: New York → Dubai (overnight in Dubai)
Journey 2: Dubai → Bangkok

Connections = Single Journey

When you stay within the transit area without entering the country

❌ Stay in transit area❌ No immigration clearance❌ Same boarding pass❌ Under 24 hours
Example:

Single Journey: New York → Bangkok
(via Dubai connection - stayed in transit area)

Transportation Types & Scenarios
Common journey types and how to track them

✈️ Air Travel

Direct flights: Single journey

Layovers: Usually single journey if no immigration

Stopovers: Split into separate journeys

Multi-city tickets: Each city = separate journey

🚂 Ground Transport

Train: Direct route = single journey

Bus: Same principle as trains

Car/Motorcycle: Origin to final destination

Multi-day drives: Single journey unless staying overnight in different countries

Journey Duration Guidelines
Typical travel times to help identify potential errors
✈️ Flight

Short haul: 1-4 hours

Medium haul: 4-8 hours

Long haul: 8-18 hours

Warning: >24 hours

���� Train

Regional: 1-4 hours

Intercity: 4-12 hours

Overnight: 8-16 hours

Warning: >48 hours

🚌 Bus

City-to-city: 2-8 hours

Long distance: 8-24 hours

International: 12-48 hours

Warning: >72 hours

Timezone Best Practices
How to handle time zones for accurate residency calculations
✅ Do This
  • • Use local departure time at origin
  • • Use local arrival time at destination
  • • Let the system auto-detect timezones from cities
  • • Double-check timezone abbreviations
❌ Avoid This
  • • Converting times to your home timezone
  • • Using UTC for journey times
  • • Ignoring daylight saving changes
  • • Mixing timezones within one journey
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Learn from typical errors in journey tracking
Recording layovers as separate journeys

If you never left the airport transit area, it's one journey, not two.

Missing journey gaps

Always check that your destination country matches your next origin country.

Inconsistent city/country combinations

Make sure cities belong to the selected countries (e.g., Bangkok, Thailand - not Bangkok, Vietnam).

Wrong timezone selection

Use the timezone where the journey actually starts/ends, not your current location.

Impact on Residency Calculations
How your journey entries affect tax residency tracking
Counting Methods:
Any Presence (Default):
  • • Both arrival AND departure days count
  • • Being present at any point during a calendar day = 1 full day
  • • Most conservative approach
  • • Note: Totals may exceed 365 days due to day overlaps between countries
Midnight Rule (UK):
  • • Arrival day counts, departure day does NOT
  • • Only counts days where present at midnight (00:00)
  • • Results in lower counts for short visits
Common to both:
  • • Transit days (flights/ferries) don't count toward any country
  • • All calculations use local timezone calendar days, not UTC
Example Calculation:
Journey: Los Angeles → Melbourne
Depart: Dec 25, 2024 11:00 PM (Los Angeles time)
Arrive: Dec 27, 2024 6:00 PM (Melbourne time)

Any Presence Method:
• USA: Dec 25 (arrival + departure) = 1 day
• Dec 26: In transit = 0 days
• Australia: Dec 27 (arrival) = 1 day
Midnight Rule:
• USA: Dec 25 (arrival only) = 1 day
• Dec 26: In transit = 0 days
• Australia: Dec 27 (arrival) = 1 day
(Same result in this example, but differs for longer stays)
Ready to Start Tracking?
Use these guidelines to create accurate journey records

Now that you understand the principles, head to the Journeys page to start adding your travel history. The system will help validate your entries and warn you about potential issues.

💡 Pro TipStart with your most recent journeys and work backwards - they're easier to remember accurately.