I just discovered that hotmail and skype conveniently delete your history if it's older than about a year... thus I'm at a loss as to how I will provide the embassy with that proof of our relationship from before a year. I'm hoping my gf will have phone records from her cell phone company, but that might only be available to the police or something like it is in some Western countries. Is there any way to recover those old emails from hotmail??

thanks

I just discovered that hotmail and skype conveniently delete your history if it's older than about a year... thus I'm at a loss as to how I will provide the embassy with that proof of our relationship from before a year. I'm hoping my gf will have phone records from her cell phone company, but that might only be available to the police or something like it is in some Western countries. Is there any way to recover those old emails from hotmail??

thanks

Are they definitely deleted and not archived? Email and ask if you can get older emails restored?

I use gmail and one of the luxuries of that is you have a huge amount of storage and they don't archive or delete your emails.

Still have all of mine since 2001.

This one is when I joined:-

-------------------------------------------------------------

Registration at Thailand Expat Forum web board‏

From: [email protected]

Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 8:56:01 PM

To: *******@hotmail.com

Email via http://forum.thaivisa.com

Kan Win,

Thank you for registering at Thailand Expat Forum web board.

<snip>

Please keep these details safe. You will not be able to log into the board unless you use these details.

Member Name: Kan Win

Password: <snip>

To activate your account, simply click on the link below!

<snip>

Please note, that if you don't activate your account within 30 days, you will have to re-register.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I think they delete mails if you have not "logged in" for more than a few months on Hotmail? not sure, but that is what I heard. some time back.

Good Luck

Yours truly,

Kan Win

Kan Win, do you remember setting up your account where it wouldn't delete old emails?

I'll try emailing hotmail, but it's such a huge company with so many accounts, I doubt they'd actually have staffers to help customers, we'll see.

Svenn,

The only was you can show a "relationship" is through old emails and phone records? Those might indicate an acknowledgement of each other, but it hardly qualifies proof that you two are in a "relationship".

Establising a relationship history is more than just more than a year's worth of emails, if you can provide a selection of emails that you do have access to that refers to events either in the past or future events that will have more weight than a large amount of meaningless emails.

Photographs, include comments to give context.

Explain in your covering letter about the lack of email history prior to <date>.

Considering the ease with which printed off emails could be faked you need to consider that email is part of establishing a relationship history - not all of it.

Likewise with cell-phone records, international (?) calls might simply show origin as international, that is if there is a printed account detail availible, with many 12-Call type 'accounts' that does not exist.

HTH

I just discovered that hotmail and skype conveniently delete your history if it's older than about a year... thus I'm at a loss as to how I will provide the embassy with that proof of our relationship from before a year. I'm hoping my gf will have phone records from her cell phone company, but that might only be available to the police or something like it is in some Western countries. Is there any way to recover those old emails from hotmail??

thanks

Hi mate

I had very little phone records because I used a cheap number / emails but what I sent instead was copies of all my old SMS messages I just took pictures on a digital camera and emailed them to them to the embassy. If you are on 02 you can you can save all your SMS's to your computer on the new phones, or you can go to the shop and they can advise you.

Proof of Relationship

Money Transfers

Hotel bookings in both of your names

Flights in both names

Letter sent to each other - also keep all envelopes.

Photos together

SMS Messages

This will all show the embassy proof of a relationship.

Good Luck

Paul