Yay, thanks Brexit.
Wife and I are planning on spending between 3 and 6 months towing the caravan around Europe. We only get 90 days now via Schengen in the whole area, but won't be spending more than a month or 2 in any one country, if anyone has done something similar, do we Really have to apply for a long term stay visa in basically every country after the 90 days?
I thought it was just one visa for the Schengen area, not individual countries.
I thought it was visits to the Schengen area from the UK are limited to 90 days in every 180 days.
Just out of interest, what happens if you are over 90 days and come back to the UK?<br />Naughtt step?<br />Stand in the corner with a road cone on your head?<br />Lines and stay back after school?<br />Slapped legs<br />Fine?<br />Cavity search?<br />Prison sharing a cell with Bubba?
I could find no way of getting a visa for this. You can apply for a longer visa for an individual country but not for multi country visits.
However no one checks which countries you have been in - so you could get a visa for 6 months for say France, travel around and on leaving you could claim that you spent most of the time in France. the only check is on entry and exit from the EU<br /><br />However this is just surmise from me
^ I've read up and ended up concluding what TJ did. Apply for one country and pretend you've been there for 6 months.
I've no idea what happens if you book on a ferry or similar and passport/immigration control, so do consider that.
Don’t know for sure but would assume the biggest risk is that they don’t let you back in next time you want a holiday.
Basically this, or arrest/deportation if you get caught before before you return at your cost as you'll be/have been, an illegal immigrant.
I've not seen any examples of this, but given the way the UK treats people who don't have the correct visas, I wouldn't bank on an EU country cutting you too much slack.
Apparently Portugal has prosecuted exactly zero people for overstaying so far..... the French are the biggest prosecutors.
Also need to consider what happens if you need medical treatment, is there impact there?
It depends if your insurer is going to ask for visas etc...
I do wonder if there is a loophole. You can cross from Uk into NI without a visa or passport check due to the common travel area. IIRC the Republic of Ireland ( I have been told off before for what to call it but cannot remember if this is acceptable 🙂 ) has entry to mainland EU visa and passport control free as its in Schengen and there is now a ferry direct from ROI into France - so theoretically you could go Scotland / NI / ROI / France without passing a passport control
I contemplated trying this on my big bike ride but did not. I did spend more than 90 days in EU countries tho as the time in ROI did not appear on my passport
Dunno if anyone has tried it and there might be questions asked as to why you do not have an entry stamp if you leave the EU via a more conventional border
I'm planning a long trip this summer, was going to spend a month in Andorra and a couple in Montenegro as these are not in the Schengen. Just have to make sure get passport stamped in and out as proof.
you have to have 90 days out to reset the 90 day in clock IIRC.
IIRC it's a rolling total, same as how sick days are calculated at work, etc.
It depends if your insurer is going to ask for visas etc…
If we're talking insurers avoiding paying out thousands, I'd not be betting against them doing some pretty basic checks. See also your house insurance if you are away that long without telling them.
Not very environmentally efficient, but could you take a v cheap flight back to the uk for the weekend every 3 months?
Get a Schengen app on your phone, and plan your trip as you go, you can pop in and out of areas out side of the Schengen zone to extend your stay (Andorra / Bulgaria etc.). The app will total up your time and work out how many days you have to go. When coming back to the UK allow enough days for travelling back to the Eurostar or ferry. The app will then indicate on what day you can return and for how many days from your first visit within the zone.
Not very environmentally efficient, but could you take a v cheap flight back to the uk for the weekend every 3 months?
It doesn't work like that, it's cumalative & rolling.. so if you were away for 60 days, flew back to the uk for 1 day, and then flew out for another 31 days, you could be in bother.
And you wouldn't be able to return to the EU for another year thereafter anyway.
Flying back to the UK, or just somewhere out of the EU, as a UK citizen it does not reset the 90 day clock, it's 90 days in any 12 month rolling period.
Whether you can sneakily get away with it, is a different subject, but thems the rules.
@mattyfez - it’s 90 days in 180, not in a year
https://www.gov.uk/travel-to-eu-schengen-area
Yes it's a rolling 180-day window. So flying back to the UK for two full days gives you two full days back in Schengen, the flying days count as days in Schengen and there is no 'restarting' of the clock. If the OP wants more than 90 days every 180 then yes you need to apply for a ling-term visitor visa. Reading a few countries embassy pages, these look like they would give you temporary resident status (with clauses on employment) so if that is the case you would be free to travel around Schengen area with that visa.
NB Republic of Ireland isn't in Schengen.
For medical emergencies I believe the reciprocal agreement doesn't have any time limits, but you'll want travel insurance in case of a need for e.g. repatriation. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/apply-for-a-free-uk-global-health-insurance-card-ghic/
As for the consequences of over-staying, when leaving you'll get a black mark against your passport. Typically you might expect anything from a telling off, a fine, to a ban on re-entry to Schengen for some length of time (decided by courts). If you got a ban there are some countries that require you to declare it, so it could cause future travel issues not just in Europe. I like travel and have had jobs where it's a requirement to be able to travel, so I wouldn't risk an overstay. Netherlands have a nice summary of their thresholds and punishments https://ind.nl/en/entry-ban#consequences-of-the-entry-ban
Yep, I agree @mattyfez, the same principle applies, although it’s rolling so the return would be blocked for 90 days after the initial 90, after which the allowance would start creeping back up.
As others have said, **** Brexit…
Any Irish parents/grandparents. That's our plan - get our Irish passports
Otherwise **** Brexit - we were away for 7 months before the Brexit with zero hassle.
Funnily enough, my wife's mother was Irish. Does it need to be on 'both sides'?
Go over to Morroco if you need to get out of Schengen but don't want to go back to UK. 90 days allowed in Morocco and they have great weather in winter. I'm there now and was swimming at sunset then cooked dinner outside in shorts and t shirt.
Pre Brexit I was in Europe for 100 days straight. On our return the passport control very much knew how long I had been away, and asked me some amusing and cryptic questions. I have no doubt that there is a system in place that can log entry and exit dates as you would imagine there might be. How that info is acted on and who has it is unclear to me though
Funnily enough, my wife’s mother was Irish. Does it need to be on ‘both sides’?
I think it has to be your 'blood line' so you're stuffed? but don't quote me on that... marriage may change it? your kids could get duel citizenship though, as it goes back as far as grandparents.
Funnily enough, my wife’s mother was Irish. Does it need to be on ‘both sides’?
She can get an Irish Passport, then I believe you can travel with her,
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/non-eu-family/index_en.htm
The EU are going to bring in an electronic system but it has been continuously delayed.
Before travelling you would have to apply for permission to enter by filling in a form from the internet.Supposed to be around 7 euro.
The system would register your entry and exit as you passed through border control even if it was different EU countries. Your number of days would be instantly worked out and if over the limit alert border control .
Fines,black marks in passport,registered on the above system may all apply.
God I'm confused or a bit simple. So if on June 1st I go to Andorra for 2 months and Montnengro for 2 months(I know travelling between the two will use up days in the Schengen) and then 2 months in France/Italy wherever I would still have a month spare in Europe to use at a later date?
Yes. But just to add to the confusion. If you did 2 months France, 2 months Andorra, 2 months Montenegro (in that order). Totalling 6 months, you could then have another 3 months in France afterwards as your initial 2 months would be over 6 months ago. I.e. falling out the back of your moving 6 month window.
@nealc never thought of that!! I had nothing set in stone so that helps loads. Cheers!
NB Republic of Ireland isn’t in Schengen.
true - I thought it was but its sort of half in and half out.
The EU are going to bring in an electronic system but it has been continuously delayed.
European entry system and biometrics is scheduled for late 2024, possibly put back until after Paris Olympics. Expect new levels of pain at Dover and the chunnel when that kicks in.
To stay in France/Andorra for more than three months you'd need a multi-entry French or SpanishVisa so you could get in and out of Andorra, nealc. Your ruse doesn't work, you'd be recorded as overstaying in France.
FFS!! Nowt simple.
No you wouldn't. At the end of month 6 you would have had 2 months in the EU. You then go to France. At the end of month 7 you have had 3 months. But only 2 in the last 6. After 8 months 4 months, but only 2 in the last 6. After 9 months, 5 months, but only 3 in the last 6. This is the point you have to leave.
According to the EU authorities you'd have had 4 months in France/EU, how would you prove otherwise as there there are no checks on the way into Andorra and the only people likely to stop you are the French customs on the way out? Anyhow:
https://www.exteriors.ad/fr/voyager-en-andorre
I'm sure the same page exists in English if you Google it. It says you have to check with the French/Spanish authorities to check if you need a visa and for four months you'd need one. Short of a private helicopter you can't fly into Andorra so you have to transit through France or Spain and it's those countries that you have to contact. France would probably suggest getting a 6-month visa.
Besides, who wants to spend 2 month in Andorra?
