brida

well i came to Italy one year and 5 months ago...something personal came up and i stood in the country without a permit...now i want to go back to my country New York...i want to get a cruise from England to New York, a trasatlantic cruise the problem is that from Italy they can not help me. Now i really feel scare that if i buy the cruise lets say i must go in a flight from Italy to England but i dont know what might happen because my passport says that i have been in this country so long without going back...i am scare because in the airport they can make me some problems...and then what about in the cruise when they check it...then i really dont know if i can buy only the cruise one way.....i am so confused and i really dont want to be here in Italy any more is so back country for me...when you really live here you see the reality of the country...povera Italia !!

J62

The airline & cruise line will want to know that your passport is valid for entry into your destination. They won't care how long you've been where you are.

If your passport isn't valid anymore then you need to get that fixed by contacting the embassy of the country that issued your passport (US?) www.usembassy.gov

jacketwatch

Are you a US citizen and your passport expierd?

brida

well thanks a lot guy and no my pass ùport is not expire is just that i have been here in italy for more than 3 month and after the 3 months i stood here like nothing without any permit....so that is why i am so scared

jacketwatch

So your Italian VISA expired, is that it? What countrys passport do you hold?

brida

yes i hold an us oassport

brida

and yes i am american and i have been here in italy long time without a permit now i want to go back and i got to go from italy to london so from london i nor take a flight to new york or a trasatlantic cruise now i feel super scared because i dont know if when i get to london i might have problems

J62

If you have a valid passport you won't have problems when you get to London.

Your problem is that you an illegal alien in Italy. That's not a passport problem, that's an Italian visa problem.

The UK government won't care about that, nor will the
cruiseline or airline that will carry you to the US, nor will the US government when you arrive in NY.

Relax, book yourself transportation from Italy back to NY, and you'll be fine.

brida

hooooooo thanks so much i really were so scared and i was waiting to buy the ticke you know i did not wanted to waste the money and trip so uk when i get there will no see? and i know here in italy i am illegal mmmm i believe in some one who promess me help but now all is gone so i must go back thanks a lot

crys

Since Britain is an EU country just like Italy, it may have some issues with your illegal presence in Italy. Suggest you consult with a British immigration attorney.

brida

i did crys but they told me that they dont know....they are kind of rude by the phone....the only thing the girl who i spoke with told me was to take a direct flight from italy to new york but i cant because i die if i take a plain sice i loss someone on 9/11 so.....

jacketwatch

Well how about simply call the US consulate and tell them you were unaware a VISA for that length of time was needed as you need no VISA to enter? You could say you didn't know and just found out. It won't hurt to try. However next time use some foresight. You should have thought of the consequences of overstaying the permit first and looked into staying legally for that length of time. Did you and then stay anyway thus running this risk? I don't mean to sound preachy as we all do things we regret. However staying for such a lenght of time w/o a VISA is a bit careless. As it seems English is a second language you could say this limited you in understanding the requirements. Good luck.

suze

You have well over stayed your 90 day tourist limit. You need to get that straightened out first. I'm no immigration expert but you are now there illegally and I assume there are fines or something to get taken care of?

Call or go to an American Embassy. Get a lawyer. You need help bigger than is available on an internet travel forum, seriously.

As to your fear of flying, I don't think your method of exiting Europe is what is going to matter. By air or by ship you'll need a passport in good standing.

traveller69

When are you planning on travelling? There are trans altlantic sailings from other than England. I mention this because I know Holland America has a sailing out of Copenhagen. It is an EU country but when we arrived in Copenhagen on a flight from London with a Canadian Passport they did not ask one question and we did not fill out any form. They just stamped our passports. They didn't read them to check how long we had been anywhere. Good Luck on getting home I am sure it will be OK as long as your US Passport is Ok and you say it is. I think you are worrying for nothing.

J62

I don't understand the advice you give, suze. Why does brida need to straighten out the illegal-in-Italy situation first?

Isn't the simplest way to solve the issue just to leave Europe to the US, which is the stated intent here?

traveller69

I just did some reading on this and it seems that if you are voluntarily leaving - no problem. If you are caught with an expired or no visa you will be deported. That is all Brida wants to do. There is no mention of fines or any other disciplinary action. I think the only thing at issue would be the entrance into another country but if you have proof of being "In Transit" (cruise documents) it may not be a problem.

Dayenu

Oh, just tell Italian police you are in the country illegally and they sent you back for free

Sorry, guys, I don't think a US person being in Italy for only 17 month would forget that much English! The language of your childhood stays with you much, much longer! I came to the US 20 years ago, I'm still fluent in the language of the country of my birth.

Question: when somebody enters Italy, do they stamp the passport? I mean, 17 months ago, was the OP's passport stamped?

In any case, something doesn't add up. In the original post Brida is afraid there will be a problem in the airport. Then Brida (she? he?) says that a flight is out after 09/11.

Brida, was the US citizenship obtained legally? If yes, what's the problem?

jacketwatch

The passport should have been stamped and upon exiting will probably be scanned so the date issue should be discovered.
Dayenu: I am not sure if your comment about language is referring to my comment above. If so I think you misunderstood what I said. I agree that your native tongue can stay with you and I assume the OP is in the ESL group. Cheers, Larry. If you read her posts it seems that English is an adopted tongue. I assume the language of her childhood is something else, Italian maybe. Cheers, Larry.

brida

hi guys and yes ofcourse iam an us citizel in a legal way it is just that as i stood here so much in italy i was afraid to go to another european country even to make a transfer to new york...and yes my lenguage is english the problem is that i am so sad and nevous that i dont know what i write...thanks all of you for your help

brida

and then clearly i dont know what to do some people tell me that is nothing and some others that is all so.......