coven_motha

I am an American. For the past ten months I have been living and working in France under a student visa. I wanted the possibility to travel more in the Schegen area after my visa was up and from what I have read online my best course of action was to leave the Schegen area (to the UK for example) and then renter after my visa has expired as a tourist. So that is exactly what I did. However I took a bus from France to the UK and as a result did not receive an "exit" stamp in my passport, only a entry stamp into the UK. Should I have a problem getting back into France? My plan was to visit in France a bit more before going home, flying out through Brussels. The entry stamp in my passport clearly shows I entered the UK, therefore leaving the Schegen area, but there is no exit stamp.

I'm not sure what my possibility of recourse is now. My visa expired today so I can't exactly pop in and out again. Should there be any issue?

Alec

You should have received Schengen exit stamp (with arrow pointing outwards) when leaving France, but often border officials aren't meticulous in stamping every non-EEA passport so you probably were overlooked. But you have UK entry stamp so that should act as confirmation of your Schengen exit, and your Schengen entry stamp (with arrow pointing inwards) should show the start of your 90-in-180 days Schengen stay.

coven_motha

Thanks so much! I figured that should be the case logically but sometimes beuracracy can be a bit illogical! Thanks again!

kerouac

Passports are being stamped less and less (and often the stamps were illegible anyway). All of the information they need is in the Schengen computer data base. And in any case, you have proof of your visa's validity, so obviously you have the right to be a tourist in Schengen for another 90 days after it expires.

Alec

<I> All of the information they need is in the Schengen computer data base.</I>

All they have are details of OP's student visa (type D) on French immigration system, not on Schengen Information System. It still doesn't track individual's movement in and out of Schengen (It was expected that deployment of SIS II will lead to that, but it has proved far more difficult to integrate IT system throughout the Schengen zone, with 25 member countries. So this has been scrapped.) There is a limited sharing of passenger data between certain countries, most notably between France, Germany and the Netherlands.