vastagep

Ok, so I will be studying in Valladolid, Spain this fall. My program starts on October 1st and ends on December 16th. This means my total stay would be 77 days. As I understand it, because the program is less than 90 days, I cannot, and do not need to obtain a Spanish Student Visa. I would like to travel to a few European countries before I leave, but I am not exactly clear on exactly how the visa situation works out. My questions are:
1. Are my 77 days in Spain considered as part of the 90 in 180 Schengen tourist visa? If so this would leave me with only 13 days outside of my program to travel.

2. If I visit a non-Schengen country such as the UK for a long weekend in the middle of the semester, would those days be counted in my 90 days?

3. Some of the embassy websites are rather unclear about whether or not I need a visa. Is the 90 in 180 Schengen thing an actual visa, or is it just a restriction that applies to visiting any Schengen country? On the French Consulate in Chicago's website it gives the usual information about the Schengen agreement, but then below it gives info about whether or not I need a visa.

4. What would the repercussions be if I ended up staying in a Schengen country after the 90 days, but then flew to the UK or back to the US directly?

Thanks a bunch for any help. This is some pretty confusing technical stuff, and I've only ever been out of the country in Latin America and they are pretty lenient when it comes to letting Americans in and out.

kerouac

If you do not have a student visa, you only have 90 Schengen days.

Days outside of Schengen are deducted from the count, but keep proof of it.

sofarsogood

1 Yes

2 No

3 90 in 180 days is the maximum you can stay as a tourist; it's not a paper visa, rather a policy

4 Dunno… try and let us know

Hopefully, the rest of the world will begin to apply the same rules to visitors from the US as the US applies to its visitors - then you'd get a shock.

greg

You have 13 days outside your program before you must leave the Schengen zone. Since you mentioned Chicago, I presume you are from the U.S.A.

My daughter spent a term in Spain from the U.S. less than 90 days. She did not need any visa.

>>> If I visit a non-Schengen country such as the UK for a long weekend in the middle of the semester, would those days be counted in my 90 days?

Yes. However, you must understand how the days are counted. Any part of the day you spend in Schengen country counts as if you have spent the whole day.

If you leave Spain at 00:01 in the morning on Friday, spend "three" days in UK, return to Spain at 23:59 Sunday, it counts as one day outside Schengen zone. In this case, only Saturday counts.

There are several online calculators. Here is a sample https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/vis...or.htm?lang=en

Visit easy destinations by bus, train, or budget airlines leaving Valladolid or Madrid during the term. Leave your 13 days for destinations not possible this way.

I do not recommend flouting with the immigration laws any time, especially these days.

greg

I just read sofarsogood response to >>> If I visit a non-Schengen country such as the UK for a long weekend in the middle of the semester, would those days be counted in my 90 days?

I see how this question was interpreted differently.

A full day spent outside Schengen zone is "counted" as outside. "not-counted" towards Schengen 90 days.

Robert2016

>4. What would the repercussions be if I ended up staying in a Schengen country after the 90 days, but then flew to the UK or back to the US directly?<

Since you have to pass through passport control when leaving a Schengen country, it may be noted, (especially if your passport has only a single stamp on it) and if it is, you could end up being banned from reentering a Schengen country anytime in the near future. Is it worth the risk?

hetismij2

Not only could you risk a ban from returning to Schengen by overstaying, you could risk being refused entry to the UK if they see you overstay visas.

WoinParis

If you are outside Schengen these do not count as spent in schengen.
Just keep proof of you stays outside.

Sofar my worst immigration experiences were indeed entering the U.S. With quite disagreeable officers most of the time.

hetismij2

Only full days spent outside Schengen count. The day you arrive in Schengen is the day the counter starts, the day you leave it stops, but is still counted. So as greg said the day you travel to the UK and the day you return still count for you Schengen time. If you went to the UK for a weekend in the middle of your stay, leaving Friday returning Sunday it only saves you one day since that is all you are outside Schengen for.

spaarne

<i> Visa Questions
Posted by: vastagep on Feb 11, 17 at 12:33am</i>

When you leave Schengen make sure you get a stamp in your passport. Stamps are usually by request only these days. A few years ago I flew in and out of Paris and did not get a stamp either way.

bilboburgler

If you've been swiped through the computer the stamp is of little use apart from as your record.

thursdaysd

If you are caught overstaying, you are liable to be fined as well as being barred from entering the Schengen zone for a specified period. I have seen mention of fines as high as 500 euros, although 200 might be more common.

vastagep

Thanks for the responses. It would seem that going to the UK for only a weekend would only give me a day, but if I had a longer four day weekend it might be worth it. Also, the general consensus seems to be "don't overstay your welcome, you dummy". Dually noted.
I was also wondering if there are any other non-Schengen countries that do not require a visa that I could visit.

StCirq

Google the list of Schengen countries, then look at a map and you'll see the countries that are not in the Schengen Zone.

Or go to Morocco.

rialtogrl

-I was also wondering if there are any other non-Schengen countries that do not require a visa that I could visit.-

Croatia!

WoinParis

Switzerland. But be fast, they have a clone of Trump there, so he might want to build a wall if elected. And the populists have 1/3rd of the votes.

kerouac

Wrong, Wo. Switzerland signed the Schengen agreement in 2008 although it hesitated a couple of years before implementing it.

flanneruk

"Switzerland"

For crying out loud. Switzerland's not in Schengen?

Are you Eurofanatics REALLY that ignorant of your own politics?

No wonder the bloody EU risks falling apart. Lack of political solidarity almost on a Trump supporter scale.

Christina

Some people might think that if you are in the Schengen agreement, you must be in the European Union, I guess. I don't know why else you'd think Switzerland wasn't in it. Norway isn't in the EU, either but is in the Schengen area.

You could go to Ireland as well as the UK.

Alec

Just to sum up your situation:
* Yes, your total stay in Schengen must not exceed 90 days in any period of 180.
* Spending time outside Schengen will be credited, but only full days count.
* There is a talk of electronic Schengen entry system, but it hasn't been implemented. So you rely on Schengen entry stamp (with arrow pointing inwards) and exit stamp (arrow pointing outwards) to evidence your travel pattern. Remember it's up to you to show you have complied with the rules, and not for officials to prove you have broken them. So if you didn't get stamps, keep other evidence like boarding cards, booking and hotel receipts etc.
* While some countries don't seem to enforce Schengen rules, esp for non-visa nationals, you can't count on it and some countries like Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands are known as sticklers for compliance. When caught exceeding your Schengen limit, you may be allowed to leave the zone with some strong words of warning and admonition. While fine and ban are uncommon, don't rule them out, esp with above countries (and the list may be longer in the current security situation).
* And it is true that UK immigration takes into account your compliance with certain other countries and territories' immigration system. So exceeding your Schengen limit may lead to your being refused entry for UK.