Hello

I want to plan a 12 month trip travelling around Europe, Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Eastern Europe.

My Question is, as I am not a citizen of the EU, is it possible to get a 12 month Visa to cover my trip, what I have found is the best I can do is a 6 month then I have to do a visa run...

Anybody have any suggestions plse

Regards

Marko

What sort of visa you can get depends on a lot of things. For example, if you are from a Commonwealth country and have a parent born in the UK or Europe, you can apply for a different type of visa than someone who is born elsewhere. If your grandparent was born there, it's a different type of visa again. And my information is a bit out of date and no doubt laws have changed. Best to check on each country's immigration websites. Any of the longer term visas or even a EU passport (if you qualified) take time, a lot of paperwork and are not cheap. If you can easily get a six month visa then I'd go with that.

Kay

>>My Question is, as I am not a citizen of the EU<<

Not really 'EU' related -- it is Schengen (of your list Spain, France, Italy, Germany and some of eastern Europe)

>> what I have found is the best I can do is a 6 month . . . .<<

Are you American (and no parental / dual citizenship which I assume you would have mentioned)? Then you are only allowed 90 days in any 180 day period. The UK, Ireland and some of eastern Europe are not in Schengen.

>> . . . then I have to do a visa run..<<. In most cases 'visa runs' don't work since if one has been Schengen for 90 days, they have to leave for at least 90 days - not just a quick trip out of Schengen and back.

What do you mean by "a visa run?" You can't just duck out of the Schengen Zone for a few days and come back.

You can do the following: 3 months in the Schengen Zone, 3 months in non-Schengen countries (UK/Ireland/Croatia/Romania, Turkey...) 3 months in the Schengen zone, 3 months in non-Schengen countries.

You're only allowed to stay 90 stays within 180 days in the Schengen.

As for availability of 12-month visa, it does exist for some Schengen countries such as France, Italy and Spain but you need to show you intend to stay the whole time in one country, with confirmed rental/owned property, sufficient funds, medical insurance etc, and usually some specific reasons for wanting to stay that long, such as academic or professional interest but no work or running a business is allowed (this includes working remotely). If you manage to secure such a visa, it allows you to travel in other Schengen states for 90-in-180 days. You can of course stay in non-Schengen countries independent of your visa. Such visas are usually issued to retirees, rather than someone of working age.