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-   -   Schengen Visa Predicament (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/schengen-visa-predicament-1019383/)

joanofrock Jul 8th, 2014 04:34 AM

Schengen Visa Predicament
 
So am a student in Belgium and my Schengen visa (student D-type) expires on July 31st but my Belgian Id expires on September 30

I had planned to go on a Eurotrip( all Schengen area) around end of July and flying back from Finland by 2nd of August.

Now the odd ball is I got my wallet and hence the Id stolen to my bad luck. If I apply for it, the chances of getting the id before the start of the trip are not high.

So my question is can I travel after my visa expires without the Id? or I should get my Id as soon as possible? Or is it not advisable to go for the trip at all?

If the Schengen visa expires while traveling, is there any grace period?

Oh and am from Asia.

Jean Jul 8th, 2014 06:51 AM

You need to speak to the proper authorities. Not strangers on a travel forum.

nytraveler Jul 8th, 2014 10:18 AM

My best guess is that you must be out of Schengen before your visa expires. Not sure why you have a Belgian ID (unless a school ID which is worthless) if you are not Belgian.

But I am not a legal expert.

You should contact your local embassy and ask them. And that would be the specific country - not a continent.

Alec Jul 8th, 2014 11:26 AM

If it's your Belgian residence permit (titre de séjour/Verblijfsdocument) you have lost, you can still travel in Schengen (the rules changed some time ago; before that you had to travel with both outside Belgium) but only up to the visa's expiry. If you overstay, they may turn a blind eye (as you are leaving Finland) but can slap you with fine and ban from future entry. My experience is that Finland is one of the tougher countries in EU and does tend to play by the rule. I'd play safe and leave for home before the visa expiry.

hetismij2 Jul 8th, 2014 12:29 PM

Is your D visa a multiple entry visa, or a Belgium only one? If it is Belgium only you can't travel to other Schengen countries on it anyway.
If you have a nationality that requires a tourist visa to travel in Europe you are out of luck, and must leave before the visa expires. The date of expiry on your Belgian verblijfsvergunning is irrelevant.
If you have a nationality that can travel visa free for 90 days then I believe you can travel on the tourist 90day rule once your D visa runs out, but I am not certain of that.
You need to seek expert advice.
Overstaying could result in a fine and a ban, with a stamp in the passport. That stamp won't go down well with other countries immigration officers either.

Alec Jul 8th, 2014 01:11 PM

OP says he/she is from Asia, and there are only a handful of countries whose nationals can travel visa-free in Schengen, such as Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, HK, Taiwan and Singapore. If the OP is from one of those countries, what they can do is to leave Schengen on or before 31st July and re-enter, and will normally get a stamp allowing a further stay of 90-in-180 days, subject to satisfying the border official about funds and plan for eventual journey home.

lincasanova Jul 8th, 2014 01:15 PM

Best to go to immigration info and ask THEM.. especially since the card was stolen.. they will advise you correctly about your travels.

Alec Jul 8th, 2014 02:19 PM

Trouble is most embassies/consulates/immigration depts don't give advice. Just refer you to their websites or tell you to consult professional advisor.

lincasanova Jul 8th, 2014 11:16 PM

The immigration department ( here in Spain it is a special police department) will give him the correct information on his situation, at least that is my personal experience. They are the ones who would be acting on this.. the ones issuing a second card.. the ones confirming he can extend his visa to include the time on his student card, etc.

Then each embassy of each country SHOULD be able to tell him if he is allowed to visit under his circumstances.

joanofrock Jul 16th, 2014 01:38 AM

Hi guys. Thank you for all your reply. Yes I have a multiple entry visa and am not from one of those visa-free Asian countries.

Moving on, I had applied for Visa for my next year of study and got approved by the Embassy of the country (Schengen again) I had applied to. However I did not get the visa stamped on my passport and was told that it should be enough if I take a print out of the decision and move there and follow the process to get a new permit.

Anyway what I was told by the Migration board regarding the same question,

"A valid passport and a valid residence permit is enough to travel within the Schengen countries"

Hope this would be useful for someone in the future.


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