jas6318

sofarsogood-can you tell me where you got this information from? we're trying to get "official" confirmation from somewhere...anywhere. thx

Alec

Can't quote chapter and verse, but this is how Type D (long stay national visa like study) and Schengen visa work.

PRLCH

I can understand your desire to have some "official" response so that you know without a doubt your daughter is doing the right thing. We were in the same position. When my husband got in to see the French embassy (with a copy of our daughter's visa at hand), they confirmed that this is a common issue and is as Alec explained. Have to leave Schengen for 24 hours (with the all so important stamp to prove it), to effectively "cancel" or end the student visa, and then she can start her travels as a tourist on a tourist visa. The French embassy made it clear that was the case as she had a type D visa which required her to get a residence permit in France. It seemed that if she had not had to get the residence permit it may have been different, but I cannot be sure about that.
In any event, she is off to Edinburgh later this week for a week in the UK to officially end her stay as a resident in France.

lyndseykb

Hi everyone, my friend and I are planning a Europe trip for the spring, and we're in a similar situation. My friend is studying in Luxembourg for the spring semester and has a class D residency permit. She had to apply for the permit through her university, so the permit ends on her last day of school, the 17th or so of May. Her university is telling her that she has to leave immediately after her permit is up, or she will get arrested, but from I'm reading here, it seems that might not be the case. We were planning a trip from May 23-June 8 to travel through Schengen countries. If she leaves Luxembourg on the date that her residency permit expires, flies to London and gets the stamp out of the Schengen zone, can she re-enter France a few days later and go on the trip without getting arrested?

Alec

Yes, that should be possible. She is then allowed to stay in Schengen as tourist for 90-in-180 days.
When she enters UK, tell the immigration officer she is only staying a few days before leaving for France, and show evidence such as confirmed booking for the flight or Eurostar train service to France.

PRLCH

Yes. That is what my daughter did.

mjmunro1992

Hi,
I have a follow up question:
I am an Australian citizen currently studying in Lithuania on a student visa D which expires on January 26. Like the previous questions, I also want to stay in Europe for up to 90 days after this. After reading the above posts I now understand that I will need to leave the Schengen zone before the expiry date and get an exit and entry stamp for my 90-day tourist visa to begin.
However, my visa is a multiple-entry visa and I will be planning several trips outside of the Schengen Zone (e.g. the UK, Russia and Belarus) whilst studying. Therefore, how do I know when my study visa ends and 90-day tourist visa begins? Is it just the last date that I re-enter the Schengen Zone before my student visa D expires?

hetismij2

Your study visa expires on the date stamped in your passport - January 26th. The fact that during the validity of that visa you will be out of Schengen for a period of time has no bearing on when it ends.
You need to leave Schengen on or before the date of expiry, wait until it is expired and then re-enter. If you do not wait until it is expired you will overstay your visa.

Alec

Once your Type D study visa was activated, then the clock started to tick and it will expire exactly on the 'valid until' date on top right. Any absences from Schengen in the meantime have no bearing on it. So leave Lithuania for non-Schengen country before 26th January and then re-enter Schengen after. You may be asked to show evidence of funds and return flight home, so carry in your cabin luggage.

gh21

Alec, I have a slightly different question. My son, a US citizen, will be traveling to Spain to study. His program of study is less than 90 days ( somewhere around 80 days) and therefore, according to the Spanish Consulate website, does not need a visa to enter Spain to study for less than 90 days ( in fact, it's not clear to me if they would issue a student visa for less than 90 days). At the end of his studies he would like to travel in Schengen countries for another 3-4 weeks. Since he will not have a student visa or an extended residency visa, how can he combine 80 days of study in Spain with 3-4 weeks of travel in a Schengen? Thanks for your help.

janisj

>>Since he will not have a student visa or an extended residency visa, how can he combine 80 days of study in Spain with 3-4 weeks of travel in a Schengen?<<

The basic answer is . . . he can't.

W/o a visa he is limited to 90 days. So - he could travel around for about 10 days but then he'd have to leave Schengen. He could spend the extra 3 weeks in the UK or some other non-Schengen country.

nytraveler

Agreed - he is limited to 90 days - will need to do part of hte travel in non-Schengen countries.

ElissaP

It's really helpful seeing this conversation, but I want to make sure that the advice here stands in the face of new rules.

According to the Swiss government, as of mid-October 2013 the 180 days in question are counted backward from, say, the date that the immigration official is looking at documents, not forward from the first entry.

I'm wondering if this changes whether we can exit and reenter as tourists, as Alec and others have suggested here, after our type D visas expire. Now that they count the 180 days backwards and not forwards, if I leave the Schengen area after my Swiss visa ends and then attempt to reenter, I've already been in the Schengen area for well over 90 of the last 180 days. None of that previous time will have been on the 'freebie' visitor's visa, but I haven't found clarification on whether with the new rules it's possible to restart the clock by leaving and reentering the Schengen area.

Also, might the answer depend on the country in question? Should I check with each country that I had planned to visit after my Swiss visa ends, or would my automatic Schengen visa (or lack thereof) be treated the same throughout the Schengen area?

And in case it affects the answer, I'm from the U.S.

nytraveler

How can counting in either direction change it. A total of 90 days - backward or forward is 90 days. If, counting backward someone has already been in Schengen 50 days that means they can stay 40 more days. They then must leave - and cannot return for 90 more days.

It doesn;t matter if you are the start, middle or end of the 90 days - the limit is still 90 days total within a period of 180 days.

ElissaP

Yes, the limit is the same, but when it's counted can make a difference. This PDF demonstrates a case where it would matter:
http://www.bfm.admin.ch/content/dam/...rechnung-e.pdf

That PDF comes from the Swiss government's visa page, where they have a short statement about the rule change:
http://www.bfm.admin.ch/content/bfm/.../einreise.html

nytraveler

Looks to me like the rules are more stringent - not less. Although even the 2nd example I would have thought the same under the rule as I understood it (but I'm not an expert).me.

PRLCH

Interesting. I had always interpreted it under the new rules.

mjmunro1992

Okay, so this is my situation:
I entered the Schengen Zone (Sweden) on the grounds of the 90 days free travel.
After about a month, I got a student visa in Lithuania (I couldn't apply before I left as there is no Lithuanian embassy in Australia). Does it still count for me to leave the Schengen Zone when my study visa expires, then return on a new 90-day Schengen visa? Although I entered on this type of visa, I was only in the zone for about 30 days before I was issued my student visa (valid for 4 months). I guess what I am asking, is whether the 4 month student visa counts towards the time I am in the Schengen zone and thus prevents me from re-entering without the 90 day break?
If so, is there any way of staying in the Schengen Zone with another type of visa etc.?

Alec

The way border officials will look at it that you have a Type D visa. When it expires you are expected to leave not just Lithuania, the country that issued it but also the whole Schengen area. Once done, you will have completed your obligation under that visa and you will be in the same situation as other non-EEA travellers who have permitted 90-in-180 day stay as tourists. Despite the change in rules, previous holders of Type D visa can still do that.

mjmunro1992

Cool, thanks. So it makes no difference that I didn't enter the Schengen Zone on that visa?