mjmunro1992

I went to the migration department in Vilnius, and the lady was confident I could stay for 90 days in Europe after my visa expired, without leaving, on my visa-free agreement.

ClareSc

I have a similar situation as PRLCH. I have a Schengen Longstay visa that expires on the 5th of January but I want to 'stop' it early as I am planning on travelling on the Tourist visa for 6 weeks. So if I travel to the UK on the 27th of December and get all of the stamps required, then when I return to the Schengen Area I will be on the Tourist visa?
Also If my flight flies in at 10am and the flies out 7pm the same day, will be enough time in the UK to change Schengen Visas?
Thanks in advance!!

krystlkolektr

I came across a similar question recently. My daughter is in France from the USA on a D visa that has an expiration date in July. We plan to travel with her in France and in England. I contacted the French embassy in San Francisco and received a reply within just a few hours. They said that she cannot extend her visa but she can leave the Schengen area, go to London for example and then re-enter as a tourist to get an extra 90 days. This works perfectly for us since we have family in England and she wanted to visit them with me before flying back to the USA.

janisj

>>I contacted the French embassy in San Francisco<< to be clear -- there is no Embassy in San Francisco. Assuming you contacted the Consulate??

marbleskies

Hello,
I am hoping someone has experience with this issue and can offer a solution.
Our daughter has applied, via CEA, to study abroad in Spain this year for two different terms.
First term is in Alicante from May 30 till July 26.
Second term is in Seville from Sept 1 till Dec 20.
The period from July 27 to August 30 is for travel within Europe.
We have been diligent and pro-active with all aspects of logistics, including already have set an appt with Spanish Consulate in Chicago to apply for a Student Visa.
Yesterday, 45 days after accepting both program applications at the same time, a CEA advisor contacts our daughter and says it is not likely a Student Visa will be granted for the entire duration of the stay. The advisor believes that since there is a gap between the semesters the application is likely to be denied.
Has anyone faced a similar issue?
Thanks
Steven

kybourbon

What is CEA? Do you have a link? The dates don't seem like regular school dates. When DD went to school there, the terms were more Feb until end of June and later in Sept. (not Sept. 1).

KTtravel

We had a somewhat similar situation with my daughter a few years ago. She applied for a summer study abroad program at Cambridge and a fall semester program in London. The London program required a special student visa since she had an internship as well as classes. After much back and forth, it seemed the solution was for her to leave the UK the ten days or so she had between programs. She had to show proof that she planned to exit the country at the end of her first student visa when she first arrived and we felt fortunate that we had already made those arrangements (Eurostar tickets.) She may have also had to show proof that she would be leaving at the end of her second program (I can't remember now.)

I would definitely talk with the Spanish Consulate and see if they think your daughter will have any problems. Good luck!

zabbo

Hey Alec,

I have a similar situation. My type d visa for germany expires on 15th May 2014, i was told over at lonelyplanet/thorntree that once it expires it would automatically become a tourist visa for 90 days since my passport allows visa waiver.

However it seems here that you are sure i would need to leave the schengen area to get a stamp, and then re-enter with a new stamp to prove the start of my 90 days tourist visa-free travel?

Would appreaciate some clarification

Alec

Yes, you must leave Schengen before your type D visa expires and re-enter Schengen, when you get further 90-in-180 days.

Your type D doesn't roll into 90-in-180 days automatically. You need Schengen exit and entry stamps (with an arrow pointing outwards and inwards respectively) to show you have completed your type D stay as student and are beginning a new tourist stay. If you don't, you can be guilty of overstay.

PRLCH

Zabbo,
As Alec says. That is exactly what my daughter was eventually told by the French embassy. She followed their advice and all went well!

zabbo

I was supposed to change my type D visa into a residence permit. But now that my internship ended early, I no longer need to do that.

However I am afraid the officials would suspect I'm trying to to come in as a tourist to continue working as it initially was supposed to be 5 months. Would they suspect because I did not change my D visa into the resident permit?

I do have papers stating my internship ended earlier than planned though

alison10

I have the same problem but in the other way.

I am French, my boyfriend is Colombian and we live in Australia. He applied for a master in France, he is going to apply for a student visa soon (we could get an appointment to the french embassy in Sydney via their website) but they don't answer to the phone and neither to the mails.
His course is going to start in august and our flight tickets are for the 6 of july because my visa expire this day in australia. I read that the immigration will not allow him to arrive in france more than 2 weeks before the beginning of his course and no more than 2 weeks after, no exceeding 1 month total with the student visa.
Firstly, I would like to know if It's possible for him to take the 4 weeks before the course and leave straight away after the end of his course as he will not have 'weeks' left.
Secondly, if not, can he, come with a schengen visa first and then, 3 weeks after, just before the beginning of his course, leave the schengen territory (UK, Morocco…) for few days and then , go back with the student visa in France?

I would really appreciate if someone can give me advice about that.

Thank you !

Alec

Once issued, type D visa will have 'valid from' and 'valid until' dates on them, and they can't be changed. So your boyfriend can't arrive before the first date. These dates are fixed from the course details he submits.

A Colombian is a visa national so must get Schengen visa in advance to enter. He can apply for one starting when he hopes to enter France and expires around the start date of his type D study visa. Then doing a quick visa run to get his type D activated. I suggest he travels from a non-Schengen country directly to France to get a French entry stamp. While he is usually allowed to travel via another Schengen state, it will make his life easier when applying for French residence permit (carte/titre de séjour) later.

talon

Thank you everyone for continuing to reply to these questions!

One point I need clarification on (as asked by Clare but I can't see a reply): Do I need to be out of the Schengen area on the actual day/night my D study visa expires? Or can I have exited the week before, gotten my stamps, re-enter as a tourist to spend my 90 days, being back in Schengen when my D technically ends?

alison10

thank you !

Alec

<I>Do I need to be out of the Schengen area on the actual day/night my D study visa expires? Or can I have exited the week before, gotten my stamps, re-enter as a tourist to spend my 90 days, being back in Schengen when my D technically ends?</I>

You can do the latter. To avoid confusion, try to re-enter Schengen at least a day after type D expiry.

talon

Thank you for replying

KzEs

Hello, I have a similar question, except that I also want to travel before my student visa begins. I have a 180 student visa for Spain, but I would like to arrive in Spain a few weeks before and travel around Spain and Europe. I understand that after my student visa expires, I can leave the Schengen area and return for 90 days as a tourist. However, if I enter the Schengen area before my visa starts, does this count as my 90 days as a tourist? Or does the 180 days I will spend on a visa count towards the 90 days you have to wait (i.e. as it can only be 90 days in a 180 day period). To sum it up, I suppose, I am asking if my travel as a tourist before my visa counts as a separate 180 day period than the my time as a tourist after my visa ends. Thank you very much

Alec

It's separate.

fiso42

Hi All,
I find this thread very instructive and rather reassuring, especially thanks to Alec's answer which appear full of good and common sense.
That said, my Japanese girlfriend who is in Spain with a 180-days student visa just emailed the Embassy of Spain in Japan about transitioning to a Tourist Visa when her student visa expires in August. They stated that she won't be allowed to re-enter the Schengen zone for 90 days after her student visa expires...
So, who to believe? Any idea on what basis they answered so? Has anybody in this thread got any issue in transitioning from a Student visa to a Tourist visa? I was thinking to exit and re-enter through Morroco, but that answer from the Embassy of Spain in Japan makes me worry...
Thanks for your help!