Embassies and consulate often don't know what they are talking about. They are wrong to state that your Japanese girlfriend cannot re-enter Schengen for 90-in-180 days after her type D visa stay. What she cannot and shouldn't do is to try to roll into a tourist stay without leaving Spain and Schengen, and this will flag her up as an overstayer.

Mind, the border official needs to be satisfied that she has enough money to pay for her further stay in Schengen and will not try to work illegally.

Here is an excerpt from FAQ on the website of French consulate in Sydney:
<I>
I want to stay in the Schengen area after the expiry of my long stay visa :

For Australians or nationalities not requiring a visa to visit the Schengen area (for up to 90 days), if you hold a long stay visa for France, at the expiry of the visa, you will have to leave France and the Schengen space and re-enter the Schengen area the following day as a tourist for 90 days within a 6 months period. You may leave the Schengen area (passport stamped at the border) by going to the UK for example.

Please note that is very important to get your passport stamped when you enter and when you leave the Schengen space.</I>

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has a response about the opposite. I've just gotten a type D student visa to spend a little under a year in France (from 10 September to 10 July), but I will actually arrive in Europe to spend about a month in Germany before heading to France. So, I suppose my question is this:

Do I need to exit the Schengen zone (for over 24 hours??) and reenter on the date my visa begins? I will be flying to France from Germany and since they're both Schengen zone, I'm guessing that means they won't stamp my passport. I won't be in Europe for 90 days before the visa begins (only about 2 months), but I'm guessing that given all that's been written here, I will need a reentry stamp on the date the visa should begin?

Thank you all so much for your helpful comments! The French Consulate was absolutely no help—they suggested I fly back to the US after I'm done in Germany, get the visa then, then fly back to Europe for the year in Paris...

What you should do to be totally legal is to leave Schengen a day before your Type D visa is due to start and re-enter on the first day of validity. Or at least leave and re-enter before arriving in France to get ready for your studies. While you can re-enter through any Schengen country, it makes sense to do so in France just to smooth the way for getting your residence permit (carte de séjour) which you must get at the prefecture. The staff will look for the entry stamp over or very close to your type D visa, showing your visa has been activated. It's worth your while to insist this is done when re-entering Schengen by showing the visa to the immigration official, as stamping can be inconsistent and sometimes passengers are just waved through (they shouldn't but it saves time).

Dear Alec,

Thank you so much for your quick and useful response. It's the soundest piece of advice I've received since getting the visa. I will plan to spend a night in London—shouldn't be too difficult if I go to Paris first.

Thanks again so much!
Natalie

Hi everyone,

At last a relevant thread! Weeks of rummaging through the web over. Thanks Alec for having answered for 2 years!

Similar story: on OZ working holiday visa in France, couldn't work out wether it is possible or not to travel around Schengen 3 months after expiry, and wether it is required to exit.




Schengen border code article 5:
"1. For intended stays on the territory of the Member States of a duration of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay, [...]";
"1a. For the purposes of implementing paragraph 1, the date of entry shall be considered as the first day of stay on the territory of the Member States and the date of exit shall be considered as the last day of stay on the territory of the Member States. Periods of stay authorised under a residence permit or a long-stay visa SHALL NOT BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT in the calculation of the duration of stay on the territory of the Member States.";
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conte...LEX:32013R0610

BUT i asked asked French immigration by mail, the reply was: "you cannot stay after your visa expires AND YOU HAVE TO EXIT SCHENGEN DURING 90 DAYS BEFORE COMING BACK" (same as the SPanish consulate mentioned in this thread)

which is inconsistent with the Border Code!



I'm confident that person didn't know what they were talking about and didn't inquire before replying to me.

However even if the time spent under the visa doesn't count in the 90-180 allowance, it is a requirement that YOU EXIT SCHENGEN BEFORE YOUR VISA EXPIRES, hence I understand you need to exit, wait for expiry and come back to be on the 90-180days

Therefore I'll visit Turkey for a few days at the end of my visa before going back to Schengen.

other relevant links:
-http://www.ambafrance-au.org/rules-regarding-stay-in-the
-http://prague.usembassy.gov/new_rules_for_travelling_of_holders_of_long-stay_visas.html

Cheers

Let us know if it works or not.

Hi there Alec, you seem to be the guru on such matters, and I have a rather urgent one. I fly into Italy/Schengen tomorrow (the 9th), and fly from there to Toulouse on the 13th. I have a Working Holiday Visa for France in my passport that will activate on the 14th. None of this has changed since I submitted all my forms, and filled everything in as it should be - this is what the French have given me!

I am wondering now whether I can request that my visa be stamped on arrival in France from Italy, or whether I can get off the Schengen visa I assume I'll be given in Italy and activate the working holiday visa.

It seems odd that there wouldn't be a simple way for this to work, given the french knew my plans and approved it?


Thanks so much in advance - the french are laughably inadequate in their responses (if any). I actually had a quick look to see if they fell under the power of a particular ombudsman, as the way that consulate behaves is totally unacceptable!

You definitely can't get your passport stamped in France coming from Italy, as you are on intra-Schengen flight and treated as a domestic journey.
Ideally you should arrive in Schengen, preferably France, on or after 14th to get your WHV activated. You may be ok arriving in Italy on 9th, but I have heard of people having trouble when trying to get carte de séjour at the préfecture when your visa wasn't stamped on or after the 'valid from' date. In worst case scenario, you are forced to do a visa run to somewhere outside Schengen such as N Africa or UK/Ireland. So hope for the best but expect the worst!

Hi Alec,
So I will be leaving to Czech Republic on the 31st of August to arrive there on the 1st of September, which is when my Student VISA entry date begins. However, my student visa expires on December 19th which is strange considering that my program is having a graduation ceremony that date and departure will be taking place the next day on the 20th. Yet, because tickets were very expensive I decided to buy a ticket to depart from Germany on the 21st of December. I guess my question is, will there be issues? Do I have a grace period? I have the ticket and itinerary already enlisted with me leaving back to the US two days after student visa expiration. Please help!

Strictly speaking you will be an overstayer. Whether they take any action is an open question, and it seems unlikely as it's only two days, though Germany is one of the more fussy countries when it comes to immigration and sticking to the letter of Schengen rules.

What do you suggest I do?

And thanks for responding.

You can chance it and hope they don't notice or turn a blind eye.
Or leave Schengen a few days before expiry and re-enter and get further 90-day tourist stay.

Alright thank you Alec!

Hi Alec,
My girlfriend is having a similar problem.
She is currently staying in Sweden with a student visa, and will expire at the end of september (30/9/14).
We are planning to travel in september until 4 october. If she travels to UK on the evening of 1/sept and travel back to sweden on 2/sept. Is her status now change to tourist?

Sorry for my english and looking for your reply soon.
Thank you

Hi, sorry to add to this never ending confusion, but I was wondering if anyone had knowledge on student visas and residence permits. A little background: I am a US citizen on a student visa (class D) in Belgium. It expires 20/9/2014, however, I am interning under contract until 6/10/2014. I have applied for what I believed was a visa extension through my municipality, however, I was told it is impossible to receive a visa extension(I wish I had read this forum before so I knew it was impossible to extend the visa - a lot of time wasted!), but that they would extend my residence permit.

Does anyone have an idea of what this actually means? Does a residence permit trump student visa? Am I allowed to stay in Belgium past 20/9/2014 until the expiry of my residence permit, or must I leave the country? I know, I know, I could leave the Schengen zone and reenter as a tourist to finish out my internship... but I'm on a tight student budget! :)

I've emailed and called the Belgian consulate in LA, the US Embassy in Belgium, the Belgian Immigration Office, my municipality (Ixelles), and my university with no prevail. I love this country, but man o man, sometime's you just need an straight, non-bureaucratic answer! Please and thanks.

I have answered your own thread on this.

Hi everyone. Thanks to Alec for being so kind to advise us here, and everyone else's contribution as well.
I'm im a similar situation--my Spanish student visa expires in November, but I want to travel to Germany in December. From what I've gathered, I must leave the schengen zone in Spain the day before the visa expires, go to morocco, and then come back the day after it expires, and then I have a 3 month tourist visa basically. I'm American.

My biggest question is when my student visa officially expires. My visa on my passport says this:
Good from: 20 may
Until: 30 November
Remarks: estancia hasta 6 meses (stay up to 6 months)
Days: 180

I entered the schengen zone May 21st at 7:30am when my plane landed in Madrid. So does my visa officially expire November 30th, or do I count forward 180 days from the date I arrived here? That would mean my visa expires November 16 or 17 I believe.
The way I read the visa is that I can stay any 180 day period from May 20 to nov 30, but the visa doesn't necessarily expire nov 30. I'm just trying to figure out when I need to take the 1-2 day trip over to morocco so I'm good to travel again.

Thanks for any help!

moschulte.. a residency permit allows you to RESIDE. Student visas are only granted based on continuing studies via an approved center.. validated before you came to said country.

.. in most cases you will need to show many documents verifying why and how you can continue to reside to get an extension on your residency permit. The visa was to get into the country.. now you have applied to reside here under certain qualifying circumstances.. one of which may be studies.. or work. When you see what papers they ask you for you will know if you meet those requirements.

You are already in the country so do not NEED a visa.. which is approved in your country of residence before coming over. It is the continuation of residency that one can extend once here.( Turning in again all proof of insurance. reason for extension, funds to support yourself, city hall registration.. etc.)