raisin

Hello! I understand that Italy and France do not require a visa for tourist stays up to 90 days. <BR><BR>If I am in Italy for 85 days then go to France for a week, will I be able to go back and stay in Italy for one or two more weeks? <BR><BR>What happens when you overstay? Will they penalize by charging a fine? if so, how much?<BR><BR>Thanks in advance. This may be a silly question to some of you but please help...<BR> <BR>Thanks again!

raisin

anyone?

z

I don't know the answer to your question, but this is what I think. When I traveled from Italy to France (by car) I didn't have to go thru immigration because they belong to the EU (I don't know if this is the case by air). I believe the 90 days will apply to the sum of the days in all EU countries that you stay. You can go to Switzerland from Italy or France, and there you have to do immigration. I don't know about the penalties.

raisin

Thanks z, if that's the case (I have 90 days for both France and Italy), then I'm in trouble. I will be in Italy for a semester abroad, which, accdg. to the brochure will be 85 days. <BR><BR>I wanted to stay a bit longer to explore on my own, but if I have no choice, I guess I'll have to sneak in some short trips within the 85 days.<BR><BR>Can anyone else shed some light into the technicalities of a visa?

bkf

Just did the Visa thing for my daughter who will be in Italy for a semester. The application is on the Italian consulate website. It is serious,complicated and important to do it and do it right. Not having it could be a bad ending to a good trip....I travel a lot and have seen Immigration be tough in this. Ask your school to assist[ Syracuse was terrific] and if u must contact the consulate do so by fax w/a number to respond to with answer.seems to work better.<BR>feel free to contact me. our consulate in Philadelphia required the school to submit. Good Luck<BR>bkf

Cristina

If yopu are going to school you wilpl need to get a student visa. To apply for this you will need to go to the Italian Consulate of your area. Let me know where you are and I will point you to the link for the application online.<BR><BR>Normally, if you overstay a bit it will not be a problem. As a student, there is no end date to the student visa that I had for example but you will need to get a permesso di soggiorno from the questura and that will have an end date. When applying for this, let them know that you wish to stay an extra 2 weeks or so and there should be no problem (if you smile and are really nice)<BR><BR>The school should have sent you info on all of this. If they didn't, get on them to do it.<BR><BR>If you need more info, let me know.

ditto

i had the same type of question, so i might resurrect this post. <BR><BR>So, if I'm understanding this correctly, the 90-day maximum stay for a tourist visa applies to all E.U. or Schengen countries in total and NOT on a 90days-per-country basis correct?<BR><BR>thanks in advance...

Nadine

Yes, it's 90-day maximum for all Shengen countries combined(not all EU countries signed the Schengen agreement). Also, leaving for a week to a non-Schengen country will not give you a new 90 days, I believe that you have to out for at least 90 days before re-entry.

Sjoerd

Questions about visas can not be answered without knowing your nationality. The rules are different for Chinese or Zimbabwean citizens than for Canadians or New Zealanders. <BR>People who don't need a visa for short tourist or business visits to Schengen countries (including Canadians, US citizens, Australians, New Zealanders, Singaporeans, Japanese, South Koreans, Malaysians, most countries of Central and South America, and most of non-EU Europe) can stay in all Schengen countries together for max. 90 days in any 180 day period. If you want to stay longer, you need to apply for a residence permit.