Visiting the Uk for a year
 

We are planning to visit Europe for a year. We will be visiting friends in the Uk for a couple of months and the France for a few months and back to Uk for several months. We will be staying for more than the 6 months allowed. Can we apply for a extended visa for the Uk. Is this visa good in the Schegen Countries?
Help

"Can we apply for a extended visa for the Uk."

No. There are a number of ways of getting a visa for a longer stay if you apply at home, but they involve work, studying, starting a business or retiring and a great deal of paperwork (follow the drop downs at http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/)

But there's nothing against a few months in the UK, three months in Schengen, at least three months in the UK then up to another 3 months in Schengen. An American gets six months in the UK, and can return (for up to a further 6 months) as long as he can satisfy the immigration officer he won't work, get married, be a burden on public funds or is trying it on


Within reason, any permutation on:
- 6 months in the UK
- 90 days in any 180 in Schengen
- stays in other non-Schengen

is possible. But extensions over 6 mths for Britain or 90 days for Schengen is a bureaucratic horror few can qualify for anyway. UK and Schengen visas are exactly as interchangeable as US and Mexican ones.

Assuming the poster is American, which would be nice to know.

fudgie's previous post:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...a-274887-2.cfm

Your other thread had you staying most of the year in Schengen, this thread has most of the year in the UK. Either is "<i>possible</i>" w/ a LOT (a <B>LOT</B>) of red tape, but neither is likely.

Why not conform to what is actually permissible?

We plan on applying for a visa in France. We have been in touch with the French Consulate in Atlanta. We will be flying into London, staying for a few days and then onto Bordeaux where we will be staying for 3 months then to Toulouse for 4 months 1 month in Spain and the back to London for 1 month. We will be in Europe for about 8 months with a legal French Visa. When we leave London, will we be in violation of the 6 month Uk stay even though we were only there for a month.
Confused

If your plan includes being "in violation of the 6 month Uk stay" I would think again. Illegal immigrants are a big issue here in the UK at the moment. Likewise, it would be prudent to get the "legal French Visa" before you leave the US rather than waiting until you are in Europe. What will you do if they ask for documentation you didn't think to bring with you?

I don't understand how you can violate a 6 month visa when you will only be here 1 month. The French visa (schengen?) has nothing to do with the uk so if you are only here 1 month them you have nothing to worry about with the uk.

Definitely follow all the rules and don't overstay any visas.

<i>We plan on applying for a visa in France.</i>

I don't know what the Consulate in Atlanta told you, but a long-stay (tourist) visa must be applied outside France, in your country of residence. You cannot extend your 90-in-180 days Schengen visa within France, nor can you get a new long-stay visa there.
Some Schengen countries allow you to apply for long-stay visa in-country, including the Netherlands and (I believe) Germany, but France or Spain isn't among them.

What may be confusing the OP is that the second visit to the UK is a new visit (starting a new potential six months), not a continuation of the previous one. They will look at previous visits, but having spent longer outside the UK since you were there than yuou actually were there will be fine.

A long stay visa isn't a guaranteed thing. I'm curious what they told you in Atlanta.

You make it sound like the long-term visa for France is a shoe-in, and that's just impossible to believe. I also think you don't understand what a Schengen visa is in relation to a stay in the UK. If I were you I'd do a lot more research into this and make sure you understand exactly what the rules are as they apply to your situation. You risk a LOT if you go bouncing around the world without the proper documentation.

I'm not sure what makes you think you will qualify for a long-term visa for France (which you MUST get before you leave the US).

Will you be a student in an approved university?

Will you be working for an employer who has received approval to hire an american versus an EU citizen?

Will you be visiting as a retiree (with all of the paperwork that includes - starting with proving you will eventually return to the US, demonstrating that you can support yourself for the duration of your visit without earning any money in France, demonstrating that you have full medical coverage for the duration of your visit - and Medicare does not cover you outside the US)?

If you don;t get the visa you cannot stay in France legally - and if found you will be immediately deported - and quite likely fined a significant amount and banned from Schengen for years to come.

Should you get thrown out of Schengen don't expect the UK to welcome you with open arms.

I hope you manage to get everything sorted but it is a lot more difficult than you seem to think.
Just finding medical coverage for the length of your trip could be tricky, but is essential, both for Schengen countries and the UK, and is a requirement of a long term Schengen visa.

<i>Should you get thrown out of Schengen don't expect the UK to welcome you with open arms.</i>

Not only that. I have heard many stories of people who have overstayed in Schengen (with impugnity) being 'found out' by UK immigration officer when trying to enter UK, and were denied entry. While UK isn't part of Schengen and it's not their business to enforce Schengen rules, their argument seems to be that if a traveller is prepared to break any immigration rules, they can't be trusted not to do the same for UK.
UK Border Agency says:
<i>If we can establish that people have a good track record of complying with similar immigration and legal requirements in trusted countries, we can more quickly decide that their potential level of risk is low and minimise our interventions.</i>