Schengen Visa Issue

I am confused about the Schengen 90 day visa limit. I entered Germany on March 1st from the US and returned to the US on May 6th. I then returned to Greece on May 25th and was planning on staying here for 90 days but I recently heard that the time limit started on March 1st when i initially entered Europe because of the 90/180 rule. Is this true? If so, is there a way for me to legally stay for the 90 days? What will happen to me at the airport if I stay over the 90 days and then try to return to the US? Any suggestions/comments are much appreciated.

you were in the zone for 86 days, you could go for 4 more days. But then from March 1st to Sept 1(ish), you would have to have 90 days out of the zone. Or... as i understand the rule.. you could wait 86 days and then return. Ive heard as an extreme example that you could do 1 day in 1 day out of the zone for an infinite amount of time.

josh43551 wrote:I am confused about the Schengen 90 day visa limit. I entered Germany on March 1st from the US and returned to the US on May 6th. I then returned to Greece on May 25th and was planning on staying here for 90 days but I recently heard that the time limit started on March 1st when i initially entered Europe because of the 90/180 rule. Is this true?

Yes.

If so, is there a way for me to legally stay for the 90 days?

Not at this point...to stay legal, you needed to arrange a long-stay visa before arrival, which is difficult to get for the purpose of tourism at the best of times. After arrival, turning up at a police station and letting them know you're over limit will probably get you deported. If you're staying now, you're best to be under the wire.

What will happen to me at the airport if I stay over the 90 days and then try to return to the US? Any suggestions/comments are much appreciated.

Likely nothing. There's a high probability that no one will look at you closely enough to realise you've overstayed. Particularly in the southern half of the continent, where they tend to play fast and loose with the rules. I've heard of exactly three people getting busted for visa violations. Two were a couple who got caught leaving from Stockholm (or was it Helsinki?), and the other was campervanning accross Europe and actually presented himself to the Danish authorities asking for an extension (and was promptly deported). The north is much more rules-oriented than the south, though...I've heard no problems at all in the south.

If you do get busted, ignorance is probably a good defence. "Never heard about the 180 thing...I've been here less than 90 days." It's not like it's spelled out if you don't do a lot of your own research. Worst case scenario is a deportation order that will bar you from entering Schengen countries for several years (and though they're not bound to it, non-Schengen EU countries are also likely to bar entry), but I'd be pretty shocked if that happenned.

Best advice - while you're illegal, just run under the wire. Don't leave the Schengen area, because you're most likely to run into trouble trying to reenter (and if you're locked out, you may have to spend a lot of money changing flight arrangements). And keep your nose clean...no jumping the barrier on the metro, no littering, nothing that might single you out to the authorities.

Thanks a bunch!

When I entered the second time on May 24th I flew into London Heathrow and then flew from London Gatwick to Greece where I currently am. When I leave I will be returning to the US the same way I came. Have you heard about any issues involving the airports in London? thanks again!

The UK are pretty stringent on immigration, so they might notice you overstayed your last visa. It's not their job to enforce the Schengen rules, though, so they probably won't do much about it. If they notice, they'll probably ask to see an onward ticket, though, since their interest is that you not overstay your welcome in their country. Make sure you have one, and it should be a real ticket. Some people print fakes, but keep in mind that if they're already suspicious and follow up to check, you just went from a possible overstay risk who's done nothing wrong (in Britain) to committing immigration fraud, which is a much bigger problem.

The worst I've heard the UK doing is issuing a 48 hour transit visa instead of their standard 6-month stamp. That situation was slightly different, as it was a guy with not much money, no income, who just planned to crash on his girlfriend's couch for a perfectly legal 6 months (and told immigration as such), but it was again because he was considered a risk of either overstaying, or working illegally.