Last Updated: 9/13/21 | September 13th, 2021
When I planned my step to Sweden a few years ago, I tried to figure out how to get past the 90-day limit placed on vacationer visas in the Schengen Area. This is a problem encountered by thousands of travelers annually and a question that frequently (especially this time of year) pops up in my inbox.
“How can I stay in Europe for a lot more than 90 days?”
It’s a basic question with a very complicated answer.
I always knew it was complicated, but until I started researching how to stay there longer, I never knew just how complicated.
Fortunately, in the process of this research, I came to learn there are a few ways to stay in Europe longer than 90 days; they just aren’t well known.
This post will show you the options for staying in Europe over 90 days as well as give you ideas on how to step to Europe. but first a few things:
It’s crucial to note that Europe isn’t just one place — there are varying visa policies throughout the continent. When people talk about the “90-day limit,” they’re talking about restrictions on the Schengen Area, which is the visa policy that governs 26 countries in Europe. It includes all of the European Union — except Ireland — as well as a few non-EU countries.
Note: While I call it the “Schengen Visa,” it’s not an actual visa you necessarily need to apply for. depending on your residency status and country of citizenship, you may need to apply in development for a Schengen Visa, however, those with an American passport do not need to apply in advance.
Table of Contents
What is the Schengen Visa?
Part 1: staying or moving to Europe the easy Way
Part 2: staying in the Schengen area past 90 Days
Can You extend Your Schengen Visa/Stamp?
Getting a working holiday Visa
Getting a Long-Term-Stay Visa
Student Visas
Freelancer Visas
Marriage Visas
Further Europe travel planning Articles
What is the Schengen visa?
The Schengen visa is a 90-day vacationer visa for Schengen Area countries, which are:
अस्ट्रिया
बेल्जियम
Czechia
डेनमार्क
एस्टोनिया
फिनल्याण्ड
फ्रान्स
जर्मनी
ग्रीस
हंगेरी
आइसल्याण्ड
इटाली
लाटभिया
Lithuania
Liechtenstein
लक्जमबर्ग
Malta
नेदरल्याण्ड्स
नर्वे
पोल्याण्ड
पोर्तुगाल
स्लोभाकिया
स्लोभेनिया
स्पेन
स्वीडेन
स्विजरल्याण्ड
Additionally, there are several microstates that are de facto members of the Schengen Area. These are Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City.
These Schengen countries have a border-free visa agreement that lets residents step throughout the area without needing to show their passport whenever they cross a border. Essentially, it’s as if they’re one country, and you can step as freely as you want.
Citizens of lots of countries are allowed to enter the Schengen area without having to get a visa beforehand. Your passport simply gets stamped upon your arrival and departure from Europe. You’re allowed to enter and leave from any country you want — they don’t have to be the same.
Here is a map of the countries with visa waivers that can enter the Schengen without requiring a visa in advance.
Most visitors (including Americans) are allowed to spend 90 days in the Schengen area in every 180-day period. The easiest way to think of it is that you can check out for 3 months and then you have to leave for 3 months before you can return.
However, you can also bounce back and forth between Schengen and non-Schengen countries — you just need to keep track of all your dates of entry/exit.
When I check out Europe, I fly in and out of different countries all the time. Your first entry in the 180-day period is when your 90-day counter starts. these days don’t need to be consecutive — the total is cumulative. once day 181 hits, the count resets itself.
For example, if I come to the Schengen area in January and stay for 60 days and then come back in June for 10 days, that counts as 70 days in 180 days. only days you are in the zone during the period count. If you go on January 1st and stay 90 straight days, you have to leave and technically can’t come back until July 1st.
However, not all travelers are allowed such freedom.
Citizens from lots of countries need to apply for a Schengen visa ahead of time. You’ll be required to fill out paperwork beforehand and fly in and out of the country for which your visa is issued.
Even then, you still might not be approved a visa. Spoiler alert: citizens from African and Asian countries get screwed.
So, with that being said, how DO you stay in Europe longer? how do you get around that rule? let me break it down for you.
Part 1: staying or moving to Europe the easy Way
With so lots of visa rules, it’s easy to stay in Europe beyond 90 days as a vacationer — you just need to mix up the countries you visit. The united kingdom has its own policies that allow you to stay 180 days in a calendar year.
Most non-Schengen countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, Croatia, Ireland, and some Balkan countries allow you to stay for up to 60 or 90 days. Albania even lets American’s stay up to a year!
So, all you need to do to stay in Europe longer than 3 months is spend 90 days in the Schengen area and then check out the UK, go to the Balkans, hang out in Ukraine, drink white wine in Moldova, and have a pint in Ireland. If you align your schedule right, you can easily be out of the Schengen area for 90 days and then head back into the Schengen area with a brand new Schengen visa.
Years ago, to get around this limit, I spent three months in Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and England as I waited for my clock to reset. After that, I headed back into the Shengen area for Oktoberfest.
If you want to travel the continent for a long time without having to go through the various visa processes described below, vary your travel by checking out non-Schengen countries. There’s plenty of countries to choose from while you wait for your Schengen Visa clock to reset. This is the easy, easy way of doing things.
—-> need a lot more ideas for Europe? check out my destination guide and get thorough information on what to see and do and how to save money.
Part 2: staying in the Schengen area past 90 Days
But what if you do want to stay longer in the Schengen Area? What if the six months you want to be in Europe is all in Schengen area countries? What if you want to live and work in Europe?
After all, the Schengen area spans 26 countries and checking out so lots of destinations in 90 days can be a little rushed (you would have an average of just 3.5 days per country).
If you want to stay longer to travel, live, learn a language, or fall in love, then the “move around” option suggested above isn’t going to work for you. You need something else.
Luckily, there are a few ways to do this — and I can’t anxiety enough the value of the word “few.” because staying a lot more than 90 days in the Schengen area isn’t easy.
First, let’s understand the rule:
The Schengen law states that you can’t stay in the area for a lot more than 90 days. If you do, you’re subject to a fine and possibly deportation and being banned from re-entering the Schengen Area. how that policy is enforced, though, varies greatly from one country to another. Overstaying by a day might not be the end of the world, however, some countries do not mess around with visitors overstaying.
For example, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries are all very strict about entry and exit rules. If you overstay your vacationer visit, there’s a good chance they’ll pull you aside. two Australians I know were detained leaving Switzerland due to overstaying their visa by two weeks. They were allowed to opt for just a warning, but they missed their flights and had to book new flights.
I know of someone who overstayed by six months, tried to leave from Amsterdam, and now has an “illegal immigrant” stamp on her passport. In buy to enter Europe again, she need to apply for a visa at an embassy and be preapproved:
I made the mistake of attempting to leave from the Netherlands after overstaying a Schengen visa and was caught. I overstayed by about a month, and they hand-drew some sort of insignia in my passport to note my overstay. They told me I’d have to contact the IND and find out if I would be able to enter the Schengen states again.
Another blogger told me this happened to them too so don’t overstay your visa!
That being said, if you leave from Greece, France, Italy, or Spain you may be less likely to encounter an issue, supplied you (a) haven’t stayed over too long and (b) didn’t catch the immigration officer on a bad day.
When I left Greece, no one even looked at my passport. one of my pals met a person in France, fell in love, and made a decision not to leave. A year later, when she finally did, the French officials didn’t even look twice. another pal flew into France and didn’t even get an entry stamp. Spain is another place notorious for not caring and Americans who decide to overstay for months mention that as the easiest country to exit from.
Of course, I don’t think it’s wise to overstay. A day or two? likely not the end of the world. But, Matt, can I extend just extend my Schengen visa/stamp?
दूर्भाग्यवश होइन। simply put, you cannot extend your vacationer visa or entry stamp. There’s a 90-day limit, and that’s that.
So what’s a vacationer to do?
1. get a working holiday Visa
Working holiday visas are easy to get and the best way to extend your stay — even if you don’t want to work. These visas are created for young travelers who want to work and travel abroad. Citizens of Australia, Canada, and new Zealand (and typically South Korea, Israel, Hong Kong, and Japan) are eligible for one- to two-year working holiday visas from a lot of of the Schengen countries.
There is no single “working holiday” program for the Schengen or EU so applicants need to apply for this visa from a certain country. Applicants need to al300 भन्दा कम उमेरको होस् (यद्यपि केहि केसहरूमा स्विजरल्याण्ड वा आयरल्याण्डमा काम गरिरहेका क्यानाडालीहरू जस्तै, तपाईं 35 35 भन्दा पुरानो हुन सक्नुहुन्छ)।
थप रूपमा, तपाईं लगातार काम गर्ने छुट्टी भिसा लिन सक्नुहुन्छ। मेरो अष्ट्रेलियाई रिडरले दुई वर्षको डच कार्यरत छुट्टी भिसा पायो र त्यसपछि नर्वेबाट एक धेरै वर्ष बिताउनबाट एउटा भयो। जब उनी र उनको पार्टनर (जसले पनि एक पाए (थोरैको लागि हलल्याण्डमा असभ्य कार्यहरू गर्थे, उनीहरूले यसलाई महादेशको वरिपरि यात्रा गर्ने एउटा बाटोको रूपमा प्रयोग गरे।
नोट: यस प्रकारको भिसाले तपाईंलाई यो जारी गरेको भन्दा कुनै पनि अन्य देशमा काम गर्न अनुमति दिँदैन।
अमेरिकीहरूको लागि, युरोपमा काम गर्ने बिदाका लागि त्यहाँ केवल दुई विकल्पहरू छन्: आयरल्याण्ड (गैर-Stangen देश) र पोर्चुगल (Stangen देश)। पोर्तुगाली कार्यरत छुट्टी भिसा 1 18–300 वर्षीहरूको लागि हो र दुई वर्षसम्म दुई वर्षसम्म छ। आयरिश एक पनि दुई वर्ष सम्म रहन्छ र 1 18–300 वर्षका लागि राम्रो छ, तथापि, तपाईंले 12 महिना भित्र स्नातक गर्नु पर्छ (वा विद्यार्थी हुन)।
2. दीर्घकालीन-बसोबास भिसा प्राप्त गर्नुहोस्
दुर्भाग्यवस, लक्षित देशहरूको बहुमतले पर्यटक / आगन्तुकहरूलाई दीर्घकालीन-बसोबास गरेको भिसा प्रदान गर्दैन। सामान्यतया बोल्दा, यदि तपाईं लामो वाइरा भिसा चाहनुहुन्छ भने, तपाईंले रेसिडेन्सीको लागि आवेदन दिनुपर्नेछ।
शेन्डेनले सीन-वर्ग भिसाका लागि अनुमति दिन्छ (पत्र देशमा फरक हुन्छ), जुन एक क्षणिक निवास भिसा एक बर्ष सम्म हो। तर केही भिसा र आवश्यकताहरू देश-देशहरू सीमित हुन्छन्। केही देशहरू कडा छन्, केहि सजिलो छन्, र अन्य समान भिसाको सन्धि क्षेत्रमा अस्तित्वमा अस्तित्वमा छन्।
जहाँसम्म, त्यहाँ केहि देशहरू छन् जुन दीर्घकालीन भिसा प्रस्ताव गर्दछन् जुन प्राप्त गर्न अति गाह्रो छैन:
फ्रान्स
फ्रान्सले एक बर्षको अवधिको लागि लामो अवधिको आगन्तुक भिसा प्रयोग गर्दछ। अनुप्रयोग प्रक्रिया एक महिनामा लिन्छ। फ्रान्सेली दूतावासका अनुसार, “‘आगन्तुक’ भिसा (वा भिसा ‘d) अनुसार, तपाईंलाई फ्रान्स प्रविष्ट गर्न र तीन महिना भन्दा बढीको लागि रहन अनुमति दिन्छ। दीर्घकालीन भिसाका धारकहरूलाई उनीहरूको भिसा र रहनको उद्देश्यको वैधता अनुसार फ्रान्समा बस्न अनुमति दिइनेछ। ”
यस भिसा प्राप्त गर्न, तपाईंले आफ्नो नजिकै फ्रान्सेली वाणिज्य दूतावासमा अपोइन्टमेन्ट सेट गर्नु पर्छ। तपाईं मा हिंड्न सक्नुहुन्न – तपाईंले अपोइन्टमेन्ट गर्न आवश्यक छ।
यस नियुक्तिमा, तपाईंलाई निम्न कागजातहरू आवश्यक पर्दछ:
एक आवेदन फारम पूर्ण रूपमा बुझाइयो र हस्ताक्षर गरियो
तीन पासपोर्ट फोटोहरू
तपाईंको मूल राहदानी, जुन 10 बर्ष भन्दा कम भन्दा कम जारी हुनु आवश्यक छ, तपाईंको फिर्ती पछि तीन महिनासम्म मान्य हुनुहोस्, र कम्तिमा दुई खाली पृष्ठहरू बाँकी छ
एक चिनियाँ सार्वजनिक सार्वजनिक सार्वजनिक द्वारा प्रमाणित एक पत्र काममा संलग्न छैन
रोजगारको एक पत्र लिदै वर्तमान पेशा र आय
आयको प्रमाण (तपाईंलाई बैंक बयान वा तपाईंको लगानी पोर्टफोलियोको प्रतिलिपिहरू चाहिन्छ)
मेडिकल बीमाको प्रमाण जुन निकासी बीमा समावेश गर्दछ
फ्रान्समा आवासको प्रमाण। (फ्रान्सेली चुचुराहरूले मेरो ईमेलहरू कहिले पनि मेरो ईमेलहरू फिर्ता गरेन, त्यसैले म तपाईंलाई फ्रान्स पुग्नु अघि यो कसरी पाउन सक्दछु। कसैले पनि एक साथीको ठेगाना प्रयोग गर्न सक्नेछन (एक जहाँ तपाईं फिर्ती प्राप्त गर्न सक्नुहुनेछ अन्तर्वार्ता को उद्देश्यहरु। यो थोरै अस्पष्ट छ।)
Note: You can’t apply for this visa a lot more than three months before your arrival date.
You can check out the French embassy web site for links to local embassies and consulates for a lot more information. This post also has some valuable information to get you started.
स्वीडेन
Sweden also uses a long-term stay vacationer visa for a maximum period of one year. The process is easy normally takes around two weeks to process when applied for in Sweden. Here’s a brief introduction of what you need:
Residence permit for visitor’s application form
Notarized copies of the pages of your passport that show your identity and the validity of your passport, as well as copies of all the other visas/stamps you have. Your passport also needs to be valid for 3 months after your stay.
A bank statement showing your means of supporting yourself for the duration of your stay (you need at least $52 USD per day for each day saved in your account)
A return airplane ticket
A letter from