Schengen 90/180 Day Rule

Why the Schengen 90/180-day rule is limiting

The 90 days is measured over a rolling 180 days. When taking into consideration travelling days this could be very limiting. Many people currently spend up to 6 months a year in their property (above this tax considerations apply). This exceeds the 90/180 limit by a large margin.

Many people will want to spend at least one long period in the summer in their house in Europe and also visit at other times. If you spend July and August there, then other visits will be limited to under 4 weeks between March and June and under 4 weeks between September and Christmas. The examples below shows this in detail.

The 90/180 rule makes advance planning both essential and difficult. The knock on effect of a short delay on the return trip can be huge. For example it may mean cancelling and having to re-book a ferry crossing paying far more as the cheaper fares have all been sold. There is a need to have a margin to handle the unexpected such as travel disruption, emergency visits for repairs etc. It will be necessary to reduce the planned total stay to 82-88 days depending on how risk averse you are. The 90/180 rule severely limits the ability of UK citizens to enjoy their property at times of their choosing. We have created a typical scenario here.

The two examples below show the effect of a rolling 180 days.

Exceeding the 90/180 limits

The EU is introducing electronic monitoring of borders via the EU Entry and Exit System (EES). Border Control will be able to see who is entering and leaving and track whether one has overstayed.

The penalty for an overstay can be sever. There is anecdotal evidence that fines have been levied on Third Country Nationals (TCNs) and some have been barred from a future visit.

In a few years time the EU will require visitors to obtain prior approval to enter the EU before travelling. The new ETIAS system will operate along similar lines to US ESTA system. The EES and ETIAS will share data so it will be easy for the EU to implement automated barring to "overstayers", with unbarring dependent on a successful appeal.

Using a French Visa

It has been suggested, by the Government and others, that cumulative visits, limited under the Schengen 90/180 rule, can be extended by applying for a visa. It is not that straight forward. There are issues about the cost of insurance, unpredictability, proving income and the interview process. The issues are described here

There are are two types of French Visa

• there is the 4-6 month visa, VLST (Visa de Long Séjour Temporaire); and

• the 4-12 month visa the VLS-TS (Visa de Long Séjour-Titre de Séjour)

It is expected that people would use the shorter VLST if a visa was needed to stay for durations not permitted by Schengen 90/180.

Online Calculators

The calculations are complex and difficult to perform manually due to the need to recalculate the start of the rolling 180 days when each trip is added

the calculator used for the examples on this page is found at https://www.visa-calculator.com

the calculator often used within the Facebook group for people living in both the UK and France is http://adambard.github.......

In either case remember to screen-print the result before you exit the calculator as the data is lost!