*** UPDATED AUGUST 2020 ***
Don’t Let Schengen Ruin Your European Holiday of a Lifetime
If either you or your spouse/partner hold a European passport then you definitely need to read this because if you rely on the usual information sources, then you might just miss out on the holiday of a lifetime.
Who am I and how do I know this stuff?
I am from New Zealand and I hold a dual citizenship, (NZ and Republic of Ireland, which is part of the EU). I am married to a New Zealander who holds only her NZ passport. We are travelling around Europe in a motorhome for a few years and to ensure we could do this hassle free, I engaged in some extensive research before leaving home. The potentially most limiting factor was the time allowed to be within the Schengen Zone, which I will talk more about later in this post. There was so much misinformation and lack of clarity around my situation, that I felt compelled to put together this document to help others to find the answers easily.
I went on a real emotional rollercoaster ride as I would read somewhere that there would be no restrictions on us – yay! Then an embassy official would say that my wife would be subject to the Schengen restrictions but I wouldn’t – oh crap! Then I would get other information to contradict this, and so on. This continued for some months but over this time, as I researched more, my absolute certainty in my conclusions grew stronger.
At the end of it all, I found no official website or publication that categorically 100% stated that my wife was, or wasn’t going to be affected. However, I found many documents, directives and other publications that said my wife enjoyed exactly the same ‘free right of movement’ as me. This will be explained later in my post however I can confirm that we then travelled for for two and half years non stop, in and out of Schengen, usually exceeding the 90 day in 180 day limit (also explained later) and without any problems or questions from the border officials. So it works.
I have spent literally hundreds of hours researching this material and I know that this has helped so many people to understand their rights.
I was going to write an ebook and sell the information but decided to put it up here for free instead.
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What is this Schengen thing?
Tens of millions of Europeans enjoy freedom of movement within the Schengen Zone.
Which Countries are in Schengen?
EU Countries
Non-EU Countries
What Does This Mean for Short-Term Travellers
Citizens who are not from visa exempt countries, will need to apply for, and obtain a Schengen visa. I am not going into the process for this but there is a wealth of information available on the internet, including on this site.
The problem comes if you are travelling on say a NZ or Australian passport, and want to spend more than 90 days within a 180 day period touring within the Schengen Zone borders. Because that is forbidden.
That’s right, you can spend about three months within that whole block of 26 countries, then you will need to leave the zone for a minimum of three months before being allowed back in for another three months. As a non-EU passport holder, your passport is (or should be) physically stamped with the entry and exit dates and all data is stored in the Schengen Information System. When exiting or entering Schengen again, the dates are checked to make sure you have not overstayed your welcome. Significant fines and re-entry bans can be imposed on those travelers who do not comply.
I guess it made sense back in the day when there were only five countries in Schengen club. It was common for those counties to grant tourists a three-month entry permit or visa, so when Schengen came into being, it was probably easiest to allow three months within the whole zone to make sure no visitors exceeded three months in any one country. As more and more countries joined however, this has become increasingly restrictive and senseless (in my humble opinion) for long-term travelers.
I believe that there are moves afoot to create a 12-month ‘ tourist visa’ for Schengen which will certainly ease the problem but who knows when they will get around to that.
For the average traveler shoehorning in a European experience around their annual leave, this isn’t going to affect them. However, for the lucky nomads like us, who have the opportunity to take an extended time out, this can really restrict where you can go, and when.
Each individual country has its own rules and visa requirements and you are best to research these for the countries you are travelling to. Britain, for example allows a six months visa free stay for many visitors while most Balkan states (e.g. Croatia, Bosnia, and Albania) allow a three months visa free visit. Turkey also allows a three months stay however most travellers will need to obtain a Turkish visa on-line (New Zealand passport holders are one of the few Turkish visa exempt countries). Morocco hands out a three month visa easily and there is potential to extend this for another three months.
The most common approach, for those who don’t have an EU passport, is to plan your travels around the ‘90 days out of 180 days’ restriction. This means that you must exit Schengen on or before the 90 days expires, and stay out for 90 days. You can then re-enter Schengen for another 90 days. In reality this may mean flying over to Britain for 3 months, or driving/ferrying across the Schengen border to countries such as Croatia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, Romania, Morocco or even Turkey, and enjoying their charms for a spell. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and pushes many travelers to experience countries they wouldn’t otherwise have given a second thought to.
You can go out of, and back into Schengen during that 180 days period but you need to keep careful track of where you have been and when so that you don’t exceed 90 days in any 180 days.
Keeping an eye on the seasons while doing your planning is important. We met a lovely Australian couple in Thessaloniki, Greece in December 2017, who were planning on driving up into Bulgaria and Romania for the first three months of winter because they needed to get out of Greece within the next few days. Now, those countries may be nice during the summer but they aren’t the ideal spot for a small motorhome in a Northern Hemisphere winter. We suggested they consider Turkey instead and they experienced a fantastic and much warmer time exploring the south of that wonderful country. Morocco is also a great spot to be in during the winter months – it’s cheap, friendly, so beautiful and most importantly, it’s outside Schengen.
Your motorhome will require regular compliance checking (MOT) which normally means returning to the country in which it is registered every year or two. So factor this into your planning as well.
Residence Permits
Another alternative is to apply for a residence permit in one of the Schengen countries. However, these are not handed out easily, normally require you to have a fixed address with a property lease agreement, and a valid reason for being there. These only give the right to stay longer than 90 days in that one country and aren’t intended for the purpose of then hopping from country to country. You could theoretically then travel within Schengen and eventually exit from the country from which you obtained a residence permit however this isn’t strictly legal and if caught you could be in serious trouble. Visas are also available if you are studying in a country but evidence of being signed up to the course is required. Working visas require you to have an offer of employment. None of these visas or extensions are intended to allow non-European tourists to outstay the 90 day limit.
So, short of quickly marrying a local, or having an EU spouse, are there not many ways of being able to extend your time in Schengen period.
One option that can help Kiwi’s and Ozzies, is to take advantage of the historical Bilateral Agreements our countries entered into with many European countries.
Bilateral Agreements
These Agreements are historical agreements between two countries to abolish the need for visas for non-working stays of up to three months.
New Zealand and Australia for example, established Bilateral Agreements with most European countries up to 50 years or more ago and these have never been cancelled.
Because these agreement pre-date the Schengen agreements, most Schengen countries will still honour them and allow a visitor to have up to three months in their country even if they have just spent three months in other Schengen countries.
The catch here is that the individual countries seem to have different ways in which they allow these agreements to be utilised, for example, France will allow another three months under the Bilateral agreement only after you have spent your 90 Schengen days outside of France. Germany appears to be very flexible but some, for example, Hungary, require you to enter their country from a non-Schengen country and leave to a non-Schengen country. Others, such as Italy are no longer honouring these agreements at all.
I strongly recommend that if you want to make use of these agreements, researching them thoroughly should be an important part of your travel preparation.
Contact the embassies concerned to advise them of your travel plans. Here’s what to ask for in writing:
- ask for confirmation that the Bilateral Agreement can be used for additional time in their country without reference to time spent previously in Schengen
- ask about the process and any conditions around how to use the Agreement
Keep records to prove that you did not exceed the 90 days in any of those countries, i.e. keep receipts.
Firstly though, a simple defacto relationship will not be good enough here. You must be either married or have a partnership that is ‘registered’ in an EU country, and the EU country you are entering has to treat ‘registered partnerships’ as equivalent to marriages. Check the individual country requirements as to registered partnerships.
If you qualify, then the overriding European legislation that gives you the right to exceed the 90 days in Schengen is ‘European Directive 2004/38/EC’ which states citizens of the Union, and their family members can move and reside freely within the Member States’.
You should print out, and carry a copy of this Directive with you on your travels. Highlight and be familiar with the sections that apply to you.
I apologise if this now gets a little detailed but it is vital that you understand your rights and why you have
European Directive 2004/38/EC is
Directive 2004-38-EC
In my experience, there is a lack of information, and in
One of the fundamental freedoms of the EU Treaty is that citizens of member states can freely live and work in other member states, within the restrictions laid out in the Treaty. However, there is no point in a citizen being able to move to another state if their spouse and children are not allowed to join them. Therefore, Directive 2004/38/EC clarifies that all family members of a Union citizen have the same right of free movement as the citizen themselves.
What this means for you is:
- You and your non-EU spouse can travel to any EU member state (Schengen or non-Schengen) and stay for up to three months with no restrictions. This is known as the ‘Community Right of Free Movement’ – remember this phrase as it’s important.
- The only travel documents you need are your passports and marriage certificate
- After three months, you can travel to any other EU member state and live in, or travel there for up to three months
- This process can be repeated ad infinitum, i.e. forever
- If you want, you can return to a member state you have previously visited, provided each visit does not exceed three months – again an important point – note that the regulations do not specifically say that this is OK, but no-where could I see that it was not permitted or that there was any time frame required before returning.
The guards at Schengen border crossings have to abide by Directive 2004/38/EC. To assist them in correctly processing people passing through the border, a handbook, Schengen Handbook for Border Guards has been produced in all major European languages.
Although the border guards are supposed to know their job, there are still stories around about some of them not being aware of the rights of spouses and trying to deny entry or impose penalties for overstaying the 90 days Schengen restriction. We ourselves have had three such border crossings so far where we may have been questioned by border guards and we had no problems whatsoever. The first was from Greece to Turkey and back. The second was leaving Finland for St Petersburg after eight months continuously in Schengen then returning to Finland a few days later. The third was leaving Spain for Morocco then returning nine weeks later. On all occasions, my wife and I exited and re-entered Schengen with no questions and without even being asked for our marriage certificate.
You should also print, and carry a copy of this Handbook with you on your travels. Highlight and be familiar with the sections that apply to you.
Schengen Border Checks for Spouses of EU Citizens
As a spouse accompanying an EU citizen you should expect the following at a Schengen border:
- You should only have to show the guard your spouse’s EU passport, your passport and be able to show your marriage certificate if requested
- The guard should give your documents only the ‘minimum check’, which is defined as just checking that they are valid documents and show no signs of tampering, forgery or falsification
- They should not ask anything about your travel plans, where you are staying, how much money you have to support yourself or question your Schengen entry or exit dates.
- You can only be refused entry on genuine grounds of national security or public health.
- Your passport is likely to be stamped unless you yourself have an EU or EEC identity card.
Note
If you are from a non-visa exempt country, you must obtain a visa to enter Schengen in the first place. The documents I obtained were not clear on what would happen if your visa has expired and you are exercising your rights under Directive 2004/38/EC. However it is clear that you still have the right to freedom of movement and if additional visas are required, they should be provided promptly and without charge. You will need to do your own research in these circumstances.
What if we Want to Stay More Than 90 Days in an EU State?
If you want to stay in one EU member state for more than 90 days, then legally both the EU citizen and their third country national partner should register as residents with the local authorities. I have not researched how this is done as we were always happy to just move on before three months were up. This instruction is really related to people who are moving to another EU state so they register where they are now living. I don’t know how you would be supposed to do this if you are travelling around in a motorhome.
EU Regulation 2016-399
What this means is that the Schengen Border Code cannot be interpreted in any way that affects or over-rules your rights outlined in Directive 2004/38/EC.
That sounds clear so what’s the problem?
The problem for me was that before undertaking dozens of hours of research, I didn’t know any of this and most embassy officials don’t know either. If I had taken the first responses I received as the gospel truth, we would not be experiencing the amazing journey we are on now. Luckily, I am a bit like a dog with
I’m not sure whether it is deliberate or just ignorance, but the embassy officials were the worst offenders at giving out wrong or incomplete information. For example, the Italian consulate in Melbourne insisted my wife could only have 90 days and directed me to websites to back this up. When I pointed out that the websites actually backed up “my” position he quoted lines from the website but added in extra words to support his claim. When I pointed this out, I heard no more.
During this time, I was also in contact with other potential travellers in a similar predicament and they were getting different advice than me. For example, the website ‘Your Europe Advice‘ is an official public service from independent lawyers giving advice on EU law. After asking very specific questions, I finally got the advice that:
“Every Union citizen has the right to reside in the territory of a host Member State for a period of up to three months without any conditions or formalities other than the requirement to hold a valid identity card or passport” and
“The EU national and family members can move to another EU Member State after three months if they wish and repeat the above process and continue to do so”.
A link to the full response is provided at the end of this document.
However, Paul who is an EU citizen married to an Australia was told by the same organisation that:
“This means that your spouse would be entitled to travel to an EU country and stay up to 90 days. The 90-day limit on short stays applies to stays in the Schengen area as a whole, not to individual countries. The limit is not applied so that a visitor can spend 90 days in each country. Instead, the limit is applied so that a visitor can only spend 90 days in the Schengen area as a whole (Articles 3 and 6 of Regulation 2016/399 apply).”
Same question, totally different answer? How can this be?
People are making massive decisions about their holidays of a lifetime and you can’t get a straight answer! Fortunately, I was able to provide Paul with my research and documents and as a result, he and his wife travelled freely into, around, out of, and back into Schengen for many months in 2017 and 2018 with no problems.
Once I was very sure of my findings, I started asking direct and focused questions of the various embassy officials. I was able to reference the Directives and Legislation and ask for their confirmation that I would have no problems crossing their Schengen borders. It seemed that most just found my questions too hard, and either fobbed me off or ignored me. I eventually had a satisfactory response from the German consulate in Berlin:
“You as an EU citizen can stay in Germany for up to 3 months without any further requirements. No matter in how many EU countries you have stayed prior to your arrival, you and your wife can stay in Germany for three months.”
The Hungarian official, after sending the question to the FREMO expert committee on Free Movement, in Brussels advised me unofficially that:
“I have received the official confirmation from Brussels that you and your wife can stay up to 3 months in each country without any administrative restrictions.”
It is always a little scary approaching a border crossing and not being sure what will happen. Be prepared for the worse and 99% of the time you will just sail through without being questioned.
The bottom line is that as long as you clearly understand your rights, you are in a strong position.
Great question and I wish I had an answer for that one. However at the time of writing that is up in the air, although the most likely outcome is not good news for British motorhomers wanting to travel long term in Europe, because you are going have to travel within the Schengen restrictions.
It would appear that Brexit is going to happen on 31st January 2020 and UK citizens will be classed as ‘third-country nationals’ i.e. non-EU citizens. If a deal is agreed then there will be a transition period, probably up to 31st December 2020, following which the British will almost certainly lose their rights to freedom of movement. If there is no deal then this could happen as soon as 31st January. There may be some grace period but there are no details on if this will happen and what that would look like.
I have not seen any proposed agreement that will preserve freedom of movement or grant UK citizens any travel rights over and above what all other ‘third-country nationals’ have complied with for decades. After all, when you leave the club you can’t expect to keep enjoying the club privileges. If anyone has any firm information to the contrary then please share it with me.
My advice, get the hell over here before it all turns to custard.
Many British are trying to obtain Irish passports which would bring the right to free movement for them and their families.
(Edited 9.01.2020)
Did that help you to understand your rights and plan your European travels?
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Happy travels and maybe we will see you on the road one day.
Here are the links to the most important documents referenced plus some others I haven’t mentioned but gives you some more background. I have highlighted parts of the relevant sections in some documents.
Schengen Border Code – Regulation 399-2016
New Zealand has Bilateral Agreements with:
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Italy
- Austria
- Netherlands
- Hungary
- Norway
- Spain
- Belgium
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Freedom to move and live in Europe – A guide to your rights as an EU citizen
The RIght of Union Citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the Union
Wow, I’ve researched a lot about Schengen but didn’t know about this. Well done and thank you!
Hi Kent, thanks for taking the time to read this post. We love it when people appreciate the hours of research that goes into posts like this.
Hi Alan and Ruth
This is awesome as Phil has an Irish passport! I had read about the EU right to a family life in relation to freedom of movement post Brexit and your post joyously confirms it! Thank you for all the research I know you’ve put into this, I can’t tell you how appreciated it is. Wish we hadn’t bought a bolt-hole in Spain now!!
Izzy (The Gap Decaders)
Hi Izzy, I am so glad that our post has helped you. There was (and still is) so much dis-information out there on the subject and many of the overseas embassy officials seem to be ignorant of the EU Regulations pertaining to freedom of movement, which is why I wrote this. Once you know your rights you can travel with peace of mind. I recommend reading and printing out the EU Directive 2004/38 and also making sure you have your marriage certificate in case you are asked for it. Happy travels and we hope to meet up with you around Europe one day.
Hi,. At last I’ve found someone who has found the path through the maze. Thank you for that.
My questions relate to ETIAS rules when they come into being – we are currently only British citizens but have Irish grandparents. One is northern Irish and the other southern Irish. We can obtain Irish passports but if Brexit happens and after ETIAS comes in, where do we stand in the stay for over 90 days game ? Does EU directive 2004/38/EC over rule ETIAS ?
Also there is always the possibility that they will demand that the island of Ireland has different passports for north and south.
Thanks
Hi there and thanks for your comment. We are glad to have been of assistance. From everything I know, you should have no problems if and when Brexit happens. Even if (and it is a huge and unlikely if) they have different passports for S and N Ireland, as long as one of you has an S Irish passport, you both have free right of movement provided you are travelling together. The ETIAS system is for third-country nationals from visa-exempt countries (e.g. NZ, Australia etc) which is likely to be the UK’s status post Brexit. This would only mean that the non-EU travelling partner would likely have to apply on-line for an ETIAS visa, which would be fast, simple and cheap. ETIAS has no bearing on 2004/38/EC. You are in a good position. Travel well, often and long.
Hello,
I do not believe some of the information on this website to be correct; specifically regarding bypassing the 90/180 rule simply because a non eu citizen is traveling with an eu spouse.
I also wrote with related questions to “Your Europe advice” . They respond regarding a non-eu spouse (family member):
“The 90-day limit on short stays applies to stays in the Schengen area as a whole, not to individual countries. The limit is not applied so that a visitor can spend 90 days in each country. Instead, the limit is applied so that a visitor can only spend 90 day in the Schengen area as a whole. ”
The extracted text on this webpage from a response by “Your Europe advice” … appears to be taken out of context and the memo it is referring to should be read carefully:
“The EU national and family members can move to another EU Member State after three months if they wish and repeat the above process and continue to do so”
My reading of “the above process” in the letter does not imply that non eu-spouses (family members) can simply move between countries so as to bypass the 90/180 rule – that does not appear to be in the context of the requirements. I think what is being suggested here is that both the eu citizen and non eu spouse can apply for residency based on the criteria imposed by a specific country and have the option to ” move to another EU Member State after three months if they wish and repeat the above process and continue to do so.” As such, this would imply that some sort of residency needs to be established – not just moving between countries without any formalities. That’s my take on it ..
You don’t want to find out that about a breach in the regulations at the eu exit point.
I am happy to be corrected; however unless there is more evidence relating to the related claims on the webpage, I think it should be removed or adjusted. There is a risk that readers may base their EU travels on such information; and this could put them at risk of fines or being banned from the EU for many years.
Chris
Hi Chris, thanks for your comment and it is commendable that you are reading these posts and checking on their veracity. I hope that I can be of assistance and give you some assurance that my facts are indeed correct. As I mentioned in my post, another person also had incorrect advice from Your Europe Advice but after seeing what I had unearthed he and his wife then travelled in and out of Schengen, exceeding the 90 day limit with no problems. There is a lot of misinformation out there unfortunately. If you read the full text of my enquiry to Your Europe Advice, and their response, you will see that I was very specific in my questions and their response was similarly very specific and relevant. Similarly, if you read the text of the EU Directive 2004/38EC, Regulation 2016/399 (Schengen Border Code) and the Schengen Handbook for Border Guards, all documents make it very clear that non EU family members of EU citizen enjoy free right of movement provided they are travelling with or travelling to join the EU citizen. Your Europe Advice advised that “It does not matter whether the EU national came to work or study there or just to visit as a tourist”, therefore it is not tied to any application for residence. We have now crossed the Schengen borders several times, after having spent many months (nine months last time) in Schengen. There have been no questions from the immigration officials and my wife has not even been asked for her marriage certificate so the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I suggest you read the Directives and Regulations, then make another very specific enquiry of Your Europe advice, with reference to the relevant clauses in the Directives and see if you can get a response that agrees with the written Directives etc. Best of luck and feel free to contact me if I can be assistance, Alan.
Yes, I’ve known about these grandfathered agreements for years, and I found that some countries do address them on their official site (but as you would expect, Australia doesn’t.
Trouble is, as you said, they all have different rules to the extent that making use of them is just about impossible so I have never bothered. Three months is generally enough and if we go to UK, RoI, Morocco, Turkey and some of the Balkans, we can pad it out to 6 months or more after which it is time to head off
Hi! I have an American passport and live in the US. My partner has an Irish passport and lives and works in Poland. I recently overstayed in the Schengen zone and upon leaving they were super nice to me. I had entered France mid July then was mostly in Poland for with a 3 week holiday in Greece. I flew out of Germany in November to return to NYC. The border control guard told me I can come back to Germany no problem but not Poland till my 90 days are up. This does not make sense to me. Also, if we were to get married before I return to Schengen am I allowed to enter before 90 days ?
Hi Debbi, I hear that Poland are particularly strict and apply the regulations differently to many other EU states. Also some EU states recognise a defacto type relationship whereas other may require an actual marriage certificate and Poland being a strongly Catholic country are probably one of those. It is always going to be challenging travelling into/out of Schengen without your EU spouse as you have to somehow prove the relationship to the satisfaction of the border guards. I think that theoretically, you could return in less than 90 days if you were actually married but whether that is accepted in practice??? Also you may have problems boarding your flight in USA if you are going back to Schengen within 90 days of leaving. They have a responsibility to make sure travellers have a valid visa. Good luck – and remember I am not an expert, just passing on my experience.
Thanks for sharing your research Alan. It’s been a very painful rollercoaster for us as to whether we can continue our pattern of 6 month long cycle tours in Schengen with only 1 EU passport between us. You suggest we can as we are married. As cycle tourers we normally cross borders on the smallest possible roads with least traffic, ie generally no border stations. How can we even prove we haven’t overstayed our 90 days and/or left from one country to another for a few days and come back? I’ll have to keep receipts at supermarkets!?
I guess its all no problem at all as long as nothing happens, but if there is some additional problem then one needs to be really sure of what ones rights are.
Hi Gudrun, and thanks for the coffees – they tasted great.
As far as I can see you can continue your travels – sad for those who don’t share an EU passport and are losing to opportunity to continue with their lifestyle.
The restriction of 90 days in any one country seems relatively loose and we met many people who didn’t know about it or disregarded it without consequences. It’s not the same level of offence as overstaying in Schengen as a third-country national. I believe Poland may be quite strict with this though.
I would either keep receipts or maybe turn on Google Timeline which will give evidence of your movements.
Enjoy your cycling.
Alan
Well done Mr Gow and Ms Murdoch! (We’ve spoken over the last couple of years).
A great bit of work. Lookst like I’ll be using my Oz passport and my wife’s CZ one in tandem, we were married in CZ too so easy peasy. Kids are CZ citizens already I’m just the black sheep.
You’ve cleared my mind, for that I’m eternally grateful. Just got to bookmark this somewhere I won’t lose it!
Mal.
Glad to help Mal and enjoy your travels. I believe that all of this is correct however a word of caution – we have some friends, one with an Irish passport who were fined going out of Slovenia, for what reason I’m not sure but it appeared that the border guard believed the non-EU citizen needed to be residents in the EU. I can’t see any justification for that and maybe they could have argued the point further but it happened nevertheless. We had no problems and others also seem to have no problems. It looks like we are going to sell our motorhome which is a shame but there’s no point keeping in when EU travel is so constrained and NZ is so Covid free.
Finally – a reason to get married! Great information – thanks