Client Payment Portal

Traveling to Schengen Countries: Information for Non-European Union Nationals

Jun 9, 2022 | Global

Non-European Union (EU) visitors can stay in the Schengen countries for maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period, but the calculation is not easy.

The Schengen area currently includes 26 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The scannable QR code below leads to EU Migration and Home Affairs, which includes visa policy information and lists of countries whose citizens must have a visa or are exempt from visa requirements when crossing Schengen external borders.

Third-country nationals (e.g., those who are not citizens of the EU and Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Switzerland), irrespective of being visa-required or exempt, who intend to travel to the Schengen area for a short trip for business or tourism can stay for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period. A few terms and rules apply:

Date of entry: The first day of stay on the territory of the Schengen Member State

Date of exit: The last day of stay in the Schengen Area

This applies only to short-term visitors. Periods of stay authorized under a residence permit or a long-stay visa are not taken into account in the calculation of the duration of stay on the territory of the Member States.

Reference to “any 180-day period” implies the application of a “moving” 180-day reference period, looking backwards at each day of the stay (be it at the entry or at the day of an actual check), into the last 180-day period, to verify if the 90-days/180-day-period requirement continues to be fulfilled.

As noted above, calculation is often not easy. The EU has created an online calculator.

New Entry/Exit System

The new Entry/Exit System (EES), to be operational in 2022, will automatically identify those who overstay their periods of admission. It will collect identity information and the date and place of entry and exit. The EES will apply to non-EU nationals, visa-required and visa-exempt travelers in the Schengen area. It will replace manual stamping of passports.

Details:

Related Posts:

Self-Employment Visas in Italy: An Overview

The type and number of self-employment (Lavoro Autonomo) authorizations available to non-European Union (EU) nationals are set by means of the quota decree (decreto-flussi). Not all self-employment categories are available each year. In general, to be eligible for self-employment, an applicant must: Have suitable accommodation in Italy; Have financial resources exceeding the minimum level set by the law for the exemption from a healthcare contribution (8,500 euros); Obtain a Police Clearance (Nulla Osta) in Italy; and Have certificates, documents, or attestations as required for the type of self-employment activity to be performed (applicants must meet the legal requirements for the performance of the activity in question, including, when required, the prerequisites for entering into professional registers). Some categories of self-employment visas are issued outside of the quota decree (e.g., translators and interpreters, university professors, lecturers, managers in an intra-company framework).

Read More

UK Immigration: 2021 Outlook

It’s official: Brexit has now taken effect as of 11pm on 31 December 2020. It is no secret that this will have a major impact on almost every area of life in the UK. Perhaps one of the most significant changes will be the UK’s immigration system – the shift from free movement to applying under a Points Based System (PBS) will be nothing short of seismic for Europeans hoping to live, study and work in the UK. In short, almost everyone entering the UK from 1 January 2021 (and who is not British or Irish) will either need to limit their stay to a maximum of 180 days and undertake activities permitted for visitors, or they will need to apply in advance for immigration permission if they plan to stay longer or undertake additional activities. For those falling in the latter category, an application is likely to be made under the new PBS – this is the regime which governs the vast majority of UK visa routes, including sponsored work visas and student visas. We outline below some of the headline changes under the new PBS, which was rolled out at the start of December 2020 and now applies […]

Read More