Breaking the law - euro style

November 6, 2008 1:00 PM

I am a US citizen considering staying longer than 90 days (the length of a Schengen tourist visa) in the Netherlands. What will the consequences be?

I will only be staying 5 weeks longer than 90 days, and when I asked IND (the Netherlands immigration office) they told me that in all likelihood I would never get caught. Has anyone else done this successfully (or, more importantly, unsuccessfully)? I have a short layover in London - could there be trouble from the UK (non-Schengen) officials, even if I make it out of the Netherlands with no problems?

posted by anonymous to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

Lots of people have. It's illegal, yes -- the rules are there for a reason. But many people overstay without issue. Is it worth the risk? You decide.
posted by nitsuj at 1:07 PM on November 6, 2008

usually you can get a new tourist visa after you leave for (n)days and return. Have you looked into what that time requirement is? It could be all you need to do is go to another country (Germany?) for a day or two and return without any risks.
posted by birdlips at 1:19 PM on November 6, 2008

It could be all you need to do is go to another country (Germany?) for a day or two and return without any risks.

Germany is a Schengen country as well. But, legally, you have to spend at least 90 days out of a Schengan country before you can come back in.
posted by nitsuj at 1:22 PM on November 6, 2008

Your tourist visa is only valid for 90 days in Schengen out of any 180 day period. Have you considered asking the Netherlands for an extended tourist visa? It's lots of paperwork, but I imagine it's possible if you're not broke.

You might also consider a student visa to learn Dutch, but you'll need to take Dutch classes. Fyi, if you're plans include Dutch classes anyway, the school likely won't let you register for longer than 90 days without an appropriate visa.

Do you need to stay in the Netherlands the whole time? Or can you arrange 5 weeks abroad in non-Schengen countries like Croatia (beautiful), Eastern Europe, Turkey, UK, etc? Switzerland has just joined Schengen, fyi.

I'm afraid that the U.S. often catches Europeans for visa violations years later. So yes they might ignore your visa violation now, but you'll be vulnerable if any E.U. country ever enacts stricter visa rules. If you must violate the visa, and have money, then consider giving them plausible deniability by traveling outside Schengen too. It may help if they forget to stamp or scan your passport for some entries & exists.

p.s. If you have enough Italian ancestry, then you can apply for Italian citizenship. Indeed most European countries have citizenship by blood, not birth, except France, but some like Germany have strict anti-dual nationality laws.
posted by jeffburdges at 2:17 PM on November 6, 2008

5 weeks longer is over a third of the length of the original visa. You're unlikely to get caught unless you do something that involves contact with the authorities.

And the UK officials are unlikely to care - their concern is that you're legally entitled to enter the UK and have an onward ticket.

But you may face problems in the future if you ever want to get a Schengen visa again, as your entry and exit dates will be recorded, at least on your passport (and it covers a lot of countries, so that may limit your future travel plans).

Can you not extend the visa while in the country? You may have to pay to do it, but that might be something you're prepared to do to avoid the risks...
posted by finding.perdita at 2:23 PM on November 6, 2008

IANAL and this is not legal advice, etc etc. But the IND were correct. In all likelihood nobody will ever know. Often your passport won't even be checked at Schiphol if you're not leaving the EU (you usually won't pass through a 'departures' desk), and even if you do, you won't get any comment beyond being asked whether you've had a nice holiday.

I know of many people who have spent extended periods in NL without a valid visa, and without incident.
posted by different at 2:52 PM on November 6, 2008

You could always fly through CDG in Paris. I've been through there several times (onward bound to Germany) without them ever stamping my passport. The few instances I flew back to the US via another city (Munich), they asked me about the stamp, and I told them I flew through Paris, to which they just rolled their eyes and gave me back my passport, without an exit stamp.
posted by taschenrechner at 11:58 AM on November 7, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]