Gotta get back.

August 24, 2009 3:40 PM

I need to return to Poland, but I don't know if I can. Visa issues.

I moved to Poland in April, because I wanted to learn the language and I had a good friend I wanted to visit. I'm a US citizen, so I didn't need a visa.

I stayed in Poland for four months. At the time, someone had told me if I leave Schengen before three months I could return and stay another three months. (I now understand this to be incorrect.) So I went to the Ukraine for a weekend and came back.

I flew back to the States last week to spend three weeks with my family. When I went through passport control in Zurich, the agent was furious, and said I had stayed too long. I told her I went to the Ukraine. She said I had no stamps of my time there - it was true.

It turns out that the border guards in the Ukraine neglected to stamp my passport, although I did have the exist and entry stamps from the Polish side of the border from that visit. The agent in Zurich called a higher-up and decided to let me continue on my journey, and said next time to make sure I've been stamped. I don't know if this has a permanent effect on my ability to enter Schengen again, or not.

Two months ago I bought a ticket to return to Poland from the States. I arrive on September 5th and fly out on December 15th, which is 101 days.

Only now have I realized that this is illegal, even if I hop over to Russia in November. I'm in a bit of a panic now, because I have a life in Poland - I have a girlfriend, close friends, and an apartment. When I arrive in Zurich again (I'm flying through the same airport again!) I worry that they will deport me, fine me, and maybe ban me from the Schengen zone.

I realize now that I should have gone for a visa while I was there; a residency, student, or some sort of visa. I am studying Polish, so it's possible I could attempt some kind of student visa.

Is there anything I can do? Is there an additional visa I can pay for? I want to be back there legally. I could wait a couple more months but I need to be back there as soon as possible, as my life is there. Do I have any options besides waiting?

I'm trying to contact the embassy but I thought I would ask the hivemind as well, since I'm starting to really get worried.

posted by anonymous to travel & transportation (3 comments total)

Only now have I realized that this is illegal, even if I hop over to Russia in November.

The Schengen short-stay visa rule (which applies to US passport holders travelling visa-free) permits a stay of no more than 90 days in a 180 day period. That means you shouldn't count on getting back anywhere into the Schengen zone on September 5th with just your US passport, let alone getting to the 90-day point in Poland. See if you can cancel or rebook your flight.

You probably will be able to return without a visa if you wait for the 180-day clock to reset, though your run-in in Zurich may lead to further scrutiny, and you really shouldn't book a return trip that comes anywhere close to the 90-day limit. Once in Poland, you may then be able to fashion a way to get a temporary residence permit -- work, study, getting married to a citizen or settled resident. The advantage of this is that you can draw upon your friends' knowledge of the local bureaucracy.

The alternative is to apply for a long-stay visa, valid for a year, and that requires proof of financial support, travel health insurance and other documentation. There's only one form of long-stay visa (it's a 'national' visa, and applies only to Poland) but it serves multiple purposes. Basically, you need to show the embassy that either you can support yourself, or that you'll be supported by others. As in bank-statement proof. Having any kind of official invitation is going to help in that regard.
posted by holgate at 5:32 PM on August 24 [1 favorite has favorites]

I am studying Polish, so it's possible I could attempt some kind of student visa.

Is this a long-term program at a university? I'd investigate the possibility of a "Polish for foreigners" course - I know that the Jagiellonian University in Kraków offers one that's a multiple-month thing - and contact them re visas.

Where in Poland are/were you based? I imagine that you'd find somewhere to study, at least, in the voivodeship capitals, where most of the universities are. Consider applying all over the place if you really are desperate to get back.

Two months ago I bought a ticket to return to Poland from the States. I arrive on September 5th and fly out on December 15th, which is 101 days.

It's probably waaaaay too late to make this work. Cancel your ticket (as you haven't been out for even close to 90 days, and you're over the 90 day limit!), talk to a uni willing to give you a visa (this may actually be a rather quick process as I doubt you'd be in the "normal" admissions cycle), and go through a consulate.

Be aware that you're going to get a royal grilling at both the consulate and the Schengen border you choose to cross.
posted by mdonley at 10:42 PM on August 24

Oh, also, a little timeline from my experience - I live in Poland now!

• 0 day: apply for job
• + 30 days: tentative acceptance after interview
• + six weeks - two months: official permission from voivodeship labor office to hire non-EU citizen
• + two weeks: arrival of official documents from Poland needed by consulate to process long-stay visa
• + two weeks: gathering all the other documentation needed (tickets, insurance, bank statements)
• + one week: processing time for visa (I drove to my local consulate)
• + three weeks: from the time of receipt of visa to departure

So it takes a few months, at least for those getting a job. A lot depended on the speed of the local offices here in Poland. The consulate was extremely polite and efficient.
posted by mdonley at 11:01 PM on August 24