Are visa exempt travellers to the Schengen area allowed to stay for the full 90 day period even if their passport stamp shows a lesser period?
I travelled from outside of Europe to Madrid, Spain via Frankfurt, Germany. As my first point of entry into the Schengen area was Germany my immigration was done there. I had initially planned to stay for 22 days and I told the same to the immigration official. My visa-free stamp says the number 22 next to the date.
However I am loving Spain and I want to extend my trip.
Can I stay for the full 90 days which are allowed within any 180 day period or do I need to leave within 22 days?
Also in case I am allowed to stay for the full 90 days, what is the significance of the number "22" which was stamped on the passport. Are the number of days stamped on the passport to verify that the traveler is actually staying for the length of time which the traveler stated at the time of entry?
Are there any negative consequences to staying for more than the amount of time which was stated at the time of entry?
Best Answer
No, that's not the purpose of the entry stamp. There is no record of your initial conversation and no system to track or enforce the purpose or planned length of stay of visa-free visitors (visa applications, on the other hand, are documented in a database). The main things that should be checked when you exit the Schengen area is whether you exceeded the maximum length of stay (90 days in your case) and whether there is an alert about you (arrest, surveillance) or your travel documents (stolen documents).
As @phoog explained, there is no legal concept of a period of admission and it is not up to the border guards you talked to to decide how long you may stay. You can of course be questioned about the nature of your trips, your financial resources, your ties with your country of residence, etc. both when leaving and when re-entering the Schengen area. I would guess that the longer your stay, the more likely you are to attract the interest of border guards, even more so if you make several long stays, but it's not directly related to changing your mind about the length of stay.
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What is the Schengen 90-day rule?
Under the terms of Schengen, non-EEA nationals cannot spend more than a total of 90 days within a total period of 180 days without a visa. Furthermore, once you've used up your quota of 90 days, you cannot return to Schengen until 90 more days have passed.Can I stay in the Schengen area more than 90 days?
The Schengen law states that you can't stay in the Area for more than 90 days. If you do, you're subject to a fine and possibly deportation and being banned from re-entering the Schengen Area.How do you get around the 90-day rule Schengen?
Well, you can tour around different Schengen member states like France, Spain, or Germany and by the time you hit your 90-day limit, go and hop over to a non-Schengen European country like Croatia, UK, North Macedonia, or Turkey to wait until you hit the 181st day so that you can come back to the Schengen Area again.Can you stay in Europe for more than 3 months after Brexit?
UK passport holders can cross an external EU border using just a valid passport and stay anywhere in the Schengen Area for up to 3 months. To stay in the Schengen Area for longer than 90 days, a visa or another kind of travel permit is required.STAY IN EUROPE FOR MORE THAN 90 DAYS… JUST DO THIS! Schengen area and the 90 day rule for Van Life.
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