I was told Americans can reset their 90 day Schengen limit in Poland by traveling to e.g. Ukraine for at least 24 hours. Is this true?
I heard this from two different people in two different situations during my stay here in Poland. I actually didn't even ask either of them about it. They told me on separate occasions on their own. These people also don't know each other, and they both said they know Americans who do it all the time. I have no reason to believe they would mislead me, but I am curious about where exactly I can find more information on this.
Does anyone know exactly what they're referring to?
And what might be the implications when traveling to other Schengen countries afterwards?
Best Answer
No, that trick doesn't work.
Schengen has a 90-of-180 rule, which says you can only be in Schengen 90 days of the last 180 days. If you stay 90 days in Schengen, you must then leave to avoid an overstay.
However, Poland has a special rule allowing 90 additional days for Americans. So you can use up your Schengen 90 days, then, go another 90 days in Poland.
You can spend an intervening day in Ukraine if you really want to, but it's not necessary.
While inside Schengen (including Poland), you accrue time on both clocks.
Suppose your start in Poland, spend 90 days, then go to Germany. Nuh-uh. You already accrued your 90 days inside Schengen, while you were in Poland, and now you must leave the Schengen area for 90 days prior to visiting Germany again. You could stay 90 more in Poland because of the exception.
The 90-of-180 rule means if you spent 90 of the last 180 days inside Schengen, you are not admissible.
Suppose you enter the EU and spend 150 days in Poland. How many of the last 180 days have you spent in Schengen? 150. That makes you ineligible to enter any of the other Schengen countries (except Denmark). Now you spend a day in Ukraine. How many of the last 180 days have you spent in Schengen? Still 150.
Suppose you spend 45 days in Germany, 100 days in Ukraine, then 60 days in Poland. In the last 180 days, 100 days were in Ukraine and the rest were in Schengen, so 80 days in Schengen. You can spend 10 more days in Belgium, but then you have to leave Schengen (unless you avail yourself of the extra 90 days offered by Denmark or Poland).
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When can I return to Schengen after 90 days?
Furthermore, once you've used up your quota of 90 days, you cannot return to Schengen until 90 more days have passed. For example, if you enter Spain on January 1st and spend 90 days in the country until June 30th, you cannot return to Spain until at least the end of September.How can I stay in Poland for more than 90 days?
National visa (D-Type) Choose this visa if you want to stay in Poland for more than 90 days. The validity of a national visa cannot exceed one year. You also need to apply for a national visa if you seek asylum, repatriation, or if you use Polish Card privileges.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.How does the Schengen 90 days in 180 work?
You can stay 90 days in any 180-day period within the Schengen area. calculated individually for each of these states. For instance, after a 90-day stay in the Schengen area, the person can immediately travel to Croatia and stay for another 90 days there. The 180-day reference period is not fixed.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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