Schengen overstay penalty / effect on next Schengen visit?

Schengen overstay penalty / effect on next Schengen visit? - Person on Truck's Roof

I have been visiting Denmark with my C type tourist visa which was valid from 21.09.2014-21.03.2015 multiple entry and duration of stay 90 days. I didn't know about the 90/180 day rule so without knowing it, I have stayed there first from 21.09.2014-16.12.2014 (87 days) and after 20.12.2014-16.02.2015 (59 days), I mean totally 146 days in this 180 days period. But luckily nobody noticed it in the airport while I was leaving. No stamps, no penalties, nothing.

After turning back to my country, I applied to visa again and the Consulate of Denmark, without any questions, provided me again C type tourist visa which is valid from 22.03.2015 to 22.03.2016 multiple entry and duration of stay 90 days. Sorry about my ignorance but my question is:

I want to visit Denmark in 22.3.2015 again, Would the passport control officers notice and penalize me because of my last overstay, and this 90/180 day rule would start from my new valid visa or when exactly?



Best Answer

Formally, I don't think that having been granted a visa changes anything to your position. Depending on local law, border guards could probably still fine you for the earlier overstay. Of course you might also get lucky and nobody notices but you would be taking chances.

Importantly, the 90/180 rule applies across all visas and it's a rolling period (it does not really start or end, you must never have stayed more than 90 days in any 180-day period). Getting a new visa does not ‘erase’ the previous stays from the tally and you don't have the right to enter the Schengen area on a short-stay visa before some time in May.

Because of that, if you try to enter now, the border guards could not only deny you entry and send you back to your country of residence but also decide to annul your visa, because the conditions for issuing it were not met at the time it was issued (namely because you already exhausted your 90 days). It seems the consulate simply did not notice the second stay because otherwise they should have refused to issue a visa.

But at this point, the technicalities of the maximum stay rules are not your only concern. Border guards might very well think that your abusing the system to reside in Denmark and deny you entry on that basis alone (formally: because you have no adequate purpose for your stay).

You have stayed almost five months with short interruptions and both your previous stays have lasted two-three months. You last left less than a month ago, after a rather long stay that was itself illegal. Would border guards believe you when you enter now and tell them you fully intend to respect the rules?

If you want to go to Denmark (or elsewhere in the Schengen area) again, you need to wait at the very least until May-June, ideally longer than that, before trying to enter again. This would avoid the appearance of staying in Denmark semi-permanently and you would be more credible in claiming that it was an honest mistake, if someone does notice the overstay at this point.

But since you definitely cannot enter the Schengen area in March, it seems to me that your visa should not have been issued and could therefore be annulled at any time. The safest approach if you want to be able to help your family in the near future would therefore be to seek legal advice and see if you could secure another type of visa that would be more appropriate for the situation.




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What happens if you overstay your visa in Schengen?

A third-country national who stays for more than 90 days in the Schengen area (without a residence permit or a long-stay visa) is overstaying and is therefore in an irregular situation. This can lead to a criminal prosecution and a to an entry ban to the Schengen area.

What happens if you overstay 90 days in Schengen?

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 that rule is enforced, though, varies greatly from one country to another.

Can you stay in Europe for more than 3 months after Brexit?

Now that the UK is outside the EU, British passport holders can stay for a maximum of 90 days per 180-day period. 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.

How long do you have to leave the Schengen zone before returning?

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.



Overstaying in the Schengen Zone - How to Extend Your Stay in Europe UPDATED




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