Maximum Travel days?

US citizens can stay in the UK for six months and then go elsewhere or home. France is in the Schengen area as is most of Europe. US citizens are only allowed to stay in those countries for 90 days.

No you don't have to touch home base (US) but counting days can get a little tricky. In England I thought it was six months out of a year so you have to gone for six months prior to returning. Schengen zone is similar in that you are allowed 90 days out of any 180 day period. The key is the dates on the entry and exist stamps going in and out of those zones. Has nothing to do with returning to the US. You never have to return to the US.

You get six months in a single visit. You could technically leave for one day and return for another six months. However, you will have to convince them you are not trying to live there illegally.

The UK doesn't care where you go, you just have to go.

Alison, the UK rules are are different than for the 26 Schengen countries of Europe. You can only stay up to 90 days out of 180 in any combination of Schengen countries on a tourist Visa Waiver. Then you must leave for 90 days before you can come back: just leaving for a day doesn't re-set the clock.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/schengen.html

I'd like to produce a link to an actual US State Dept. page laying out all the details for the UK but I can't find it on the stupid (!!!) site. They only mention the length of required passport validity, and a mention of no visa required under a stay of 90 days... which I will question as I believe it's 180 days on a U.S. passport. Have written off a note to the State Dept.... Maybe I'm missing it but have spent 20 minutes digging with no joy.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/UnitedKingdom.html

Six months in any 12 for visitor entry to the UK without a visa used to appear explicitly in the immigration regulations. It doesn't now, but this was so officers could be stricter if anything. Now the test is simply whether it appears that a person by repeated or long visits is attempting to live for prolonged periods in the UK without having obtained the appropriate visa to do so.

UK immigration has a lot more flexibilty than the Schengen Area, which is bound by rules agreed between governments. If UK immigration thinks you are trying to "play the system" and spend most of your life in the UK, you could get refused entry.

26 Schengen countries of Europe. You can only stay up to 90 days out of 180 in any combination of Schengen countries on a tourist Visa Waiver. Then you must leave for 90 days before you can come back: just leaving for a day doesn't re-set the clock.

Not quite. The first sentence is correct ("90 days out of 180"), but NOT the second ("Then you must leave for 90 days"). You just have to stay outside the Schengen Area until your total number of days in the last 180 is less than 90, then you can re-enter and stay until your total (in the last 180, re-calculated every day) again reaches 90.
For example you could do 45 in, 50 out, 45 in, 50 out; then you could go back in because your total in the last 180 days is 80.

Beware travelling days count. For example if you travel from London to Paris, that day counts as both a UK and a Schengen day.

Edit: You probably need to spend less than 50% of your time in the UK, ad definately less than 50% in the Schengen Area, so you need a third location.

Chris, your explanation of the Schengen math was tighter than mine - which was tad looseygoosey - and you are absolutely right that it's important to figure that math down to the day. It's especially important as on the State Dept. website they talk in terms of "three months" instead of 90 days...which is even looser than my own explanation!

"Spend three months in the Schengen area during any six-month period, you must wait another three months from the last date of departure from the Schengen area before you can apply to enter the Schengen area again without a visa."

Thanks, guys. :) If I get really rich, maybe I can go to Monaco too. :) May as well set the bar high.

I wonder if these rules will change much with Brexit.... Guess we'll see how it goes.

When my Dad was re-marrying my stepmom (he had gotten dual citizenship) after she moved from NY to Australia, there was a rule that he had to return to the US long enough to get his passport stamped (in Hawaii), so I wasn't sure how it worked with the tourist thing.

Thanks again,
Alison

Of course the place to check the UK requirements for U.S. citizens who want to visit there is on a UK government website, not a U.S. one (since the UK is the one who decides how long foreigners can stay in their country with or without a visa).

If you go to this site

https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa

And click that you're from the United States and, on the next page, that the reason for your visit is tourism, you'll arrive on a page telling you that you can visit for six months without a visa.

I will note as a somewhat frequent visitor to the UK from France, the British immigration agents always seem to be much more interested in really inquiring and seeing if I have my story straight about why I want to come visit. I always find this a bit amusing, as I have a husband, a job, an apartment -- and two cats! -- here in France, and am not planning on sneaking in to the UK. But they take it very seriously for entry into the UK (is my personal experience).

"the British immigration agents always seem to be much more interested in really inquiring and seeing if I have my story straight about why I want to come visit."

Kim, I've had that experience from the UK Immigration folks at the Gare du Nord Eurostar "border" as well. Last time the guy asked me if I "knew" anyone in the UK. I was flummoxed. Took a few seconds to answer because I SORT OF know some people via RS/TA forums/previous RS guides and yes, I've met up with some of those people in the US but no, I'm not planning to see any of them. He laughed at my hesitation and finally he said...what I really want to know is are you going to visit anyone. I said "whew" and well, no and thank you for clarifying. I certainly didn't want to be untruthful but I needed a better question. I'm pretty sure he laughed only because I don't fit any profiles and over the previous 4 or so years have a visit or 2 a year for a few weeks.

I've never had the Immigration agents at Heathrow ask me anything along that line.

Kim, true that the website you linked (and which I've used) tells us that a U.S. citizen can stay in the UK for 6 months for tourism without a visa. What it doesn't do is explain what has to happen when that 6 months is up. Leave the UK, yes, but it doesn't go on to say how long that might need to be before one can visit again...not that our OP was interested in doing that.

The question about knowing someone there might be interesting, my daughter's uncle and cousins live in Essex, I wonder if that would be taken as a good answer to that immigration officer question or not-so-good.

If I do go to grad school there this September (will know if I do not get a job offer by the end of next week, I'll give up and change careers), I would imagine I'll know a few people there by the end of the year long program. I guess as long as I'm honest, it'll be OK.

Thanks again,
Alison