How long can you stay in Europe

As a US citizen, you may stay in any Schengen country, which includes France, for a period not to exceed 90 days within a rolling calendar of 180 days. For example, if you were to stay the entire 90 days, you must leave the Schengen zone and may not return for another 90 days.

If you wanted to stay in France from 4 to 6 months, you must apply for a long-stay “visiteur” (visitor) visa. A 6-month visa is nonrenewable but may be issued for a number of purposes such as studying the language or taking art lessons. Visa applications must be made, approved, and issued before travel to France. Visas for stays in excess of 6 months are renewable, a process handled by the local Préfecture.

There is a Visa Wizard that will give you guidance about what visa you might need and how to obtain it.

Check here for more information.

Re-read it. It does not say that. It says after 90 days in Schengen you must leave for 90 days.

no loophole, I'm afraid

For me the most important paragraph in that article is this: "During that time you can't work or leave, and according to many message boards for travelers who have utilized this loophole it's technically up to border patrol to decide whether or not to allow you to stay for the additional time, as there have been efforts recently to revoke the rule — so don't make plans without checking with the embassy and the border." And that last sentence is critical.

Hello Debbie,

I believe the point of the Schengen region is that the 90 days applies to all countries collectively so you can travel freely between them without a visa but the 90 day "clock" is cumulative from when you enter the region - not a country.

The closest thing to a loophole would be using your 90 days across the Schengen region and then going to a non-Schengen country which is on a different "clock". This isn't hard since some countries like England aren't in the Schengen region. You could do 90 days in Schengen, 91 days in England and then come back to Schengen for another 90 days.

My only caution is that if you use up your Schengen 90 days you may even have trouble crossing through a Schengen country on your way home. There's a famous story of a man travelling through Germany on his 90th day whose plane was delayed past midnight and he was determined to be in visa violation despite being in the airport trying to get out of the country.

My advice is not to play with fire and either get expert advice if you're serious about staying this long and/or look into visa options that might be available to make you legal.

Wish I had the problem of spending too much time travelling!
=Tod

I have recently started to follow Wandering Earl's blog and newsletter. He has just applied for and received a Spanish year long 'non-lucrative' visa. As Spain is part of Schengen region, I have asked him what the benefits are on Schengen travel with this type of visa. I don't think it is a new visa, and there are a number of hoops to jump to get it, but if people are serious about long term European travel, it might be worthwhile.

No loophole, the limit is 90 days in any 180 for he Schengen Area collectively.

Also note, arrival and departures days count.
If you arrive on day 1, and exit to a non-Schengen country on day 90 (as above, that is a risky strategy), then taht would also be day 1 in your non-Schengen country. In order to be outside Schengen for 90 day, you need to spend 92 in another country.

The loophole they are talking about is that add on allowed by reciprocal agreements with the US. It appears you can add on time to the 90 days with those agreement. I find them confusing and haven't tried it. I would think you would need confirmation from the French embassy before planning this type extension. My understanding is that you could do say 90 days in various Schengen countries and then add on time in say France which has a reciprocal agreement, above that 90 days by flying directing to France. It is confusing and I sure wouldn't try it without some sort of confirmation from French authorities.

Nor would I Janettravels...I have never heard of these bilateral agreements and the author does not do a very good job explaining them. So I just fly into Lyon after having been in Spain for 90 days and they should let me stay for 90 more days in France? It says I have to stay in that country but how would they know? There are no border checks. If there were some kind of quick e-visa I could get/buy for this I would feel better but it seems that the immigration officer just has to know about this somehow and allow you in. And if I'm flying from another Schengen country, like the article says you have to, there is no immigration check anyway! You would have to seek out an immigration officer for this. I'm tempted to try it just to see if it works.

Fellow Travelers, this is the section I'm working to completely understand:

Now, loopholes: The following countries have something called a "bilateral agreement" with the United States:
France, Denmark, Poland
These agreements mean that U.S. citizens are able to stay an additional 90 days in those countries without a visa. In order to take advantage of this, you have to fly directly from a Schengen Area to one of those countries and stay put for those 90 days. Or, you can stay in one of those countries for 180 days.

Is there a possible example of where this 'loophole' would be applicable? I appreciate the insightful information.

There is no such loophole.

The basic document used as reference to a loophole, cited by this author, is dated 1949. This is decades before the current Schengen rules were drafted and implemented. The many message boards, referenced by the author, is a Trip Advisor forum discussion started by an American wanting to go to Norway, a country not even mentioned in the 1949 document.

Within the last several years, the French government has outlined procedures allowing those from the US to extend their visits to up to 6 months. Maybe the idea originates with the 1949 document but this is not an automatic extension to a consecutive 180 stay and it most certainly is not something determined by immigration personnel at passport control.

The French government´s requirement for a 180 stay or one of up to 6 months are outlined by the link provided in post #1. Ideally, you should contact your nearest French embassy or consulate for more information.

Debbie, If that statement is correct (and I cannot comment on wheher it is or not) I would imagine you would have to exit the Schengen Area from one of the countries with this agreement, so you are processed by their immigation officials.

In order to take advantage of this, you have to fly directly from a Schengen Area to one of those countries and stay put for those 90 days

This sentence does not make sense.
"Flying from the Schengen to one of these countries" - but these countries ARE in the Schengen Area.
And why do you need to fly? Why can't you cross a land border?
And there is no record of where in the Schengen Area (which country) you are spending your time in, because there are no border checks. How does anybody know if you spent the extra time in one of these countires or elsewhere in the Schengen Area?

Chris F...exactly. I call BS on this article. So many of these so-called "travel writers" truly have little knowledge and often pass on anecdotal information or things they "heard". It looks like this one is no exception. Even if you fly in from another Schengen country, like he recommends, there is no immigration to stamp your passport to begin the second 90-day clock. Total hooey.

I couldn't stand it so just sent an email to the website that published this article. They need to remove the section about the bilateral agreements - can you imagine some poor person reading this and then getting banned and fined on their way out because they believed this article??? Not OK.

Or you could do a "90 Day Fiancé" move and marry a citizen of an EU country. That has its own rules and restrictions, however.
;-)

Everyone, thanks for the many informative and insightful comments. When I read the article I was concerned, based upon my research and comments from numerous other sources I was uncomfortable with the writers contents. Goes to show you, you cannot believe everything you read, regardless of the source. Happy traveling to all.