90 Day Rule

Colleen, Your time spent in the U.K. will not apply towards the total time in the Schengen area. The U.K. is part of the E.U. but not part of the Schengen group. However, when you return to Switzerland, the meter will start running again. After returning to Switzerland, you MUST leave when you reach 90-days. If you want to stay longer, you could perhaps return to the U.K. for awhile, but you won't be able to stay in the Schengen area until another 90-days has elapsed. As someone else mentioned, it would probably be a good idea to keep track of your trips, although when you enter the U.K. your Passport will be stamped so that will provide a record of your time there to some extent. Good luck!

You cannot stay in the Schengen zone longer than 90 days unless you have some sort of long-stay visa, and those generally have to be obtained before you are in Europe. Outside of the Schengen zone (but within the EU) each country has its own rules.

Colleen, forget about the EU, it has nothing to do with the 90 day Schengen rule and your time there would not affect your stay in Schengen countries unless you were there for 180 days (which would start a new Schengen 90 day rule for you). No matter how long you stay in England or Ireland (10 days or 46 days) when you come back to Switzerland (or any Schengen country) you'll still have the 46 days left of the 90 from your first stay, since you had already used 44 days.

As Nancy said, no matter how long you are out of the Schengen area, you still have your remaining days to use when you return to it. Just think of it as time stopping once you leave the zone, then starting back up again when you return. Keep good records of your comings and goings, though - that is up to you to prove, if it comes to that. I also would not try to use every last day, in case there is a problem with a flight that causes you to overstay.

Ok thank you! But can you also stay in the EU for longer then 90 days? The reason we have to go to England is because we have a commitment in Switzerland for a month starting in December so that is why we needed to leave the Schengen area for a little while.

Best thing to do would be check the official government websites for the countries you are considering. I believe you can get a visitors visa for up to a 6 month stay in England. Not sure about Ireland but think it's 90 days at a time. I would take any information you get here as 'good' information but not 'official' information so don't rely on it for legality.

Colleen, "But now my questions is, England is part of the EU and the EU says that I can only stay 90 days out of 180 but England says that I can stay up to six months. How is this possible?" As I mentioned earlier, the U.K. is part of the E.U. but not part of the Schengen treaty. Therefore they establish their own rules with respect to tourism and length of stay. When you enter the U.K., the stamp on your Passport will specify "Leave to enter for six months: employment and recourse to public funds prohibited". This website should clarify the situation: www.axa-schengen.com/en/schengen-countries Cheers!

Thanks for your help everybody! I know that the time stops if I leave the Schengen area to England. I needed to do this because I have a commitment in Switzerland in December so I needed to "save my days" and leave the Schengen area. But now my questions is, England is part of the EU and the EU says that I can only stay 90 days out of 180 but England says that I can stay up to six months. How is this possible? If it is true, if I go to England in November then go Switzerland for December, could I go back to England after that? I am not sure if this makes sense. I am just trying to stay in Europe as long as possible without a visa.

You need to get the European Union out of your head, because it has no bearing on how long you can stay in Schengen Agreement countries. EU and Schengen are not the same thing, but do overlap. Just banish all thought of the EU. What concerns you are what countries are in Schengen. The UK is not, and they allow you to stay for 6 months. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_4361.html

Keep in mind that you cannot work legally without a work visa (regarding your wish to stay "as long as possible").