Help! Digital Nomad Visa Necessary for longer stays in Schengen Region?

I am not too highly edutated so you lost me. I suggest before you do anything, you go here: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/visa-calculator/ and put in your dates. As I understand it they will be the following

First Arrival in Schengen Date in January
Departure from Schengen back home Date in Mid-May
Second Arrival in Schengen Date in Mid-May or probably June if I understand you correctly
Departure from Schengen to UK Date in August

And you will know definitively if you have an issue or not. Then worry about visas

A digital nomad visa is for someone who will be working remotely and earning an income. Does that apply to you? Keep in mind that you will likely need to pay taxes on the income that you earn to the country that issues the visa. Portugal has a digital nomad visa, so you could research the requirements there.

What would be easier would be to restructure your trip (e.g., 90 days in Schengen followed by 90 days in the UK) to comply with the rules.

Applying for any visa in a Schengen country is not a quick and easy process. The visa requirements are typically structured to prevent tourists from using them to evade the 90/180 day rule. There will likely be extensive documentation required and there can be lengthy waits for appointments at the consulates. Your best source of information is the website of the local consulate office for the country you are interested in applying for the visa for. And I can tell you that Italy has no digital nomad visa, so don't bother with that one. If you do obtain a visa, you will be required to register as a resident of the country that granted the visa once you arrive there. At that point you would be able to travel around the rest of the Schengen zone. But depending on the level of local bureaucracy, there could be a waiting period for residency, during which you can only visit other Schengen countries as a tourist (subject to the 90 days rule).

I don't know anything about digital nomad visas. For regular long-stay visas some Schengen countries (conceivably all of them, I just don't know) require a signed lease for the period of the visa requested. That is a pretty insurmountable hurdle when you want to travel around Europe rather than staying in one place. There are typically other requirements as well, including proof of assets and/or income and proof of medical insurance.

It's apparently not a quick or trivial process to get such a visa. I met a couple who succeeded in getting a long-stay visa for Italy only after three or four visits to the Italian consulate in their home country.

As Laura said, the easiest solution is to spend a larger amount of your time outside the Schengen Zone. There are lots of options in addition to the UK, including Ireland, Turkey, Cyprus and many Balkan countries. It's too bad Croatia now falls under the Schengen umbrella.

If it is this January, you may be a little late in the planning cycle. Extended stay visas can be complicated and time consuming to acquire. Do not hint or mention slightly that you might be working during that time period. That would kick in the requirement of a work permit and that is a whole new level of complication that you don't need.

There really is no alternative or work around to the Schengen rule. Schengen accounting is simple and complicated. It is a look back counting. One you first day in Schengen zone you look back a 180 days and you have just been there one day. You are OK. On the 90th day you look back and you been there for 90 days. You are done and you better be in the airport. But if you were out of the zone for 15 days you still be OK since it is 90 out of any previous 180 days. Strictly speaking you do not 30 in and 30 out almost forwever. England (non-Schengen) has almost the rule except that it is 180 days total.

You only solution is some type of a resident visa. Start asking tomorrow.

PS Mr. E's recommendation does not work at all. It will get you fined heavily and banned from Europe.

Do not hint or mention slightly that you might be working during that time period.

Just the opposite for a digital nomad visa. You will have to prove that you are working remotely and don't just want it to travel around.

When it comes to taxes, are you only charged for the number of days you work in the country for which the visa is held?

nope, it is based on days resident in a year

The whole purpose of any Visa is so you can stay in one country longer than allowed by the Visa waiver. Part of the application process is showing you have things like sufficient funds, a place to live, insurance, etc. Visa applications are made to a country, and intended for stay in that country. You are still free to travel, but generally need to maintain residence in the visa granting country. Technically, you are still restricted to 90 days of travel in 180 for the rest of the Schengen, how they enforce that of course is an unknown, but if questioned, they could probably figure it out.

A digital nomad visa is the new craze, probably easier to get than a long stay visa or a work visa, since you are bringing in a ready made job and income that they can tax. However, you will pay those taxes, still be liable likely for some US taxes, and your employers would need to be on board, possibly having to make tax payments to your Visa country. Your employer may also have some security or import/export issues with you working in Europe as a resident. You also may need visas for each of you, if you both are working, not sure if a digital nomad visa can cover a spouse as well.

There is no such thing as a Digital Nomad Visa for the Schengen Area nor is there any way to extend a stay beyond the 90 day rule. Individual member states may issue you with a visa for their state only and some of those visas may allow you to occasionally visit other states for a couple of days, but you must be resident in the state that issues the visa at all times. That means you have a place of accommodation there, pay all local taxes, meet the social insurance requirements and healthcare rules.

And remember the burden of proof that you are in compliance with the rules falls on you, the authorities are not obliged to prove anything. A failure to comply with these rules could result in your deportation, a heavy fine, a ban from entering the area for a period of time and a requirement to obtain a visa before travel there after.

PS Mr. E's recommendation does not work at all. It will get you fined
heavily and banned from Europe.

Frank, I am trying to figure out how telling someone to accurately calculate the maximum legal length of their stay given they are coming and going would get them fined? This is something a prudent person does BEFORE they go. There is so much bad advice on this forum (case in point), I thought starting with some facts generated by the calculator might be useful.

allgood.kristin, its a pretty good tool. I have actually played the game of doge the bullet with Schengen for a few years before I got my visa; so this is not speculation.

The calculator on the site made things a lot easier. Because its a rolling 180 days it can be a mind teaser if you come and go out of Schengen several times, and the calculator deals with that for you and tells you how many days you have left or how many days you are over based on the dates you enter. Just keep adjusting the dates till it says you are okay.

But to be honest you are going for something like 250 days so you aren't ever going to get legal without a visa or escaping the Schengen zone.

Think of it as a great opportunity to visit some places that you hadn't considered. Most of the Balkans for instance. Lovely, wonderful places that rival the best of Western Europe.

Here are your choices: Albania, Andorra (1), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Ireland, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, San Marino (1), Scotland, Turkey, Ukraine, Wales. (1. be sure someone stamps your passport on these two and remember if you are in a Schengen for 30 seconds on any day, you were there the whole day).

Andorra will not work. It's wedged between France and Spain and you won't see anyone who can stamp your passport. It is effectively part of Schengen. I suspect the same is true for San Marino (surrounded by Italy) but can't say with 100% certainty.

You can add Northern Ireland and Cyprus to Mr. E's list. Plus Morocco and other countries in northern Africa.

And Tel Aviv is $100 away on a discount airline.

The reality is that you will not complete your trip as planned. Accept this, and move on to planning a trip that will work. You can still have a wonderful trip, just not your original plan.

Carol now retired has it right. You can still have a great trip - you just need to move things around.:) Putting England and Scotland in the middle, along with another non-Schengen location or two, will help. You have time!

There are just many options that a trip can work and it can be a trip of a lifetime.

Spain's relatively new "Digital Nomad" visa is actually poorly named (and/or poorly designed.) Acquiring the residency is bureaucratically cumbersome and requires applicants to establish a real residence in the country.

It really should have been called what it is, a "Remote Worker Residency".