It occurs to me that when I was doing long trips as a kid in the early '90s - several of them longer than 90 days even spanning up to nearly a year - I think I was totally unaware of a 90-day limit, and no one gave me any problem coming or going.
Where the rules different, or were the border officials noticing that I'd done something wrong and deciding that I was just some dumb kid and they let me go home on my merry way?
Thanks
Yes, the rules were different. That was before the Schengen agreement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement
Thanks Badger. And bummer - I liked the idea that I was a freewheeling international scofflaw.
even before the EU there wasn't unlimited immigration in member countries.
Yes, but each country only counted the days you were in that country. So if you were moving around between countries the individual limits would not have been a concern.
Yes, but each country only counted the days you were in that country.
So if you were moving around between countries the individual limits
would not have been a concern.
Longest I stayed was in Greece, about 3 months working at a nightclub in Perissa Beach on Santorini. I worked at a pizza place in Stockholm doing low end kitchen labor for a while too, but that ended fairly quickly when they decided that I was literally eating up too much of the profits.
note that the Schengen agreement is not a European law, nor even and EU law. It is for a subset of those countries...
The Schengen agreement is in fact EU law. While it is true that the UK and Ireland have opted out, all the other EU countries will eventually have to join.
I remember when Switzerland was not yet part of Schengen and unwary tourists (usually Asian) got taken of the Paris - Venice night train at the border because they did not have a Swiss visa...
"note that the Schengen agreement is not a European law, nor even and EU law. It is for a subset of those countries..."
Schengen has been EU law since the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) so for over 25 years now... Non-EU members are consulted but can only leave if they do not agree with what the EU decides.
Wikipedia: "As more EU member states signed the Schengen Agreement, consensus was reached on absorbing it into the procedures of the EU. The Agreement and its related conventions were incorporated into the mainstream of European Union law by the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997, which came into effect in 1999. A consequence of the Agreement being part of European law is that any amendment or regulation is made within its processes, in which the non-EU members are not participants.
It's also worth mentioning that the Schengen area has expanded over the years. When it first came into effect in 1995 the area was made up of seven countries, the Benelux, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal. So those who wanted to spend time in non-Schengen countries had plenty of options. But over time it has expanded to 27 countries (+3 microstates that are de facto members).
And while this is a nuisance for people that enjoy visa free travel in Europe, it has been a boon for tourists from other countries. Traveller from India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia etc... (af which we have more and more) only need to apply once for a visa, and can go and travel a large area.
It is the reason why some non-EU countries are member too. Switzerland joined because they realised that an Indian family going on a Euro trip was not going to come to Switzerland at all if they needed to apply for a separate Visa...
