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Schengen 90 day rule

Posted by (Full time US Rver, US) on

Hi,

My husband and I are planning to vist Europe for 6 months, and have just learned of the Schengen 90 day rule. We are leaving 4/27 on a cruise ship, so are scrambling to change our itinerary. We are going to make sure that we spend 90 days in non-Schengen countries. Please correct me if I am wrong - as long as we move in and out of non-Schengen countries (Andorra, Switzerland, Lichtenstein,Croatia) with the proper stamps and our Schengen countries don't add up to more than 90 days, we are OK. We are going on a cruise ship and have already filled out all the info and received the boarding pass, and we have a return cruise booked in November. I wonder if we have to prove we are going to the non-Schengen countries with rental receipts, altho I am assured by friends that cruise ships aren't as strict as airlines. I certainly appreciate all the help.

Carole

Posted by
225 posts

Thats worth a phone call to your local European Union country embassy.

Posted by
4 posts

I couldn't agree with you more - I spent all morning trying to reach any consulate - they do not speak to you on the phone. I have left emails. Just trying to see if someone else had already done the research and successfully done it. Thanks...

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks - I visited the link and there is lots of good info. I did see my main question, which is whether Switzerland is still a valid non-Schengen country, but no answer so far. I did see several other articles that lead me to believe that it will be valid until November 1, but I will keep checking.

Carole

Posted by
23547 posts

A little dose of reality. If you are coming and going, no one is going to check the dates and add up the time. The bigger issue if you were to live for an extended period in one or more of the Schengen Countries you might be challenged. And you don't always get stamps on your passport. I don't know what you mean by cruise ships not being as strict as airlines. They are extremely strict with ids and name badges.

Posted by
4 posts

Hi,
I don't know what I mean by the cruise ship remark either - several cruising friends have said that, so it was a meaningless comment :-). If we can't find someone to stamp our passports, one post suggested getting money from an ATM and keeping all receipts. I know our chances of getting caught are not that great. Our biggest concern is in case of accident, theft, or medical emergency, if we are "illegal", we could find ourselves without insurance, etc. We are retired - not the biggest "risk taking" group :-)Thanks for your post.

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