Schengen area, how long can I stay?

Hi Carolina. As a US citizen, my source for this info is the US State Dept web site. It has info about rules and visa I would need to visit or work in each country. You could look there to get an idea, then check to see how your country provides that info; maybe a similar Chilean web site? Or contact your government in whatever method they provide.
Enjoy your trip?

There's more information in other RS posts than you can shake a stick at, and you should search for those. I'd give you some advice based on what I've read there and elsewhere, except I don't know how being from Chile would affect that (as opposed from US and Canada, which most posts involved). Do keep in mind that there are Schengen European countries and non-Schengen European countries, and that affects your timing.

carolina, AFAIK, regardless of whether you're a citizen of Chile or somewhere in North America, the rule is that you can stay 90 days in any 180 days in the Schengen zone. You will then have to leave for a further 90 days before you can return. After reaching your 90 days, you could travel in eastern Europe, the U.K. or other areas that aren't part of the Schengen zone. If you do a search of "Schengen" on this site, you should be able to find lots of previous replies on this subject. Good luck and happy travels!

No, UK is not part of Schengen, so you still would have a month available in a Schengen country.

Your visa-free travel to all countries of Schengen area is limited to 90 days over last 180 days in a daily rolling basis. It doesn't matter if those 90 days are accrued in a single stay, in sequenced trips etc. There is no "clock reset" by doing a visa run. In a short line, unless you are a retiree, a student (going to follow courses in EU) or someone with a working visa, there is no way you, or any other non-European citizen can travel 18 months in Europe visa-free. At most, you can mix time in Schengen area with time spent outside Schengen area such as in Romania and United Kingdom, but being from South America that will make you suspicious when you are moving to these countries. Contact embassies/consulates of countries you are interested in Chile. They will have accurate information on entry requirements.

Be certain, when you are talking to the consulates about your travel plans, that you don't confuse permission to be 3 months in one country with 3 months in the Schengen zone. Moving country to country will probably not improve things for you if you stay within the Schengen zone. It's important to be clear about the differences when you ask your questions. Good luck.

Thanks everyone for your answers, they were really helpful (: and yeah I was thinking of doing three months in Europe then going down to North Africa and then going back to Europe for another three months and then to eastern europe for another three and so on.But regarding eastern europe, I thought only Russia and Belarus weren't part of the agreement, because Ukraine applied and might have become a member by the time I go. Oh and the other thing, if I stay for three months in Europe but out of those three months I spend one in the UK, do I have another extra month to remain in Europe? or does being in the UK count as part of Schengen?

carolina it looks like you may be confusing the countries which are members of the EU, the European Union, with countries which participate in the Schengen agreement. The two lists are by no means the same. A very good list of the Schengen countries, and which are not, complete with a colour coded map is at Axa Insurance.

Note that when discussing Schengen stays you can't discuss them in terms of months. The limit is precisely 90 days in any 180 days. Months, to bastardize a Monty Python quote, don't enter into it.

Yes you can discuss Schengen in terms of months. What you can't do is base your actual stay in terms of months as opposed to days. As you're aware, except for February, the difference between discussing a month versus days is never more than 1.

Hi Carolina, I'm actually down near you at the moment (BA), but to answer your question* the simple answer is that you can stay in the schengen area for 90 days out of 180 from the date of entry. That is 90 days combined for any of the countries (so 45 in France and 45 in Germany = 90 days in the schengen area). If you leave for a couple of days and then come back in, you do not get a fresh 90 more days (there are no visa runs). If you want to spend more than 90 days in Europe at any given time, it would be best to get a longer visa with a schengen country (like a year long visa). Otherwise, you will need to spend enough time outside the schengen area to ensure that you do not stay more than 90 days in any of the 180 day windows. *Disclaimer required by certain people: This is to the best of my understanding and should be taken with the rest of the adviced offered here and from other boards. You may also want to google for responses on tripadvisor, fodors, and flyertalk to double check the information provided in this thread.

Ummm, to state it mildly, Ukraine is not going to be in the Schengen agreement, nor in the EU, anytime soon. Like, possibly, ever.

Kim's statement is a bit strong. Do you have inside information, perhaps from the EU? The EU Business website said on 2 April 2012: (WARSAW) - Accession to the European Union remains a priority for Ukraine, the country's President Viktor Yanukovych said Monday, three days after initialing an association agreement with the 27-member bloc. "Ukraine's integration into the European political, economic and judicial space, in other words its accession to the EU, is our priority," Yanukovych said in an interview published by the Polish daily DGP. He said his country was "ready to proceed without delay to the phase of signing and ratifying the agreement" but regretted that the text did not comprise "a clear perspective of accession." Yanukovych said the EU should also ease visa requirements for Ukrainians, given the "progress in the introduction of reforms and European standards" in his country. "The establishment of a free trade zone should be accompanied by aid for a modernisation of the Ukrainian economy," he added. Friday, the EU initialed an association agreement with Ukraine after months of tensions over the jailing of ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The agreement, which includes an ambitious trade component, is part of EU efforts to keep the former Soviet state from straying too far into Russia's sphere of influence. But the actual signing of the pact is unlikely to happen for months, or before Ukraine's legislative elections in October, as the EU remains concerned over Tymoshenko's fate and the state of democracy in the country. - = - So while I agree that the process may not be quick, it seems a bit strong to say Like, possibly, ever.

I'd be inclined to go with Kim's statement. It sounds like Ukraine is desperate to get in, and the EU wants to make it seem like they'll let them in eventually if they just be patient, but really just want to mollify the country to keep it away from ties to Russia. Of course, diplomatic affairs are not my bailiwick, so what do I know. But it's pretty interesting.