schengen area vs the EU

It is a bit confusing but has been discussed before, including your exact question. You can find all of these discussions by using the search box upper right, search first on the word Schengen (you need to use the correct spelling of the word for the search to work)--the search results will give you everything on this website with the word Schengen in it, try the Helpline search results first but then look at the links to other areas such as the Graffiti Wall.

The UK is NOT in the Schengen area but I do not know if it counts toward the 90 day limit...

You get 90 days out of 180 in the Schengen area. So you could go to Schengen countries for 90 days, Britain (non-Schengen) for 90 days, Schengen countries for 90 days, then non-Schengen countries for another 90 days...and so on. Be aware that, with such a long stay (90 days) both Schengen and non-Schengen countries may ask for proof you have enough money to live on, and a return plane ticket home.

The best way is to check the UK embassy's web sites and the other countries' you will be traveling to.

Hey Hank,

You can definitely go to the UK for some of your time. I'm doing a similar thing at the moment, traveling around Europe for a long period of time and hopping between the Schengen and non-Schengen areas.

I personally wasn't asked anything going through customs. I had a one-way ticket and they didn't say anything about that or ask how long I planned to be in Spain (where I landed).

This map shows the Schengen and non-Schengen areas. Some other places you might consider are Ireland, Croatia, Switzerland, and north Africa (Morocco, Egypt, etc).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement

Have fun!
Claudia

Even given the somewhat conflicting answer by the prior postings, I think you need to contact a travel section of the one schengen countries in the US. My understand was you could have SIX months in England before needing a visa. How you count the 90 days could be important. But who does the counting? I am guessing it would only be a potential problem if you got entangled in the local legal system. And then someone might count.

Essentially each country has it's own rules. Schengen is an agreement where several countries have agreed to accept a common set of rules.

There are lots of ways to arrange things to stay within the rules and accomplish what you hope. Rather than asking us, you should consult each country's embassy website to get specific rules and stay within those. If you find you can't travel visa-free and do what you want, apply for the visas you need. Visas aren't the end of the world, they just take a little advance planning.

In addition to the advice given, if you decide to do the 90 day shuffle, keep in mind it need not be in 90 day blocks. It can be in any time increments, as long as the total meets the 90 days rule. In any event, keep a journal, travel tickets, hotel receipts that show your location, in case it should be an issue. In the end, it may be just as well to check into a 6 month Visa...of course, that does require some proof of financial support, sometimes insurance coverage, sometimes some explanation of your purpose, living arrangements...all troublesome if indeed your intent is to find work over there to support yourself.

I lived in France and Spain for two years. When one travels between countries a passport is not necessary, for instance, between Italy and France...or Spain and Portugal, etc. One moves between many European countries as we do here between states in the United States.

So even though we overstayed our 90 day limit, who is to know? No one keeps tabs on you.
I was sort of edgy at first and kept some rail tickets with dates on them to "prove" I was out of France for the allotted time, etc. But no one asked, no one cared. It is one of those silly rules we even have in the U.S.
But, if you are from North Africa...or Romania, they get hasseled on trains between countries. When our train would stop going into Italy, the border control men would walk down the isle and look at everyone and if they looked North African....they would get hauled off the train and we would take off and they would stay at the border. So....there it is. If I wasn't clear, let me know and I will try to explain again to put you at east over this topic.
bonnie

Does that mean, Bonnie, that you were an illegal alien for most of that time?

Bonnie,

They will know when you leave any European country . They look in your passport to see when you arrive and if it's more than 180 days they will question you.

Not to contradict Bonnie, But it is true that moving between France, Spain, Italy, and any Schengen Country that nobody will typically look at your passport, because they are all Schengen countries, and you only have 90 days combined for all of those countries, not 90 for Spain, 90 for France, 90 for Italy, etc. Even when you cross into Switzerland, there may only be a cursory check. Your issue will be as you cross into and out of the Schengen area GB or Eastern Europe) and possibly not until you go home. Basically you show up at the airport a year after entry, it may raise some flags. Sure they may just send you home (what you were doing anyway) but they do have the power to impose a 10 year ban on entry and certainly refuse any visa application after that. You will hear from many that they got by with it, that nobody cares, etc. But many also get caught either on exit, on coming back in from a non-Schengen area, as a result of a traffic accident, or having to interact with the state (at a hospital or official transaction). Best bet, respect your host country and do it right.