Staying in EU Beyond 90 Days

There is not legal way to travel in the EU beyond the 90 day limit. It may be possible to get a residents permit for a particular EU state which would allow you to make short visits to the other member states, but not continuous travel as you need to satisfy the resident requirements for the state issuing you the permit. There are also tax and health insurance implications of such a move so you need to research it very carefully.

As for citizenship, you will need to look that the requirements of the countries of your heritage as to whether you can qualify for citizenship.

This is a frequent discussion here so use the search box. Difficult to go without a lot of planning. You could spend 90 in schengen zone and 90 in Great Britain and then return. Or you can go 30 in, 30 out. And the Schengen zone and the EU are not the same.

Getting a visa is not an easy process. It took 2 years of diligent work to secure a Carte de Sejour in France. Unless you plan on living in Europe for extended times, follow the law of 90 in and 90 out.

Point of clarity: It's the Schengen Zone you need to worry about, not the EU. The member countries of the two groups overlap a lot but are not identical. Switzerland, for example, is not part of the EU but falls within the Schengen Zone.

There are rather a lot of non-Schengen Zone options in or very near Europe where you could spend part of your time, including: Ireland, United Kingdom, Morocco, Turkey, Cyprus, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus (visa required in some circumstances, I believe), and Russia (visa usually required).

A few of those countries have been expected to become part of the Schengen Zone for some time, but as far as I know there have been no dates set. Obviously, it is essential to stay on top of that situation.

What you are wanting to do is not easy and takes a lot of time and preparation. Now with Covid-19, I'd guess it's much more complicated.

Not all EU countries are Schengen.

These links are from the European Union website, straight from the horse's mouth.

Here's a list of EU countries with very basic information on each, including Schengen status: EU member countries in brief.

This is a direct link to info on the Schengen Area: Schengen Area.

And this is a broader look with more links about the EU: Official website of the European Union.

It includes a section directly applicable to your question: Living, working, travelling in the EU.

There are many resources for expats. This is only one of them: Living Abroad in Europe.

Perhaps try a 70-90 day trip as a 'test drive' to see how well you do. You could then use that as a guide to determine if engaging in the laborious, tedious process to get a document to allow longer than 90 day stays is worth it.

You may find 90 days at a time is sufficient to satisfy your wanderlust. Or motivate you to endure the process to get a long term stay document.

And to reiterate a previous post, the tax and health insurance implications need careful scrutiny.

It takes years to establish citizenship unless you buy your way in and that is very exclusive and expensive. If you have millions, you probably wouldn’t be here asking questions so I will assume you need to proceed like most of us, through normal channels which are different for each country but my research has shown it to be a years-long process to achieve citizenship. So research a country you are interested in by going to their embassy website if you are really serious about this. No doubt that will lead to a trial trip to scope out a specific city, look into leases, etc. at least from my experience living in Italy as an expat, we had to have a year-long lease before we could even get a visa.

The suggestion above to take a long trip of 60-90 days —without worrying about a visa or long-term living —is a good one. I would add to that a thought to spend 80 days in the Schengen then 90 in the UK, then another 80 in the Schengen. See how you like living abroad for so many months. Make your stays longish in each area, not a week here-and-there but three weeks or a month in two or three places to get a sense of living there. I say 80 days in the Schengen as you do NOT want to overstay the 90 and your arrival and departure days both count, so don’t cut it too close. Track carefully.

Hi Joe,

We have been staying in Europe for 2+ months each of the last 4 years and it suits us. We prefer "slow travel" and staying in a place to better experience the area more like a local than a typical tourist. and from which we take day or several day side trips but still keeping our short term apartment rental. We have spent a month in Paris a few times, Florence, Barcelona, etc. We're from big cities (NY and SF) and prefer to make those kinds of areas our home base. We use the metro extensively.

I so appreciate all the responses so far.

Also, I should have added that we will be keeping our home base in the US but would like to be out of the country for significant periods of time. Unfortunately, my husband is not fond of Great Britain for long periods of time.

The key to this as noted is to use the areas that don’t count in the 90 day limit. If you spend a month in GB then you have 120 days in Europe. If you spend 30 days in other close locations (as listed above). Then you get up to 150 days.
The reality is do you really want to spend more then 120 or 150 days? That is May, June, July, August and parts of Sept. That chews up most of the good weather.

You really have only two choices - acquire a long term stay visa or do the numbers game. 30 in and 30 out. Just make sure you have clear entry and exit stamps in your passport. They do count and it can be very pain ful if you overstay.

There are rather a lot of non-Schengen Zone options in or very near
Europe where you could spend part of your time, including: Ireland,
United Kingdom, Morocco, Turkey, Cyprus, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina,
Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo,
Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus (visa required in some circumstances, I
believe), and Russia (visa usually required). A few of those countries
have been expected to become part of the Schengen Zone for some time,
but as far as I know there have been no dates set. Obviously, it is
essential to stay on top of that situation

Croatia is probably very close to joining Schengen. No date has been set and the Council have not approved them yet, but they have passed all the hurdles and a decision in the Council is now all that's needed. Cyprus on the other hand is unlikely to become a member in the near future as half the country is still under occupation. UK will not become a Schengen member for a long time and that will keep Ireland out as well unless Northern Ireland rejoins Ireland. Romania and Bulgaria have been described as close to Schengen membership, but have been so for a number of years so who knows if and when there will be any change in their status. All the other countries mentioned are not EU members so will most likely not become Schengen members (even if it is possible for non-EU countries to become part of Schengen).

My parents have been traveling for nearly two years now around the world, but mainly in Europe. They are also retired. They have found that the best strategy for them is to stay one month in each place and dip in and out of the Schengen as needed to remain within the law. Although my father qualifies for Austrian citizenship, he will not take it as Austria requires that he renounce his US citizenship - bottom line, getting a second citizenship is not an easy trick. They also looked into long term visas, but found the red tape too daunting and decided to just have fun exploring non-Schengen countries.

As others have noted, this would involve getting permission to stay in a Schengen nation for longer than 90 days. In France, the simplest way probably would be to apply for a renewable carte de séjour from your home nation prior to moving to France.

I thought I'd add a few notes as they relate to living in France, as they may influence a person's decision on whether to go through the hassle of getting a carte de séjour. .

France changed its healthcare system at the beginning of 2016 and now provides eligibility for health care coverage to any legal French resident after 3 months of residency, even non-citizens. If you combine that with the USA-France tax treaty intended to prevent double taxation of individuals, living in France makes a lot of economic sense; particularly for retirees living on social security, pensions, IRAs, 401(k)s and the like.

The residency requirement is that one has "stable and regular" residency in France, proven by producing a lease or utility bill, for at least 6 months out of each year.

The health care system is called la PUMa -- protection universelle maladie. Foreigners who aren't working but are living in France no longer have to prove eligibility for health care coverage each year -- it continues automatically. From what I've read, it's viewed by the government as a part of becoming "French" to enroll in healthcare and all residents are expected to do it. So you shouldn't feel you're a parasite living off the system: you're expected to enroll as a French resident.

As for taxes, if you have no income other than your pension (social security, other public or private pension, IRA, 401(k), or similar), the treaty on double taxation (English version here, French version here) provides a real benefit to retirees, as one wouldn't owe income tax to France, just to the U.S. You have to report pension income on your French tax return, but you aren't taxed on it. The relevant section in both versions is Article 18 -- Pensions. Of course, you'll still owe other French taxes such as VAT on purchases, habitation tax, the public audiovisual tax, periodic residence permit renewal fees, and similar obligations, but not income tax.

What that means for retirees is that you can live in France, enjoy the cultural and social safety net benefits such as universal health care at low cost (in many cases nearly zero additional cost if you opt to purchase supplemental private insurance), yet only have to pay U.S. income tax on your pension income. Optional supplemental insurance, called a mutuelle, typically costs from 80 € to 150 € per person per month. My wife and I pay 94€ each a month, but we could probably pay less -- I opted for simplicity rather than low cost.

In short, one could get a high service/high social benefit arrangement for the cost of a relatively low service/low social benefit tax obligation.

But you have to live in France for at least 6 months a year. And that can be a real challenge for anyone, especially if you're unaccustomed to living far from friends and family.

Portugal has the easiest extended visa program that I know of.
Condensed version: Show you have enough 'passive income' coming in through pension or in liquid assets, pass background check, have independent health insurance. You do an interview in USA, then you can stay in Portugal until you have another interview and a one year visa is issued, that can be renewed for up to 10 years. In that 10 years, as long as your paying taxes back in the US (which you have to do to remain a citizen and out of jail if/when you return), you don't have to pay taxes in Portugal. This doesn't apply to income from Portugal.

The passive income can be as low as Euro 1070/mth! Portugal is cheap, but I think at least twice that much would be needed.

https://internationalliving.com/countries/portugal/portugal-visa-and-residency/

https://residencies.io/residency/portugal/temporary-residency/pt6

Thanks Sammy, very interesting to get a personal experience.

I have posted in my profile 3 countries that have allowed exceptions to the 90 rule for Americans, click on my profile. They are France, Poland, and Denmark, for additional days in one of those countries only after 90 days in other Schengen countries and you must exit the Schengen area from that country, no connecting in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, etc. allowed. No one ever reports back that these ideas worked or not. I suspect nearly everyone who thinks it's such a great idea living in Europe just traveling around for more than 90 days decides, once there, that 90 days is long enough and they want to come home.

Some countries like Germany have easy student visa applications, so you could enroll in a course of study in a country. Then you would get an additional 90 days after that study period ends.

Tom, I looked into those three countries the last time you mentioned the extended-stay possibilities. Only Denmark looks reliable. For France and Poland I think you are dealing with information that is old and--even if it might technically still be on the books officially (which I rather doubt)--unlikely to be something border officials are familiar with. It's not something I would chance.

Denmark, though, seems to be the real deal. I found references to ending a trip there and getting the extra 90 days right on the current Danish-consulate website. It's conceivable I will be trying to use that option next year. If I do, I will certainly report back on the results. If it looks as if we can travel early enough in the year to make an over-90-day trip possible (I don't travel off-season), I will definitely call the Danish officials here in DC before heading across the Atlantic.

I posted about the Danish situation in late May: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/denmark/denmark-as-an-end-of-trip-schengen-loophole

Here's a recent time this was discussed https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/visas-in-schengen-countries-for-stays-beyond-90-days#top

Nomadic Matt linked there says he updated the info this year.

I don't think I will ever want more than a 90 day stay, so no personal experience or interest in digging any further. It's only 8 hours away.

But such a miserable 8 hours.

I think Nomadic Matt is way too optimistic about France. He is citing a 1949 agreement about which he quotes French officials as saying [excerpted]:

"However, this agreement has been made before the Schengen agreement. Today, as there is no more border control between the Schengen countries, it is very difficult to determine how long a person has stayed in France and we heard that some people had troubles with the immigration police while leaving France.

"Therefore, we recommend American citizens to respect the Schengen regulation which allows a maximum of 90 days on 180 days in the whole Schengen area."

They also said: “Whilst the bilateral agreement you refer to has not officially been revoked, the French Border Police has sole authority on deciding whether to apply it or not, at the time of entering or exiting the Schengen area.”

Trying this seems like a really excellent way to get to spend hours confined to an interview booth at the airport and end up buying a replacement ticket when they finally let you go--possibly with a heavy fine and a multi-year ban from the entire Schengen Zone.

Matt's link to the Polish letter about the agreement is broken. I tried and failed to find current information about this loophole last year. I suspect that it is effectively closed. That leaves Denmark.

The information Matt provides on the various types of visas one can use to stay in Schengen countries longer than 90 days looks useful (though I haven't independently verified it). What he writes about the purported French and Polish loopholes doesn't impress me at all.

Barbra asked if she could do her regular work based in the US while on a French resident visa. Someone who has lived and worked in France for a long time told her that was illegal unless she received a work visa. I remember the post. Misunderstanding.

There has been a lot of positive information shared on this website for people who want to apply for resident visas or do the 90-day dance.

and connected through Switzerland.

Not normally a scofflaw (except for the exiting India bribery scenario I described on the “interesting border crossing topic”) even I know Switzerland is the worst choice for overstayers.

Polish letter about the agreement is broken.

At the time I looked into this the Polish exemption was posted on some forums as widely in use, to stay just in Poland for extended periods (not the Schengen area generally), so it was the only one I could verify was actually being used.

easiest solution, if possible, is to get an EU passport

There are many passport purchase opportunities posted right here on Rick Steves!

Tom, do you remember when you saw the apparently-live information about Poland? I haven't been able to find anything. I loved the country in 2018 and would like to go back. It would be even better if the time there didn't count against my Schengen allowance.

https://traktaty.msz.gov.pl/getFile.php?action=getfile;0&iddok=8047

There’s the letter about Poland still live on a Polish govt website.

https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/7154/us-citizen-in-poland-more-than-90-days-in-a-180-day-period

That discusses the process in detail although not terribly recent.

It would be even better if the time there didn't count against my Schengen allowance.

You’d have to be careful how you do it. Most people using this method are not visiting other Schengen countries, they just want to spend a lot of time in Poland. The most straightforward would be 90 Schengen days, visit Ukraine, then enter Poland, then return to US nonstop from Warsaw or Krakow, or via the U.K./Dublin.

Or perhaps 90 Schengen days + 30 Denmark days, fly to Lviv then enter Poland for 30 days, then fly (carefully) home.

I can't read Polish, but the English text doesn't look definitive to me (though I'm not a lawyer), just saying that US citizens don't require a visa for stays of 90 days or less. But it's a 1991 document, and Poland didn't join the Schengen Zone until 2007. I'd want to see a clear statement about how the time in Poland meshes with time elsewhere in the Schengen Zone, such as Denmark has on its consular website.

I found this additional website that describes the situation with some caution: https://trueanomaly.org/2017/08/16/how-americans-can-legally-stay-in-europe-more-than-90-days/

The Polish Government's website has a "Poland in the US" section that says nothing whatsoever about 90 days in Poland in addition to Schengen days: https://www.gov.pl/web/usa-en/visas---general-information

The Danish exeption seems a pretty reliable one as I have heard about it from other sources as well and Denmark have been a Schengen member for a while. In fact you can read about it here: https://www.nyidanmark.dk/en-GB/Words-and-concepts/US/Visum/Overview-of-Travel-Documents,-Visa-Conditions-and-Border-Crossing-Points/ Click on the first linked document (Overview of travel documents, visa conditions and border crossing points, dated 26 June 2018) and scroll down to page 14. And there are direct flights to several North American cities from Copenhagen so it is not hard to get back from Denmark.

Unless you’re Jason Bourne, you only get one passport and its not worth the risk of being blacklisted.

From acraven's link, this isn't actually correct. Many Americans have 2 passports, regular tourist passports, there are reasons for it.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/second-passport-book.html

Since the Polish situation requires entry from a non-Schengen country, you really have nothing to lose to try it if say you are taking a bus or train from Ukraine to Poland, you just would be refused entry. But once allowed entry I think you have no worry upon exit as long as your stay in Poland is less than 90 days and you do not transit thru a Schengen country returning home.

A big THANK YOU to all. We are researching all of your ideas and links and have given us lots to consider. Of course, it seems like the easiest solution is to spend 90 days in the Schengen area and then more time in England or another non EU country. That still leaves the issue of medical travel insurance that won't break the bank. Thanks again everyone.

Did you look at Blue Cross GeoBlue insurance? I don't know what it's like now, but pre-Covid it was not expensive.

Of course, it seems like the easiest solution is to spend 90 days in
the Schengen area and then more time in England or another non EU
country.

Note that all EU-countries are not in Schengen and vice versa and make sure you don't overstay. But Denmark seems to be a good country to spend a bit of extra time in after your 90 days.

I didn't read this very long thread to see if anyone mentioned this but France has a long-stay tourist visa you can apply for. French bureaucracy is a bit of a nightmare but if your paperwork is in PERFECT order when you go to VFS then these actually are not that hard to get. The period of time is for 3 months - 1 year and can be used for travel within the Schengen area.

French Long Stay Visas
Obviously you'll have to wait until the Coronanightmare is over with and they admit people from outside of Europe but it's a good option for you.