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USA Visa Waiver Bilateral Agreements

Posted by (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) on

Hello all! I have seen prior posts regarding this arrangement with Denmark, but I saw this and was hoping someone could clarify (quote from https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-requirements/americans):

“Citizens of the United States of America can take advantage of bilateral visa-waiver agreements with several EU countries. These arrangements allow US passport holders to stay for a specified period beyond the 90-day Schengen limit.
The Schengen Area nations with bilateral visa-waiver reciprocal agreements with the US are listed below, along with the maximum permitted length of stay in each case:
Belgium (3 months)
Denmark (3 months)
Italy (3 months)
Hungary (90 days)
Portugal (60 days)*
Spain (90 days)*
France (90 days)
Latvia (90 days in half a year)*
The Netherlands (90 days)”

I understand the concept (stay in Schengen Zone for 90 days and then go to a country, ie Denmark, and you can stay for another 90 days provided you do not leave that particular country and also that you depart from that country to a non-Schengen country. My questions are :
1. The other places listed (Italy, Spain, France…) - is this new? Is this now, or does this refer to when ETIAS goes into effect?
2. If now, someone need to “apply” for this extension or is the bilateral agreement automatic? How could one prove it when getting questioned by border patrol?

Thanks for any insight, and sorry to dredge up another “how can I stay longer” topic :)

Posted by
7504 posts

These agreements are actually old, some (maybe all) predating the Schengen agreement. ETIAS really has nothing to do with it, and worth noting that the website you link is not an "official" website, it is a commercial website, looking to "help" you with your visa issues.

If now, someone need to “apply” for this extension or is the bilateral agreement automatic?

To my knowledge, there is no application or notification, but I would not use the term "automatic".

How could one prove it when getting questioned by border patrol?
Well, that is sort of the trick. Your going to have to make your case in front of a random border officer who knows little about this, only Schengen rules, who will likely refer you to a supervisor, who will try to sort it out when you dredge up a relic of an agreement. I would leave plenty of time at the airport, I would have proof of what I had been doing over the 90 days (leases for apartment, hotel stays, etc.), maybe a copy of the actual agreement, and still, the decision is largely up to those border officers. Not a great number of people choose to exercise this option.

Posted by
712 posts

Thanks Paul! I was thinking if it was THAT easy it would have been broadcasted by now, but I needed some clarity.

Posted by
4509 posts

Nomadic Matt has a rundown of 3 countries where this additional stay time is possible, the Danish example is the simplest because it is codified in current Danish law and translated to English on an official government site. No one has posted success with these, but I believe that acraven was going to use the Danish one this summer and report back.

Noting that kiwis have all these agreements in place and are known for using them.

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