Question about 90 visa free days in Italy

I'm not sure I understand the way you phrase your question. As far as I know, they count the calendar days (day by day) that you are in the country. Schengen countries (an agreement between many Western European countries but not all) essentially count as one country in the count. Any time spent in a non-Schengen country doesn't count toward your 90 day limit.

If you are concerned about getting close, either pay careful attention so you don't get in trouble or request a travel visa ahead of time so you won't push the limit.

Sorry about the confusion but I am confused. Let me try and explain my situation. I am an american, therefore I don't need a visa to visit Italy for 90 days or less. I am enrolled at a language class in Arezzo for twelve weeks. I have my plane ticket arriving in Florence on April 3, and leaving on June 29. Counting days that is 88 days. I want to change my return flight to July 7 . I want to change it upon arrival in Florence because it will only cost $200 to change it there, compared to $400 if I change it here. I will be finished school on June 26, and instead of leaving on the 29th. as planned I would like to join my U.S.cousins in ROme to go and visit my Italian cousins in Abuzzi. They are paying for my accomodations and are renting a car for us to travel in, so we can all go back to Rome together so I can leave on July 7th. I hope I am making this clear. Soooo, my ninety day limit ends on July 1st. and is I want to extend my trip it would bring me up to 96 days.
Do I need a visa for six days and if so what form do I fill out. I have checked the web site and could not figure it out. I tried calling and faxing the Italian Consultate in my area but it like getting the President to call you back or answer the phone or any human for that matter. Help, I am ready to pull my hair out. Thanks and sincerely, Barbara

The visa is good for 90 consecutive days. Technically, on day 91, you have outstayed your visa. You have choices:

1) Get a student visa. Shouldn't be a problem since you're enrolling in a language school.

2) Apply for a longer term tourist visa....you can go up to six months but may be limited on how much you can leave Italy.

3) Do nothing and it's doubtful the Italian government will come looking for you. The airline probably won't care once you're in Italy. The reasons you are staying, except for medical emergency, really don't matter to the government. Let me say it again, you are technically breaking the law by staying past the 90 days.

I don't see why you don't apply for a student visa. The language school should be able to help you with this.

Well, I thought that you had to prove that you are in school for the visa and technically I will be finished with school before the 90 days are up. I don't want to risk getting a fine going thru customs on my way home, or do I only have to go thru U.S. customs on the way out of Italy.

I don't understand why you are so frantic about this. It's over six months until you leave. No, the Italian Consulate probably won't respond to a call or fax. Email them or send them a letter with a return envelope. Tell them your situation, and ask for advice.

We, here, can give you some guidance, but it's the Italian government that makes he rules. You're not the first person to be in this situation.

When you send a letter or email, don't go into long winded explanations. Just say, you'll be in the ABC language school for x number of days, and then want to stay x number of days to visit family in Venice or Rome or wherever. That's a total of x number of days.

And wait to see what they say.

And..you don't go through customs when you leave.

Barbara, Once I was in Italy for June, July, August and another time for six months.
When I went for three months, I was at a language school in Perugia for a month; the rest of the time, I was based in Perugia in an apartment, traveling all over. No visa. No problem.
When I went for six months, I flew to Chicago, obtained a visa, and traveled all over Italy. I only checked in with the police in the fourth month.
If you are a student, you will be left alone. I do not think they care about the rest of the days. You will be with relatives...not in a hotel...right?
I never could get anyone to respond to me at a USA Italian Consulate. I had to fly to Chicago and do it in person. I do not think you are there long enough to worry about that. Cece

Thanks everyone for your helpful hints, I have it figured out now. I am just going to go, change my ticket when I get there and just go for it. The only reason I was upset was because I thought I wouldn't be able to join my cousins. Problem solved, now if I could only the the Trentilla site to work for me. Allora, va bene!!!!

Critical piece of information missing in the responses. It's 90 days total in any 180 day period. So you could do a month in Italy, four months in the UK and then 2 months again in Italy. But you absolutely can't spend any more than 90 days in the Schengen countries collectively in a six month period.

The only problem, Doug, is that she's doing a three month language course in Italy. Otherwise, you're right.

My uncle (US citizen) spends about 6 months a year at his house in Sicily. He never gets a visa and has never been asked about it.

Frank -No problem, I was only suggesting a hypothetical to illustrate the 90 days in 180. Maybe there's some type of education visa but I doubt it for a language visa.

For the last post, I'll bet your uncle (was it uncle? I can't check while I'm responding) has a part time resident visa by virtue of owning property and having demonstrated independent means. Traveling without a visa isn't a trivial matter.

Well, Surprize, surprize, the italian consulate called me back today. I can not get a visa past 90 days so I am just going to stick with my original 88 days and make other plans to visit my relatives while I am school. But this has been very informing. I have decided not to take a chance. Thanks

Barbara: Yep, that's what others here have found out, but it's good that you called and got the authoritative word from the consulate. It's not like the old days, the EU countries have gotten/are getting more strict about this. People here love to write in and pull our tails (cat-wise) by bragging they stayed longer and didn't get caught, but a lot of folks here are like you, they prefer to comply with the law.

You may be set, but...you could spend a few nights on weekends in Switzerland (well, at least for now), Slovenia, or Croatia. Technically those days would not count towards your 90 days, though I would keep a hotel receipt or two for proof.