Schengen 90 days overstay

I have been going to visit a girlfriend in France and I was unaware of the 90 days rule and I have just found out that I have stayed in France for about 5 months in the last 6 months
I wasn’t caught and I have a British passport
I want to know if this can cause me problems in the future and if so what can they be and if there is anything I can do or have to do

Thank you

Marali wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 22, 2022 12:56 pm

I have been going to visit a girlfriend in France and I was unaware of the 90 days rule and I have just found out that I have stayed in France for about 5 months in the last 6 months
I wasn’t caught and I have a British passport
I want to know if this can cause me problems in the future and if so what can they be and if there is anything I can do or have to do

Thank you

It can cause problems from being fined all the way up to being banned from entering all of Schengen for several years.

How often did you travel in and out? Could you give an outline of your travel pattern?

For the future: it´s 90 days in any rolling period of 180 days.

The present day is always day 180. Look back over the last 180 days and count how many days you spent in Schengen. Only travel to France or any other Schengen country once you are in the clear. There are online calcualtors and apps to help with this.

If you want to spend 5 days in France, you cannot have spent more than 85 days in France in the past 180 days counting from the day you travel. Personally, I would not cut it that fine, though.

Overstaying will flag up at some point, at the latest when the ETIAS system launches next year.

Thank you

My question is will the overstay I’ve already done cause any problems in the future?

Did you read ALKB's post? The first sentence answers your question.

If you are still in France, expect some questioning when you leave the country.

Use the short-stay visitor calculator to check.

ywlgy wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 23, 2022 11:31 pm

Did you read ALKB's post? The first sentence answers your question.

If you are still in France, expect some questioning when you leave the country.

I already left and I wasn’t caught, the question is can I still get in trouble if I don’t go back until I have my 90 days allowance back?

Marali wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 24, 2022 10:14 am

ywlgy wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 23, 2022 11:31 pm

Did you read ALKB's post? The first sentence answers your question.

If you are still in France, expect some questioning when you leave the country.

I already left and I wasn’t caught, the question is can I still get in trouble if I don’t go back until I have my 90 days allowance back?

You might still get in trouble, if the authorities ever check your travel history for some reason.

How likely/how much trouble depends a bit on your specific situation, hence my request to outline your travel pattern.

After my 90 days expired I made two trips of 10 days each

Marali wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 29, 2022 10:54 am

After my 90 days expired I made two trips of 10 days each

Are you planning on frequent visits in the future?

Maybe marriage or another residence permit for France down the line?

One problem I see is, that at any trip in the future, the frequent visits could flag up and a border official may not only realise that you overstayed in the past but also question how you can be on holiday for five out of six months and then look into your employment and financial situation.

Was your passport stamped at all entries and exits from France?

I just talked to somebody who overstayed by about a week and got a fine and a one year ban on top. Albeit, the 97-ish day stay was in one chunk, so easy to spot.

Another potential problem I see is, if/when you make an application for a long stay tourist visa or another type of residence permit. I am not entirely sure about France, but for that type of application, one is usually asked to list any travel outside one´s country of nationality/residence within the last 2 or even the last 10 years prior to applying. Just something to keep in mind.