visa overstay

Hi I have an Australian passport, I have been traveling in mainland Europe for over a year and have overstayed my visa in France. I have no stamps in my passport except entering Corfu, Greece six months ago as I travelled by yacht. My passport expires in another month or so. Would it be best to just renew my passport then leave? I was going to leave from Geneva. Will there be any problems doing this?

imagesmith wrote:Hi I have an Australian passport, I have been traveling in mainland Europe for over a year and have overstayed my visa in France. I have no stamps in my passport except entering Corfu, Greece six months ago as I travelled by yacht. My passport expires in another month or so. Would it be best to just renew my passport then leave? I was going to leave from Geneva. Will there be any problems doing this?

If you haven't left the Schengen zone then you wouldn't have any stamps in your passport anyway.

As to whether you'll have trouble leaving, who knows. You've overstayed by a long time if you've been in mainland Europe for over a year and it depends on what mood the immigration officer is in when you trundle along having knowingly overstayed your welcome. You might just get told not to do it again, maybe a fine, maybe a ban. It depends on what mood the officer is in.