There is a lot of misunderstanding about the 90-days visa rule in the Schengen area, for non-Schengen and non-EU citizens. Going over the 90 days, could lead to fines per person, plus ban from entry to the zone for up to 5 years (repeated offenders could get a ban for life).
This is particularly important to understand if you own a property in Spain, or plan to buy a property in any Schengen member state. Owning a property does not give you the right to live, or bypass the visa rules, except in countries that offer the so-called Golden Visa (the proper name is Investors Visa).
So here is an explanation of how to work out what it actually means to you, helping you avoid falling foul of the rules.
What is the Schengen Agreement?
The Schengen Visa project started in 1985, between 5 EEC countries (France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), to create a visa free travel area between the member states. It was the first step towards “Freedom of Movement of People”, which became one of the main pillars of the EU.
It allows citizens of the member countries to travel between those countries without Passport checks. In addition, visas can be issued for visitors from non-member countries, this allows travel between all the member states. This means the Schengen area is treated as a single territory for visa holders and citizens.
Who belongs to Schengen?
Most EU countries are members of the Schengen area, although there are exceptions.
For example:
- All members of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) are members.
- Republic of Ireland is not a member
- Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania still have border controls between members (as of 2023)
What are the visa conditions for Schengen?
Schengen members have introduced common visa conditions, and visas issued by one member state allows the visa holder to travel between any member state without applying for a new visa for each country.
The visitor must prove sufficient funds for their duration of visit, strong ties to their home country (e.g. reason for returning home), healthcare insurance, and for citizens of some countries they need an invitation from an individual of “good character”, or company, from within the zone.
What is the 90-days rule?
The official rule is that a tourist visa holder, or those who enter the Schengen zone with a visa waiver agreement (e.g. Citizens of USA, UK, etc.), must not stay more than 90-days in any 180 days.
Simple rule that causes so much confusion, so we are going to use an example to explain this.
Single Entity
Key point to remember is that Schengen member states are treated as a single entity for the purpose of a visa, which is where many people get tripped up on the 90-days rule for a tourist visa, or Visa Waiver process. Single area means, when you leave France and enter Spain, from the visa’s perspective, you have not left the Schengen area hence the 90-days clock continues to tick.
180 Days Rule
The first thing to remember about 180 days is that the rule is not 6 months, but 180 days. Depending on the months, and also if it is a leap year, the 180 days can have a different meaning in terms of months.
This means if you enter France on 1 January and leave after 2 weeks, the 180 counter starts to tick from 1 January and ends on 29 June, as long as it is not a leap year, in which case it means 28 June. Therefore to make sure you don’t go over 180 days, you need to keep a careful record of when 180 days is due to expire.
Key point is that the 180 days “counter” does not stop when you leave a member state, or the Schengen area.
90 Days Rule
Taking the example of our traveller entering Schengen on 1 January, another counter has also started, which is the 90 days rule.
Unlike the 180 days counter, the 90 day counter stops as soon as the traveller leaves the Schengen area. In this example the 90 days counter has stopped after 14 days (2 weeks), but the 180 days counter is still running. The traveller now has 76 days left of the 90 days until 28 June.
Let’s say, the next time the traveller enters a Schengen country is on 30th March. The 90-day counter starts counting down from the remaining 76 days. Let’s say they stay for 10 days in Spain, 10 days in France, and 10 days in Portugal, totalling 30 days. This leaves 46 days left until 28 June, because the 180 days counter is still running.
As you can see, you do not reset the 180 days counter every time you leave the Schengen area, but you do stop the 90 days counter every time you leave, and you pick up the remainder next time you enter within the original 180 days.
Just a warning. There are some scenarios that appear to allow you to stay longer than 90 days, but that is not true irrespective of the mathematical possibilities. You cannot exceed 90 days total stay, no matter how mathematically possible that may sound. 90 days is the absolute maximum you can stay continuously during any given stay.
What does this mean?
Now let’s consider if you want to stay in Spain for the winter, starting from 1 January, because you own a property, or are renting a property for 90 days. Your stay cannot exceed 90 days, in any 180 days. This means you must not have entered the Schengen country for any length of time from 1 July of the previous year, otherwise you will break the 180 days rules.
Summary
This is not a uniquely Schengen rule, as many countries with a “Visa Waiver” rules such as USA, Canada, etc. have similar complex rules.
Whilst the 90 days out of every 180 days is an easy statement, and appears easy to understand, in practice it is quite difficult to workout and keep out of trouble.
If you own a property in Spain (or any Schengen country), you need to keep a careful record of your dates and lengths of stay, in order to ensure you can enjoy your property and not fall foul of the visa rules. Owning a property in Spain does not give you automatic right to stay in the country for as long as you like.
If you want to explore options of visas for staying longer, contact us and we will put you in touch with a lawyer who can examine your case.