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There are 26 European countries that are party to the Schengen Agreement, which eliminates all internal border controls between them. Once you enter one Schengen country you may travel continuously for up to 90 days within the member countries. Travelers for business or tourism are permitted to stay in the Schengen area for 90 days within a six month period.
On the weeks and days leading up to the departure on our journey we did a tremendous amount of research on everything from airline clubs we could stay when flying to elephant sanctuarties in Thailand. Even with all this research we still managed to completely miss what I'll call the Schengen Surprise.
The Schengen Agreement allows travelers to stay in the Schengen area (continental Europe that's part of the EU) for 90 days within a six month period. This does not include places outside the EU, like Croatia or the UK. Nevertheless, if you've been following this blog you'll know we passed over 120 days while in the Schengen area when in Rome. What did this mean?
We received the Schengen Surprise while on our first hike in Plitvice Lakes, Croatia. We were making our way through the gorgeous park and met up with a couple from Toronto. We were swapping stories and when we said how long we were going to be in Europe, the man said, "have you not heard about Schengen and how you can only stay in Europe for 90 days?!"
They had found out about it while traveling by train and being asked to show their passports. The security noted they were over the 90 day limit and fined them almost a $1000 and they had to immediately make plans to leave the Schengen area they were in. I was listening this story not believing it was real and how surely our situation was different. We split off from them and Amy and I talked a bit about it while hiking, but put it on the burner until we got back to our apartment.
I started to do some research and poured over all kinds of info on Schengen rules, fines, and what other travelers had done. How did we miss this!? Massive head scratching ensued. What should we do? Go to an embassy and ask for an extension? Ignore it all together? We decided to mull on it for a while. We came to the conclusion if we went to an embassy we'd likely be asked to leave immediately which could really wreak havoc to our whole (UK term I like) program. We decided to press and do our best to avoid the po' po'.
Avoiding the po' po' meant being extra careful while driving, but how to do that while near Naples and Rome? Well I pulled through and passed the test driving and successfully returned the car, but we still had to navigate through a week in Rome and then ultimately customs at the airport on our way to London, our safe haven.
We discussed our strategy on what to do if someone asked us about why were still in the Schengen zone for so long? We thought of some elaborate ruse, but then we didn't want to involve the girls with something like that. "So, you, little girl. Are your parents telling the truth?!" Nina - "No, they knew about this for months!" Ultimately we opted for the truth and how we had booked travel and couldn't really change our plans. We did a G4 team huddle before entering the customs area and hoped for the best.
We tentatively approached the Italian customs officers. In our favor was the airport was crowded and there were long lines. They wouldn't really be able to look at our passports and notice they were first stamped in Iceland four months ago would they? We took another few steps forward. Amy had the passports out and I decided she would lead. She's far friendlier and personable. I made the decision not to wear my Florence FC sweatshirt since we were in Rome.
The officer waved us forward and like Dorothy, the scarecrow, the tin man, and the lion approaching the wizard we walked forward. It was over in a matter of seconds. An immediate fine? Pulled out of the line and sent to a holding area? Onward to our flight to London? Stamp. Stamp. Stamp. Stamp. We were through on our way to London! We walked a bit past the customs area and started giving each other high fives. The anxiety of whether or not anything would happen was over.
No surprises for now and we'll be able to buy some Christmas presents. In the back of my mind though I know another surprise lurks. I'm kicking myself for spending so much time reading about the history of sumo wrestling and sleeping on a junk in Halong Bay instead of reviewing visa and travel rules in Asia.
AG
- comments
Val Marbury Oh man! I wish I had told you about the Schengen Zone. When our son studied abroad in Spain last year he was not told he would need a visa as they "overlooked" it at the Study Abroad office....Long story short, he was going to be there 97 days in total. We found out once he was there...He ended up being the lottery winner (on our dime) as he had 7 days of unexpected travel to Ireland and Africa....Won't be making the same mistake this year when our daughter heads to France for her study abroad!!! Sounds like you are having a blast! Merry Christmas to all of you!!!!
Amy Val-What's an extra week in Europe when you are already paying college tuition! He's lucky he found out and got to move out of the region. So glad we dodged the fines! Merry Christmas to you!
Val Marbury Happy New Year to all of you!!!!