Hi guys,
I'm currently in Germany on a 90 day Schengen visa. I entered the Schengen states through France. I want to stay in Germany and also travel in Belgium, Austria and the Czech Republic over the next 12 months. Can anyone advise if they have experience with extending a 90 day Schengen visa? I'm an Australian citizen. All info and advice most welcome...
Reply to this Hello David and welcome to the Forum!
From what I've read from other travellers, it is not possible to extend a Schengen visa. The limit is 90 days within a 180 day period and that seems to be a firm rule.
There have been anectodal reports of a one month extension in places, but any such visa seems to be restricted to limiting your stay to the country it is issued in, rather than all Schengen countries. This is still not going to help you with your 12 month plan.
The only option is to try to obtain another type of visa (work, study or something else) and you will need to seek out advice from the relevant authority in Germany for this. Again, you may be limited to where you can travel during this time.
I was very fortunate to be able to spend 9 months in Europe pre-Schengen days and the only hassle was a French visa (which proved to be no problem at all). Things are much harder for the long-term traveller in Europe now.
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In response to: Msg #140070 Hiya Shane, thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Sigh..........visa schmisa......it seems that there is less and less flexibility for people who are living outside the 'norm' of full time work or studying something 'accredited'. I'm doing a 6 part training over 12 months that is a bit left of centre so there's no possibility for a student visa, nor a business visa. And I've quit my profession and my job so immigration guys regard me with more suspicion. But I'm 50 years old, have no criminal record, enough money to support myself for several years and can prove it so I'll be feeding money into their economies, from a stable first world country - yet I can't stay in Europe or the UK for that matter to pursue the things I'm interested in.........and they're not available in Australia........this is also my experience in the UK recently.....absolutely no flexibility outside the very rigid 'accredited' options for longer stays.
And to add to the randomness of how this all works, my Aussie friend, 27 years old, bugger all money, flying by the seat of his pants was recently awarded UK citizenship because his grandmother was English - so he can live in the UK or Europe for as long as he likes....grrrrrrrrrrr......
Reply to this Can understand your situation - if I returned to Europe now, I have a steady Government job, more then enough money, over 40 years of age, no crminal convictions at all, I'd be treated more harshly then when I was in my 20s, had no job, moderate money and spent 9 months out of 11 traipsing around Europe.
Reply to this Yep...it's just how it is now.....much much tighter. UK immigration totally grilled me when I arrived there in April. Full on questions about my personal life as well......cheers Shane .... Dave
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