Schengen Zone clarification

Hi there

Apologies if someone has answered this before; I did a search but didn't find anything relevant.

We're New Zealanders visiting Europe, so have the 90-days-within-180-days Schengen Zone allowance. We're looking at a cruise that departs in October from Southampton, and at that time we will only have about 2 days of our 90-day allowance left. This cruise stops at various European ports in the Schengen Zone and I'm unsure how this will impact our allowance. I know it will put us over our allowance when we're in Schengen Zone ports, but I'm unsure about the days at sea. Also unsure how strict the authorities will be on this, and I suppose the cruise line.

Has anyone had any experience of this? I'm afraid I don't trust the tour company responses as they just want to sell us a cruise.

Cheers, Dave

Hi

Search

https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-calculator/docs/short_stay_schengen_calculator_user_manual_en.pdf

It may help but it boggled me.

This quite a complex issue, so I can only direct you to another website which may be of more use to you.

http://https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/europe-western-europe

If you post your query on it, there are many experienced people on that forum who will be able to help.

The way I read the pdf file, you need to remain outside the Schengen zone for 90 days before you reenter which gives you another 90 days inside. Ports inside the Schengen zone count as Schengen zone.

I would say that the authorities and the cruise lines are strict. Nowadays they stamp our US passports when we enter the Schengen zone and again when we leave. The immigration officer looked for the entry stamp when we left.

The ship kept our non Schengen passports the entire time during the cruise until the morning of disembarkation. They said for the port authorities. Most other passengers on that ship had Schengen zone passports and the cruise was entirely within the Schengen zone. The handful of passengers with non Schengen zone passports had to leave their passports with the ship.

The Immigration authorities are very strict regarding the time limits for entry/exit. The cruiseline would see that you would exceed the limits when they check your passport on embarkation day, and could deny you boarding. If you were allowed to board you could face a stiff fine by the first Immigration officer who sees that your limit has been exceeded.

The workaround would be to spend part of your precruise vacation in a non Schengen country, so that you would gave sufficient days left for the cruise. The 90 in 180 don't have to be consecutive. Rather they are cumulative. And don't cut it too fine. Remember that entry and exit days count. And you might want to add a day or 2 buffer in case of transportation delays or other unforseen problems that might delay your travels.

The way I read the pdf file, you need to remain outside the Schengen zone for 90 days before you reenter which gives you another 90 days inside. Ports inside the Schengen zone count as Schengen zone.

 

I would say that the authorities and the cruise lines are strict. Nowadays they stamp our US passports when we enter the Schengen zone and again when we leave. The immigration officer looked for the entry stamp when we left.

 

The ship kept our non Schengen passports the entire time during the cruise until the morning of disembarkation. They said for the port authorities. Most other passengers on that ship had Schengen zone passports and the cruise was entirely within the Schengen zone. The handful of passengers with non Schengen zone passports had to leave their passports with the ship.

Hi there

Thanks, what you've posted is useful as it comes from your own experience.

Yes, we've observed that our passports have been stamped as we have moved in and out of the Schengen Zone. We're in the UK at the moment, so the clock isn't ticking on our 90 days, but we've agreed to meet a friend in Portugal before the cruise and that'll use up most of what is left. I'm not so concerned about the immigration staff actually; I think the ship crew may be more of a problem being sticklers. A fine for overstaying doesn't worry me so much, but a ban from the zone,even for a short time, would put a crinkle in our plans.

Thanks for your reply.

Thanks all for your responses....this is such a sticky one I'm going to take it up directly with the cruise line.

Cheers all.

I researched this a couple of years ago. As others have pointed out, if the cruise line notes passport entry stamps you could be denied boarding privileges, with no recourse against the cruise line. All pax are required to ensure they have the required documentation and/or Visas for the impending cruise.

Should you get aboard, if an Immigration Officer notes you have exceeded your stay they have a few potential penalties:

- If only 1 or 2 days they may issue a warning

- Issue fines, which can be substantial (heard of fines up to Euro 700)

- Issue a banning order for anywhere from 1 to 3 years, even as many as 5 yrs.

- Immediate deportation

If you overstay once, remember even after serving any ban your file will be marked for life.

You can also investigate obtaining a 30 day extension to your current 90 day tourist Visa. I believe many countries will extend the Visa for up to 30 days without significant paperwork.

Good luck in finding a solution.

Thanks for your reply.

Extending the 90-day Schengen Zone allowance is pretty much a no-no. I've been doing a lot of digging and no-one ever seems to have managed it. I'm pretty sure I'd be OK if we chanced it, but I'm going to go with Plan B and join the cruise after it leaves the Schengen Zone...at least, if they'll have us. ;-):)

The Immigration authorities are very strict regarding the time limits for entry/exit. The cruiseline would see that you would exceed the limits when they check your passport on embarkation day, and could deny you boarding. If you were allowed to board you could face a stiff fine by the first Immigration officer who sees that your limit has been exceeded.

 

The workaround would be to spend part of your precruise vacation in a non Schengen country, so that you would gave sufficient days left for the cruise. The 90 in 180 don't have to be consecutive. Rather they are cumulative. And don't cut it too fine. Remember that entry and exit days count. And you might want to add a day or 2 buffer in case of transportation delays or other unforseen problems that might delay your travels.

very good advice

Just received this link through my email subscription to Office Watch.

https://office-watch.com/2018/visa-calculation-european-schengen-visitors-excel/

Might be of interest to some readers.

Hi there - thanks for this.

My problem wasn't so much working out how many days I had left, but how the few days I had left were to be treated by the ship and immigration.

My solution was to just wait until my 180 days had expired and then start a new 180-day cycle.

But thanks for posting this - it's a bit more flash than the Excel spreadsheet I had put together.

See you on board!

Dave

Or, you can just get a Schengen visa and avoid the possible issues.