Key points on Visa for Europe and Living in Europe for a Year

Introduction:

One of the key worries of visitors to Europe at the end of their European travel visa is if there is a way for them to prolong their stay in Europe. If you are a tourist who wants to see more of Europe, a business person who has an unexpected business to do after the expiry of his/her visa, or a patient seeking medical care in one or more member states of the Schengen Zone who needs to continue medical treatment, you will not be allowed to stay in Europe after the expiry of your Schengen visa, unless you extend your travel visa Europe legally.

Under the Schengen regulations, a short-stay visa for Europe can be issued for a maximum of three months within a six-month period. Nevertheless, 90 days are not enough for many foreigners, particularly for travelers who want to visit all 28 Schengen Member States, each of which is a fascinating experience with rich customs and heritage, so that those travelers do not want to leave. At the same time, many assume that the extension of a short-stay Schengen visa is complicated, but it is not actually. If you have a clear justification for basing your application on that, then you have a fair chance of getting that Schengen visa extension. This blog will teach you the choices for more than a 90-day stay in Europe and give you advice on your visa to travel to Europe.

What is a Schengen Visa basically?

Schengen applies to the EU passport-free region, which includes the majority of countries in Europe. It’s the world’s largest free travel area. A traveling visa Europe is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel, for tourism or business purposes, to any member of the Schengen Zone, and you can stay up to 90 days. The most prevalent visa for Europe is the Schengen visa. It allows the holder to join, move freely inside, and exit any of the Schengen Member States in the Schengen region. Within the Schengen Region, no border controls exist. However, if you are willing to take up more than 90 days for the purpose of studying, working, or living in one of the Schengen nations, you must apply for the national visa of that European country rather than the EU travel visa.

What is the European Union, and which countries are parts of it?

The European Union is a special economic and political alliance consisting of 28 European countries, which together represent a wide part of the continent. The EU is run by three bodies. National governments represent the EU Council. The parliament is chosen by the people. The European Commission is the EU staff. They ensure that regional, agricultural, and social policies are continuously enforced by all members. The EU is funded by contributions of EUR 120 billion a year from the Member States. The Schengen countries are Austria, Kingdom of Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, French Republic, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Republic of Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Principality of Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Kingdom of Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Which nationalities need visas for Europe?

All third-country nationals who have not yet entered into a visa liberalization agreement with the Schengen member states must obtain an EU tourist visa prior to their arrival in Europe. To verify that you need a visa to visit Europe and in order to fly to one of the Schengen member countries, please check the Click2visas widget.

How is the 90-day Schengen visa duration measured in the Schengen area?

It is something that perplexes a lot of people who are traveling around Europe to measure how long I can stay in Europe? In short, in any 180-day cycle, you are entitled to fly in the Schengen region for 90 days. The 180-day period is a rolling period, so you still need to count back 180 days to check if in this 180-day timeframe you have been in the Schengen Region for more than 90 days. When you are out of the Schengen country, your Schengen 90 days’ time period is paused.

What are the various types of Schengen Visa Entry?

Single entry-A single entry visa to Europe allows you to cross the boundary of the external Schengen zone and enter the Schengen region only once during the 180-day span of the validity of your visa.

Double entry-A double-entry Europe travel visa enables you to reach the Schengen Region via the external Schengen border up to twice during the 180-day validity period. Your visa sticker will reveal the double-entry as follows: “Number of Entries 2.”

Multi-entry: A multi-entry tourist visa Europe allows you to cross an external Schengen boundary to visit the Schengen Region several times during your visa validity period. Multiple entries will appear like this on your Europe tourist visa sticker: “Number of MULT entries.”

What are the various methods to stay in Europe (i.e., the Schengen Zone) for longer?

Step 1: Staying or Moving to Europe the Best Way – It’seasy to remain in Europe beyond 90 days as a visitor, with so many Schengen rules; you just need to change up the countries you visit. The United Kingdom has its own guidelines, which allow you to remain in 180 days in a calendar year. You can stay for up to 60 or 90 days in most non-Schengen countries, such as Ukraine, Moldova, Croatia, Ireland, and some Balkan countries. So, all you have to do is remain in the Schengen region for 90 days, travel to the UK, go to the Balkans, enjoy in Ukraine, have a glass of wonderful wine in Moldova, and have a nice pint in Ireland. If your travel schedule is correctly aligned, you can easily leave the Schengen Area for 90 days and then go back to the Schengen Zone. You can travel to the Republic of Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and England for three months and waiting for the clock to reset, and then going back to Germany for Oktoberfest.

So, if you want to travel around the continent for a long time without having to go through the different visa processes, customize your travel by visiting non-Schengen countries. While you wait for your Schengen Visa clock to reset, there is much to see everywhere. That is how to live in Europe for a year.

Step 2: Staying in the Schengen Zone Past 90 Days period – If you want to stay longer to fly, live, learn a language, or fall in love, then the above proposed “move around” option will not work for you. Fortunately, there are a few good methods of doing this. It is not easy to remain in the Schengen area for more than 90 days. The Schengen rule specifies that you should not stay in the area for more than 90 days. You’re subject to a fine and expulsion if you do. However, how the law is applied differs greatly from one nation to another. You’ll still be OK if you overstay for a few days or even a week. You might have issues if you overstay longer. With tourists overstaying, certain countries do not mess around. Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and the Scandinavian countries, for instance, are all very strict in terms of entry and exit. There’s a fair chance they’ll take you aside if you overstay your tourist visit by more than a week.

However, if you leave Greece, France, Italy, or Spain, you would not have any issues if you (a) have not stayed too long and (b) have not caught the immigration officer on a bad day. That said, we don’t think overstaying is smart. No matter where you are, a couple of days will encourage you to getaway. A week, maybe, especially if you’re going home. A few weeks, though? Several months? The risk is too high. You enjoy going to Europe enough that you don’t want to be banned.

What is the best way a tourist can do for overstay?

Working holiday visa – The Working Holiday Visa is a special residency permit that enables young people from certain countries for extended periods of time to live and work in certain European countries. Working holiday visas, even if you don’t want to work, are easy to obtain and the perfect way to prolong your stay. Citizens of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand (and also South Korea and Japan) from most Schengen countries are qualified for one to two-year working holiday visas. Candidates from a particular country must apply for this visa and be less than 30 years of age (though, in some cases, like for Canadians working in Switzerland, you can be as old as 35).In particular, know that you can get multiple working holiday visas. An Australian reader received a two-year working holiday visa from the Netherlands and then received one from Norway to stay for another two years. This kind of visa would not allow you to work in any country other than the one that provided it.

• In the Schengen Region, there are no working holiday visas for Americans. A working holiday visa for Ireland can, however, be obtained by American citizens who are in school or within a year of graduation. This will make it possible for them to live and work in Ireland and fly around Europe!

Long term Schengen visa – Regrettably, a lot of nations do not allow tourists to receive long-term visas. But from country to country, the general visa and requirements differ. Some countries, despite being in the same visa treaty zone, are tougher, some are simpler, and others are almost impossible. Although there are a few countries providing long-term visas that aren’t too difficult to get:

1. France – For a period of up to one year, France provides a long term visitor visa. Up to one month is required for the application process. As per the French Embassy, ‘The tourist visa (or visa’ D ‘) allows you to enter France and stay for more than three months.’ Long-stay visa holders will be permitted to stay for up to 12 months in France, depending on the validity of their visa and the intention of their stay. You can’t request more than three months before your date of arrival for this visa. The following documents are required to apply that,
2. One fully completed and signed application form.
3. One ID image was glued onto the application form.
4. Your new passport was issued less than 10 years ago and must be valid for three months after your return and should have at least two blank pages remaining.
5. A letter approved by a public notary promising that you will not participate in work.
6. A job letter specifying primary occupation and income.
7. Evidence of income (you’ll require your bank statements or copies of your investment portfolio).
8. Proof of medical insurance involving evacuation insurance.
9. Confirmation of lodging in France.
10. Sweden – Sweden also provides a visitor visa for a period of one year for a long-term stay. The method is simple but long for up to eight months. It’s not a last-minute thing to do (though if you already in the country, the process only takes a couple of weeks). When applying for a visa, you’ll require two copies of the following documents:
    1. Residence permit for the visitor request form
    1. Notarized copies of your passport pages indicating your identity and passport validity, as well as copies of the other visas/stamps that you hold.
    1. A bank statement displaying your means of support for your length of stay.
    1. A ticket for a return airplane.
    1. A letter from your insurance provider that specifies that you are protected abroad.
11. Italy – As with other nations, if you can afford it and pledge not to work, Italy will let you in. You’ll need to have the below documents to apply:
    1. I filled in and signed a long-term visa application.
    1. One passport size photo.
    1. Your passport, which must be valid for a maximum of three months during your expected stay in Italy. The passport will be held during the application process.
    1. Documented and detailed evidence of a reliable income guarantee, as well as proof of financial means, such as bank letters specifying the account status, including the sum of money in the account.
12. In Italy, evidence of accommodation.
    1. A letter explaining the reason for your stay in Italy, the duration of your stay and where you intend to live.
13. A notarized verification on the background.

Long-term stay visas are also provided by Greece, Spain, and Portugal, but they are targeted towards people who are retired or intend to work in the country and have a lot of money. They are not meant for individuals going by, but anyway, you can still try and apply. They have a lot more criteria and are only designed for individuals who are going to live there.

Student Visa – As long as you are enrolled in a recognized university program, all Schengen Area countries offer student visas that are easy to acquire. This will require you to pay for the course, but it would guarantee you a visa practically. Spain (Portugal also provides a student visa that is easier to get than other countries) is the best place to do this, where a whole industry has trained to support students to learn Spanish. There are plenty of schools that encourage you to register and write letters confirming that you are a student there. One thing to remember is that this procedure is costly as you have to pay for the class, visa fees, and background checks that are needed, but it may be worth the investment if you really want to spend a full year.

Freelancer visa – There are a few nations providing freelancer visas for today’s digital nomads (or wannabe digital nomad). This technique is a little more challenging and not for the regular tourist. The object of these visas is for people who actually want to live in Europe. You’d actually be rejected by a casual visitor. When your freelancer visa is being handled, it will extend your Schengen visa as countries offer you additional time when they are handling the documents. So, technically, you could apply to know you’re going to be refused and get some more time to yourself, but it would be a lot of work for nothing, so you really don’t want to do that.    

The perfect freelancer visa is provided by Germany, and it is the country most used by people who want to work in Europe. This is the visa to get (and it’s very simple to get) if you’re a freelancer, an artist, or have some sort of income. It’s great, and it’ll give you in the EU for one to two years. This is not a business visa for moving your business to Germany, but a visa for contract employees, musicians, internet citizens, and other freelance-type jobs.

When you are in Germany, you need to request this visa. Typically, the procedure takes approximately a week. You literally need the documents below:

1. A finished Application visa form.
2. Two passport clear pictures.
3. They want to know that you have money just in case you don’t find jobs; bank statements are required like the other visas. As before, the more currency, the easier.
4. Your resume copy.
5. Evidence of residence – You would either need a rental agreement or be on the rental agreement of another. You need to carry to the immigration office an official copy of the rental agreement.
6. Health insurance – German insurance that is valid for at least one year is required. Once you are in Germany, it’s easy to get it, and you don’t need to be a German citizen to get it.

Just in case there is a real need for translation, you should bring with you a German speaker. The method is pretty easy. Maybe that day you’ll get lucky and get a visa. Or, over the course of a few weeks, they could revisit it. But if they do that and your 90-day Schengen visa is close to expiring, when reviewing your applications, they’ll issue you a conditional three-month extension of the visa. In principle, one might apply for the visa knowing that only to get the three-month temporary visa they won’t fulfill all the criteria.

In addition, freelance visas are also available in the Czech Republic. Having it is just as difficult, and you’re going to need at least $6,000 USD in your bank account as evidence that you’re not going to leech off their services.

Spain has also established a freelancer visa named “autonomo” in recent years, which also follows a similar procedure.

For this form of visa, these three countries are your best bet. Although they are provided by other countries, they require lots of proof of income, taxes, and that you are actually planning to live and run your business in the country. 

Europe Language School visa – There is another choice that allows you to remain in Europe while studying if you don’t want to stick to a university degree or post-graduate qualification. The Language School Visa is a good choice for staying in Europe longer than your 90-day travel allowance in the Schengen Region, particularly if you are interested in languages and culture.

Of all the visa choices open to you in Europe, it is typically one of the simplest to apply for a Language School Visa. You usually need a contract from a language school in your destination country prior to applying, indicating that you have registered up for a course. You must be signed up for a fixed number of classes each week (usually about 18 hours) and for a minimum time to be eligible for the visa (usually 3 months). In general, a minimum amount of savings would also be needed to prove that you can afford your stay when taking a language course and that you have travel insurance for the full length of the visa.

Certainly, this is influenced by the language you would like to understand. We hear, however, of many individuals in Germany, Spain, and France who have had excellent language school experiences. In particular, when you consider the cost of living, access to language schools and great cultural experiences, Berlin, Valencia and Lyon are great choices.

Get married to a European – Last, but not least, on a long-term marriage or family reunion visa, you can still get married! This residency visa is valid for a total of five years and can be extended for the length of your marriage. You’ll be able to work and get advantages with a marriage visa, like a normal E.U. Nationwide. Even though getting a wedding could cost money, the marriage visa itself is free of charge. And though we highly recommend falling in love first, one of the more interesting ways to permanently migrate to Europe is to get a visa by marriage. You may apply for your marriage in your home country to be registered, but this is not mandatory. The marriage will automatically be accepted in the EU as long as you comply with the law of the country where you got married.

European Passport – You may be qualified for European citizenship if you have ancestors from a European country. A number of countries in Europe allow you to apply for citizenship if you have a European-born parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent. Effectively, claiming European citizenship will allow you, without ever having to apply for a visa, to live, work, and study in Europe. Your dual citizenship, best of all, will allow you to live in most European countries. So, you can still live in Italy or France, even though you have an Irish passport because both countries are in the EU. Citizenship by descent is granted in some countries, such as Germany and Ireland, only to people whose parents or grandparents were born in Europe. On the other hand, if your great-grandparents were indigenous, Lithuania and the Czech Republic would grant you citizenship. And other nations, including Italy, Hungary, and Poland, will grant you citizenship as long as a native relative can connect your ancestry back to you.

What are the important notes to keep in mind when getting a visa for Europe?

1. The regulations are not uniform. Additional documentation may be needed in certain cases (depending on your country of citizenship). You may want to search for details with your local embassy, but you are not prohibited from applying from your home country for these visas.
2. All these visas require you to provide evidence that you have wages, a lot of savings, or both. This is about ensuring that you don’t have to work. They are very strict about not letting these visas be the back-door way for someone to get into Europe and find a decent job. While most didn’t offer an exact figure,  you shouldn’t apply if you don’t have at least $25,000 USD in your bank account when applying. As the embassy websites are not specific, it’s hard to tell for sure how much you’re expected to have. In the presence of the border immigration officer, it’s most likely, but the more money you can show, the better. This number may be higher for people coming from developed nations, and you might also need someone to attest to you.
3. You need to enter and exit the country that has issued you a visa because of Europe’s open-border laws, but you can stay anywhere in Europe for the length of your visa.
4. France has a bilateral agreement for U.S. citizens that permit U.S. citizens to stay an extra 90 days without a visa beyond the Schengen limit!! It’s serious. It’s possible to spend another 90 days in France. You can enter the country from any Schengen country and remain in France for 90 days, and then fly home. But you need to go home. You can’t go somewhere else. You have to leave Europe so that you cannot utilize your valuable time in France to reset your Schengen clock in a sly way.
5. Furthermore, Denmark and Poland also have bilateral agreements with the United States allowing people to stay for an additional 90 days, separate from the normal Schengen zone visa in each country. The law of Denmark applies in the same manner as the French one. You must directly travel to Denmark from another Schengen country. You will not transit through other Schengen countries to get back to the US after your stay in Denmark, and you will have to travel directly or transit through non-Schengen areas. Denmark’s extra 90-day stay is valid for residents of Australia, Canada, Chile, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, and the US.
6. If you want to visit Poland, you will have to enter and exit Poland through a non-Schengen country where you will be re-stamped (i.e., direct flight from NYC). So, you could go to the Schengen region for 90 days, fly to the UK, and then go to Poland.

The easiest, quickest way to stay and live in Europe on a long-term basis is to maximize the number of countries you are visiting so that you are just 90 days in the Schengen region. There are a lot of nations that are not in the region, as we said, so this is easy to do. If you want to remain past the 90-day limit in the Schengen Region, you need to apply for one of the visas mentioned above. Make it perfectly clear before you go to the interview that you have sufficient money to support yourself, that you are not looking for a job, and that you are offering valid reasons why you need to stay longer. In the end, a long-term stay in the Schengen Region is not unthinkable. One can legally stay past 90 days and moving to Europe for a year and enjoy what Europe has to offer without worrying about being excluded for life by running the system a bit and exploiting the few loopholes that do exist.

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