Schengen visa question: 90 days period with visa

Dear editors,

I now have my Thai girlfriend on holiday in the Netherlands for the first time. She received her Schengen visa for December 28 to April 12 (which I find strange, because this is for a period of more than 90 days). Only she leaves earlier to go home, namely on March 3.

Now my question is, when can she apply for a new visa again? Is that 90 days after she left? So 90 days after March 3? Or is that 90 days after the end of her visa period? And is that “90 days” after “90 days” after December 28? (I'm sure you understand this). Or is that 90 days after April 12?

Thanks in advance for your answer! And for the effort taken!

Regards,

Ruud

Dear Ruud,

A Schengen visa can never be used for more than 90 consecutive days!! However, the 'valid from' and 'valid until' periods are slightly longer. You are given 15 days of slack. So you can leave a week (or 2) later without having to sacrifice your actual number of vacation days.

When can you apply (again)? Someone can apply for a visa 3 months to 15 days before the intended date of entry. So immediately after arrival she could already (by appointment) visit the embassy (or optional external service provider VFS).

So what you actually want to know is when your girlfriend can come again. That just depends on how long she wants to stay. She could (assuming she has an MEV multiple entry visa) come back for a few days immediately after departure, so to speak. But I assume that your girlfriend wants to come again for a longer period of time. To determine when she can come again, you need to know what the rules are regarding length of stay or simply stay away for 90 days after you have left the Schengen area. In the latter case you are always right.

According to the rules, a person can stay for a maximum of 90 days in a period of 180 'rolling' days. This means that on the intended date X you look back 180 days to see whether someone has reached the limit of 90 days of residence. If not, you're fine. You then look at the 2nd day (X+1) and then look back 180 days to see if someone has already reached the 90-day limit. Then you look at the third day (X+2) and again 180 days back. And so you keep going. That is sometimes quite puzzling with a calendar at the ready. That is why the EU has put a tool online, the Schengen calculator: https://ec.europa.eu/assets/home/visa-calculator/calculator.htm?lang=en

You will see a long column with cells of 3 squares wide on the left. Enter the arrival date (1/28/12) in box 17 and the departure date (2/03/03) in box 18. In the third box you see that this is 66 days (out of the maximum 90). Then fill in the date to be planned in the future at the very top. Then click on 'Calculate' at the bottom right. In your case you see that with an entry up to and including 1 June, she would be allowed to come for 28 days. From June 2, she can come for 90 days.

Further explanation about the length of stay and other rules, tips, etc. can be found in the Schengen visa file (as a downloadable PDF file) via the menu on your left hand here on the blog.

I hope you can pick up another holiday like this. But please note that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must again be convinced that it again or still meets all the requirements. This also includes the fact that the chance of timely return is greater than overstay (illegal stay) in the Netherlands/Europe. It is obvious that the decision-maker wants to see how good her relationship with Thailand is and how she manages to come on holiday for many weeks several times a year. This while the ordinary wage slave has to make do with a few days / weeks per year! I certainly do not mean this to discourage you, but to remind you of the fact that on the basis of some papers someone from behind a desk must determine in a few minutes whether there are no strange affairs or unacceptable risks and on those grounds to apply for a visa. to refuse.

Good luck and much more fun,

Rob V