Med to Caribbean Crossing Dilema - Schengen Problem?

[gabilo]

Suppose the simplest way to know for good is calling any "Schengen" embassy in your home country (country your passport has been issued).
They will be able to inform you correctly about the duration of stay, single or multiple entries, visa requirements if applicable and wether you are required to hold a health insurance during your stay.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by PamlicoTraveler

This is what I keep hearing and assume to be true. I don't think they are too eager to boot someone cruising the area and spending money.

Still, it would be nice to have the written rules on your side rather than relying in general experiences. I am afraid to winter within the Schengen area for this very reason.

The written rules are pretty clear and particular countries have some degree of freedom in applying them or not. This local 'flexibility' is what may cause concern as border control checks vary from nil to police-state.

In some countries the left hand does not really know what the right one is doing and you can be treated differently depending on how much sun there is on any given day and whether you are lucky to be served by lazy Carlos or unlucky to be served by sober Joao.

But the overall rules, per se, are clear and available on the web.

b.

[jckb]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

The written rules are pretty clear and particular countries have some degree of freedom in applying them or not. This local 'flexibility' is what may cause concern as border control checks vary from nil to police-state.

In some countries the left hand does not really know what the right one is doing and you can be treated differently depending on how much sun there is on any given day and whether you are lucky to be served by lazy Carlos or unlucky to be served by sober Joao.

But the overall rules, per se, are clear and available on the web.

b.

For instance, some EU countries do not require ship's crew of certain nationalities to check into the country. The assumption is that the crew will remain resident on the boat. If they move off the boat (to a hotel, or fly home), they should then first "check in" with immigration. Greece, within Schengen, is one such country.

I don't know whether this is Schengen wide practice, but I suspect that many comments made about "not needing to check in" may be correct, but miss the hidden caveat - you should stay on the boat.

Whatever, there are several clear cases of fines being levied at airports on departing non-EU citizens who had no corresponding Schengen entry stamp in their passport.

In this thread there are also several references to the fact that immigration stamps (in or out) were not available. Immigration control is only guaranteed available at "ports of entry" (marked as red spots on most of the maps on my web site!).

JimB

[barnakiel]

Yes, the general rule is if you arrive by boat (pleasure craft) and plan to leave by other means then do have your passport stamped on arrival and it is YOUR duty to have the stamp. I believe the same applies for most countries worldwide and not just the EU zone.

But I would not mix up regulations for ships and for pleasure craft, neither it is smart to go into crew vs. passengers paperwork discussion in respective situations. Ship's crew travels under a completely separate set of regulations than a pleasure craft crew (non-professional) or owners.

Cheers,
b.

[svBeBe]

If a US citizen obtains a long stay visa for a particular Schengen country, upon departure from that country at the end of that visa period is it then possible to obtain the normal Schengen 90-day VOA upon arrival in another Schengen country?

If so, that appears to be the simplest way to handle wintering in the Med. Just obtain a long-stay visa for say Italy. Stay there for the winter, then next spring or summer move on to France and Spain using the 90-day Schengen visa.

Is this possible? I have read various websites covering Schengen visas and do not find the answer.

Judy

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

If a US citizen obtains a long stay visa for a particular Schengen country, upon departure from that country at the end of that visa period is it then possible to obtain the normal Schengen 90-day VOA upon arrival in another Schengen country?

If so, that appears to be the simplest way to handle wintering in the Med. Just obtain a long-stay visa for say Italy. Stay there for the winter, then next spring or summer move on to France and Spain using the 90-day Schengen visa.

Is this possible? I have read various websites covering Schengen visas and do not find the answer.

Judy

I have seen posts from reputable cruisers that this is the case. However, have not seen it in writing on any official web site. I like the recommendation of contacting a country's local embassy to ask.

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

If a US citizen obtains a long stay visa for a particular Schengen country, upon departure from that country at the end of that visa period is it then possible to obtain the normal Schengen 90-day VOA upon arrival in another Schengen country?

If so, that appears to be the simplest way to handle wintering in the Med. Just obtain a long-stay visa for say Italy. Stay there for the winter, then next spring or summer move on to France and Spain using the 90-day Schengen visa.

Is this possible? I have read various websites covering Schengen visas and do not find the answer.

Judy

Judy my wife and i am in similar territory and our issues are now solved and clear, one thing i noticed when doing research is that crew are exempt if connected to a yacht, this is under SUPERYACHTS but warrants exploring as the term SUPERYACHT may be loose...
Worth further research maybe.
Cheers Frank & Vivien

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

If a US citizen obtains a long stay visa for a particular Schengen country, upon departure from that country at the end of that visa period is it then possible to obtain the normal Schengen 90-day VOA upon arrival in another Schengen country?

If so, that appears to be the simplest way to handle wintering in the Med. Just obtain a long-stay visa for say Italy. Stay there for the winter, then next spring or summer move on to France and Spain using the 90-day Schengen visa.

Is this possible? I have read various websites covering Schengen visas and do not find the answer.

Judy

Italy France and Spain are all Schengen area and if we imagine you sail out from Italy towards the end of your long visa and then sail into France after it did expire, the very first thing a border control will see will be the long stay visa in your passport.

Now tricks like this may work but since they are clearly aimed at going round the existing regulation, a smart officer in a lovely uniform may be pretty indifferent to your arguments unless they are supported by hard facts (printed copy of the relevant regulation IN FRENCH) and your ability to make your point in fluent French (no foreigners speaks fluent French).

BTW If you are hard pressed and must go into port while you are not certain of your visa status, my personal bet would be to chose a minor Spanish port - life flows slower here and them Spanish have very welcoming attitude to foreigners. Especially when them foreigners come with a yacht and pay with a visa card.

Cheers,
b.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Italy France and Spain are all Schengen area and if we imagine you sail out from Italy towards the end of your long visa and then sail into France after it did expire, the very first thing a border control will see will be the long stay visa in your passport.

Now tricks like this may work but since they are clearly aimed at going round the existing regulation, a smart officer in a lovely uniform may be pretty indifferent to your arguments unless they are supported by hard facts (printed copy of the relevant regulation IN FRENCH) and your ability to make your point in fluent French (no foreigners speaks fluent French).

BTW If you are hard pressed and must go into port while you are not certain of your visa status, my personal bet would be to chose a minor Spanish port - life flows slower here and them Spanish have very welcoming attitude to foreigners. Especially when them foreigners come with a yacht and pay with a visa card.

Cheers,
b.

What about doing it the other way around? Use up your 90 Schengen days
and then move to the country where you have the long stay visa?

If I have to ever speak fluent French, German or anything else I'm in serious trouble. I can barely speak fluent English and I was born in the USA.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

If a US citizen obtains a long stay visa for a particular Schengen country, upon departure from that country at the end of that visa period is it then possible to obtain the normal Schengen 90-day VOA upon arrival in another Schengen country?

If so, that appears to be the simplest way to handle wintering in the Med. Just obtain a long-stay visa for say Italy. Stay there for the winter, then next spring or summer move on to France and Spain using the 90-day Schengen visa.

Is this possible? I have read various websites covering Schengen visas and do not find the answer.

Judy

Yes that is exactly how it works. Assuming of course you qualify for a long stay visa. Most ordinary people do not.

Dave

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by skipmac

What about doing it the other way around? Use up your 90 Schengen days
and then move to the country where you have the long stay visa?

If I have to ever speak fluent French, German or anything else I'm in serious trouble. I can barely speak fluent English and I was born in the USA.

Yes you can do that too. Long stay visas. are particular to a country. If you are on the schengen visa waiver then you are a 90 day tourist outside the country of your long stay

Be aware that long stay visas typically can make you a tax resident and hat can have vat and other expensive implications.

Dave

[jckb]

Use Crew Concessions in Greece?

Maritime law in Greece does not (yet) clearly differentiate between visiting commercial and leisure boats, although leisure boats, if under 24m or 500GRT, enjoy certain "waivers" - only having to register their DEKPA every 30 days, rather than every port arrival and exit.

One result is that leisure boat crews arriving from outside Schengen (ex Albania, or Turkey, for instance) are often treated as commercial crew, ie, not stamped into Schengen, and the condition is that they live aboard (being Greece of course, this condition is not stated). However, when they go ashore to stay in a hotel, catch a ferry or an airplane home, they should first obtain a Schengen entry stamp to avoid a fine.

It's easy to test if this is going to work for you. Arrive from outside Schengen and with no open Schengen visas running, book in to get (or stamp) your DEKPA, show your crew list with passport numbers and nationalities. Once the crew list is stamped by the port police, you are registered as crew. Then, if they don't stamp your passports as well, your Schengen time is not being used up.

But don't forget to enter Schengen properly before exiting by air or ferry - "approved means of transport" in Schengen speak.

This may apply to other countries. The only way to find out is to suck it and see, and report back!

JimB

[Lagoon4us]

Thanks Jim exactly what i noticed re crew..

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by skipmac

What about doing it the other way around? Use up your 90 Schengen days
and then move to the country where you have the long stay visa?

If I have to ever speak fluent French, German or anything else I'm in serious trouble. I can barely speak fluent English and I was born in the USA.

Give it a shot.

If it does not work, remember the distance from Italy to France is not all that much different from the distance to Tunisia. It could be pretty boring after all, if you move only between the EU states turning your back on the African coast. After all, if there is anything left to explore in the med then it actually on the African side of the sea.

b.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Be aware that long stay visas typically can make you a tax resident and that can have vat and other expensive implications.

Dave

Oh Really? Now that may shoot down my plans, depending. So what sort of tax might a tax resident have to pay? I won't be earning any money there so wouldn't be worried about income tax.

And VAT? Also not a worry unless they would want to charge me VAT on my boat. That would obviously be a deal breaker for this plan.

Methinks a little further investigation is warranted.