I hate to contribute to the already abundant questions regarding Schengen visa, but I don't see my question out there. I've been in Europe for 16 months and now I'm ready to leave but getting paranoid about being stopped and dealt any of the varioius problems already mentioned in previous posts (fines, interrogation, a "red stamp" in my passport, etc).
I've previousy lived illegally in Spain for 2 years. During that time I came and went as I wished and never had a problem. I started this year in France with the same flippancy but after the recent presidential elections I notice much more of a police presence in the streets ... the new political climate has left me a little less brazen and confident.
I have a US passport that was issued in 1999 and I see no magnetic type band which people on the forum say get's "swiped" when you cross the border whether or not you get stamped. Maybe my passport is too old and so I don't have to worry about being on the "Schengen computer"? Originally I thought I'd tell a story about arriving in Spain to explain the lack of a stamp for my fictious arrival less than 90 days ago (I remember rarely being stamped in Spain) but after reading about this digital swiping into the great Schengen computer I've considered "losing" my passport and getting a new one to sort of erase my traces.
Also I remember reading something on this forum some time ago about the possibility of going to the preficture, the police station, or the embassy or something and getting permission to leave legally. Does anyone know anything about the possibility of this in France?
Also I've heard that getting into Switzerland from France is very easy (and convenient for me as I'm in Lyon) and since Switzerland is not yet implemented I could fly from Geneva with no worries...maybe?
Basically the question is: is there anything I can do to leave stressfree having already overstayed the 90/180days?
I greatly appreciate any knowledge or advice you can offer. Thanks!
I know an American who has been living in France illegally for 10 years, and she has no problems getting in and out of France (maybe once year, so far beyond the Schengen rules). So you can leave from CDG with no problems, apparently.
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<hr> after the recent presidential elections I notice much more of a police presence in the streets <hr></blockquote>
funny, i live in Paris and i can't say i've noticed that.
I agree that most likely you won;t have any problems leaving the country but of course there are no guarantees. Anyways, you should have thought about that before you decided to overstay...
#1:An "American ...who has no problems getting in and out of France"
Where to? If she only goes to Spain,Belgium,Luxemburg , Germany or Italy, there is no passport control. If she leaves by plane to the US and comes back, I'd very much surprised if nobody checks her passport, especially these security-conscious days.
She flies to Pittsburgh or Seattle at least once a year, and also makes trips to the UK besides her Schengen travels, and nothing has ever happened. It should even be noted that she was served deportation papers eight years ago (after applying for immigration papers that were refused). She took the Thalys to Amsterdam for the weekend, making sure to go to the "non-Schengen citizen" police office at Gare du Nord to get stamped out officially. And then she just took the train back to Paris at the end of the weekend with no incident. So clearly the French authorities (and their computers) don't seem to give a damn about a white middle aged female American citizen coming and going at will -- she has about the opposite profile of the sort of person they are officially looking for.
Kerouac 2:
That's an eye-opener! So despite all the fuss that's being made, it's still completely arbitrary who gets checked and who doesn't!
Thanks a lot for pointing this out!!
I have a similar problem. Its a long story, but Ive been living illegally in Germany for about a year. How does returning to the US with a US passport work? Ive never traveled abroad before and am going to be returning to the states for the first time. Im just a cacuasian student in his 20's, so I don't think it will be a problem. But do they really scrutinize your passports as you leave Germany? Ive only left the Schengen countries once (Ireland for a few days back in december) and didn't have trouble getting back in. Thanks!
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