George5 wrote:
There is some confusion about the 90/180 day rule due to the fact that orginally the Schengen agreement stated in Article 20:
"Aliens not subject to a visa requirement may move freely within the territories of the Contracting Parties for a maximum period of three months during the six months following the date of first entry"
This agreement has since been superceded by Council regulation 562/2006 when the Schengen agreement became part of the European Union treaties. The new version reads (in article 5) :
"For stays not exceeding three months per six-month period, the entry conditions for third-country nationals shall be the following:"
This regulation no longer has a reference to the "first entry", which means that you now have a sliding scale, and you now have to look at he last 180 days.
Since European Union regulations are notoriously complex and there aren't always up to date versions available (you usually have to take the first version and then work yourself through subsequent amendments) border police may not always completely understand the current state of the law.
However generally speaking the following is true:
1) You may stay up to a total three months in a six-month period (usually interpreted to mean 90 out of 180 days)
2) In respect to short term visits, the Schengen member states function as a unified immigration area. This means that moving amongst the member states is similar e.g. to moving from one US state to another.
3) Long term visas are separate from stays under the Schengen system and time spent in a particular member country whilst holding a national visa does not count towards your 90 day quota.
4) A national visa permits travel for a maximum of 90 days per semester to other Schengen countries.
5) If you stay longer than 90 days then you are overstaying. Currently overstayers from countries not requiring visas often - but not always - slip through as SIS II is not yet operational and border police often cannot be bothered to match up all the different entry & exit stamps. If and when SIS II does operate, an overstay will almost certainly be detected.
6) Regardless of these rules, there is no right to enter the Schengen countries unless you hold a passport of an EU or EEA/Swiss country. If border police have reasonable suspicion to believe that you are circumventing or abusing the system they have the right to refuse you entry.
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The following are my own comments, not those of George5
As you can see it is indeed a sliding scale not a 'first entry' date that counts. So the suggestion in #17 is not doable. It is 90 in every 180 CALENDAR day period. That is what the sliding scale part changes. What it does allow is by keeping track of your entry and exits you could for example spend every second 30 days (or 10 or 20 or 40 or 60 or any number between 1 and 90 for that matter) in Schengen if you then spent an equal amount of time outside of Schengen. So 30 in, 30 out, 30 in, 30 out, 30 in, 30 out, forever if you want. At no time will you have been in more than 90 days in the last 180 days.
But what you also have to note as George5 points out, not all border immigration officers are clear on the rules just like anyone else. So while you would be in the right doing 30 in, 30 out forever, it doesn't mean you might not get refused entry at the border or questioned on exit. It just means you could win a legal case if necessary. It is interesting to note that the Finnish Foreign Ministry and a Finnish border guard apparently aren't aware of the change in 20ll. Five years after the change. LOL
The other factor to keep in mind is that the Schengen rule requires YOU to prove you have not overstayed, it does not require them to prove you have. A case of guilty until you prove your innocence if accused.
The final factor (also as noted by George5) is that you can be refused entry regardless of the rules if an Immigration Officer decides s/he has suspicions about you. You have no RIGHT of entry.
