Post: #1

...is that it might not work.

I scheduled my return flight through Amsterdam. Border guards detained me on violating Schengen rules and refused entry, including indicating that they marked me as 'refused entry'. They looked up the referenced treaty and indicated that it didn't apply anymore, that it was basically old and only ever relied upon for emergency diplomatic purposes.

Furthermore, they were not happy that I had overstayed (never mind that I left Poland and came back, they didn't care about that). They understood my confusion and did not assign me any additional penalty, and assisted me with finding a new flight out and being generally nice about the whole process. But, it broke some hearts over in Poland.

Maybe I should have routed through UK and then straight to Poland, or something to that effect, but entering via other countries now certainly poses a risk.

Moral of the story: have a backup plan.

Post: #2

That's unfortunate you had to go through that. This is very good info to have, thanks for sharing it. You said they helped you find a new flight out from Amsterdam, where did you go?

I wonder if you would have had any problems if you had tried flying to Ukraine, then crossing the land border near Lviv.

Post: #3

Makes sense. Polish law is irrelevant in the Netherlands and the rest of Schengen. Each country agreed by treaty to a set of rules to follow for the common Schengen travel area, so even though your visits were legal according to Polish law, they were in contravention of the Schengen rules. Because of that, the Netherlands was obliged to process you as an over-stayer.

So if you always enter and leave the Schengen zone via a Polish border point, you will have less chance of getting caught. Also be careful staying in countries which have strict tourist registration in hotels, as you may be flagged as an over-stayer if their system references the Schengen system. It isn't a problem in Italy as they're too disorganised and the databases aren't linked. In other countries I'm not so sure.

In any case, I think a better option would be to register a company or self-employed license somewhere so that you can get a residence permit. Still not legal if you spend more than 90/180 days in the rest of the Schengen zone, but it's much less likely to cause problems.

Post: #4

(01-08-2015 10:55 AM)DaveR Wrote:  So if you always enter and leave the Schengen zone via a Polish border point, you will have less chance of getting caught.

And apparently you need to check your connecting flights, that is, which country is your first Schengen connection at.

Post: #5

Yeah unfortunately you need to exit and enter schengen through poland, which means more expensive flights. Last time I exited through France... they didn't even look at my passport dates.

Post: #6

(01-08-2015 11:20 AM)William Windsor Wrote:  

(01-08-2015 10:55 AM)DaveR Wrote:  So if you always enter and leave the Schengen zone via a Polish border point, you will have less chance of getting caught.

And apparently you need to check your connecting flights, that is, which country is your first Schengen connection at.

That's why I wrote "enter and leave the Schengen zone via a Polish border point." If you take a flight from Poland to the US with a connection in France, the Poland-France leg will be domestic (no passport control). Your passport would be checked in France before you get to the gate for your connecting flight. All airports in the Schengen zone are divided into Schengen and non-Schengen zones for that reason.

Post: #7

(01-08-2015 11:23 AM)Roosh Wrote:  Yeah unfortunately you need to exit and enter schengen through poland, which means more expensive flights. Last time I exited through France... they didn't even look at my passport dates.

France, Italy, Spain etc. have a reputation for caring less. Northern European countries the opposite.

Post: #8

(01-08-2015 11:23 AM)Roosh Wrote:  Yeah unfortunately you need to exit and enter schengen through poland, which means more expensive flights. Last time I exited through France... they didn't even look at my passport dates.

Might be cheaper to take a budget flight (Ryanair, etc.) to the UK or Ireland and then catch the flight from there. Another option would be to spend some time in Ukraine before departing for the US.

Connecting in the Schengen zone is fine as long as you're travelling from one non-Schengen country to another non-Schengen country. Your connection will be made inside the non-Schengen zone of the airport, so you won't meet a passport control officer during that connection.

Post: #9

(01-08-2015 10:55 AM)DaveR Wrote:  In any case, I think a better option would be to register a company or self-employed license somewhere so that you can get a residence permit. Still not legal if you spend more than 90/180 days in the rest of the Schengen zone, but it's much less likely to cause problems.

This is much easier said than done. I'm self-employed and only a handful of countries in Europe allow foreigners to do this easily (Germany, Netherlands). From what I know, Poland doesn't offer this options and most places want you to set up a real company with a hefty investment or hire at least a few employees. Basically freelancers don't have many options. I'm glad to be proven wrong though. Any takers?

Post: #10

(01-08-2015 05:37 PM)dontuan Wrote:  

(01-08-2015 10:55 AM)DaveR Wrote:  In any case, I think a better option would be to register a company or self-employed license somewhere so that you can get a residence permit. Still not legal if you spend more than 90/180 days in the rest of the Schengen zone, but it's much less likely to cause problems.

This is much easier said than done. I'm self-employed and only a handful of countries in Europe allow foreigners to do this easily (Germany, Netherlands). From what I know, Poland doesn't offer this options and most places want you to set up a real company with a hefty investment or hire at least a few employees. Basically freelancers don't have many options. I'm glad to be proven wrong though. Any takers?

Very easy in Slovakia, Estonia and Czechia. In CZ, contact the following company: alexio.cz or ask KorbenDallas as he has been through the process.

Italy, France and Spain have categories for retirees and those with foreign-sourced income (including Internet-based).

Post: #11

(01-08-2015 06:40 PM)DaveR Wrote:  ...
Italy, France and Spain have categories for retirees and those with foreign-sourced income (including Internet-based).

Do you know any websites to get more details?

Post: #12

(01-09-2015 08:22 AM)Northern Wrote:  

(01-08-2015 06:40 PM)DaveR Wrote:  ...
Italy, France and Spain have categories for retirees and those with foreign-sourced income (including Internet-based).

Do you know any websites to get more details?

Not off the top of my head. In Italy it's called "permesso di soggiorno per residenza elettiva in Italia."

also Check Don TUan's thread: /thread-42474.html
or try the website of the nearest Italian/French/Spanish consulate in the US or Canada.