90/180 day confusion

Whilst you say you are not subject to the 90/180 rule, you are only allowed to stay 90 days in one trip without registering with the National Police. Saying that, no-one bothers and I've not heard of anyone from the EU being kicked out because of overstaying.

Passports for UK citizens will be stamped even though they can travel with you on an Irish passport. This is because if the British passport holder visits anywhere in the Schengen area without you the 90/180 days rule will apply and will include the time they spent in Schengen with you.

Read here and be even more confused. 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.es/schengen-90-days-in-180-day-ruling-for-non-eu-spouses-of-eu-citizens/

Happy reading. 🤔

The contents of the European Commission Practical Handbook for Border Guards (Schengen Handbook), page 73, paragraph 6 et seq., explains the Stamping of Travel Documents and in your particular circumstances it was right and proper that your partner's passport was stamped. An exception would be if your partner was in possession of a residence card of an EU member state or an EEA country issued under Directive 2004/38/EC.

Page 20, paragraph 2.1.2 of the Handbook, explains, "In the case of third - country nationals who are family members of EU, EEA and CH citizens, have the right of residence in a Member State for a period of up to three months if they are in possession of a valid passport and are accompanying or joining the EU, EEA OR CH citizen, without any limitation to 90 days in 180 - day period."

The guidance goes on to explain in what circumstances the 90/180 day rule applies to the non EU, EEA, or CH citizen . An example is if the family member of the EU citizen leaves the EU, EEA or CH but the non EU, EEA or CH citizen stays behind the countdown of the 90/180 days starts on the day of EU, EEA or CH citizens departure. The guidance sets out other examples.

Google - Practical Handbook for Border Guards - this will return the handbook in PDF format where you can check all of the above and other matters for yourself.

All EU citizens have the right to enter and live in another EU member state for up to 3 months. You just need a valid passport or national identity card. EU member states cannot set additional conditions concerning the minimum validity or duration of the identity card or passport. This means that your passport doesn't have to be valid for, say, 6 months before you are allowed to enter another EU state.

Irish citizens planning to stay in Spain for three months or more must obtain a Certificate of Registration (Spanish Residency), which proves legal residency status. To obtain this certificate, you must first apply for a NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero) and register on the Padron with the council of the area you wish to live.

You will find all the information you need by clicking on this link:

https://www.ireland.ie/en/spain/madrid/services/new-to-spain/#Living%20and%20working%20in%20Spain

Thanks John, your reply has been a great help to us. What a mess up this Brexit lark has become. There doesn’t seem to be any concrete help anywhere. Thanks once again. Tom

You're very welcome Tom. Yes, it is a mine field but unfortunately we are where we are. Good luck to you both.