90 day Stay Rule

I overstayed by 8 days. Depends on the staff at border control. I was pulled to one side as my passport wasn't scanning. Was worried sick but was waved through with no problems thankfully. I personally don't know of anyone who has been fined or banned from entering the schengen area as an overstayer. Perhaps other members have. That was my experience.

I don't know anyone who has been in that situation but maybe it's possible to cheat the rule once or maybe twice but you could also get caught out and refused entry (at border control) to the Schengen zone for a period of time which could prove costly if you have booked a holiday.

If you want to test the system please do as there will be many members interested in the results. 

Steve 

I myself did not try to cheat the system. Long story but i was expecting my residencia application to come through by the end of November only to find out i had been conned. Hence i had to leave the country the following day as i was classed as an overstayer. Am now reapplying going down the non lucrative visa route. No way would i knowingly cheat the system. I was merely stating my experience.

Hi Dami,

My husband was reading on CBF's sister forum, TalkQuesada, this morning of a non-resident in that area who had overstayed by 10 days - they received a €600 fine and a 3 month ban on re-entry.  I assume that means they can't return to Spain for at least 6 months, i.e. 90 days Schengen rule + 3 months ban.

Kind regards,

Kim

I don't personally know anyone but there have been reports;

https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/16571187/passport-warning-spain-holiday-stamp/ 

It seems the problem is not leaving Spain as an overstayer but re-entering the EU at a later date.

Hi,

   the story in the Sun relates to a slightly difference case to an over-stayer, i.e.it is someone who has left within the 90 days timeframe but did not get a exit stamp. That is the situation I and my wife are in as we did not get our passport's stamped when leaving Alicante in October (no border officials at the departure point). By coincidence, and at the third attempt, I have just had a reply today from BA regarding my query/complaints to them. Their response is:

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A reply from British Airways

I'm sorry to hear you didn't get your passport stamped when leaving Spain. I appreciate the time you've taken to get in touch and I'm sorry for the delay in response.

Our records show you flew on your flights successfully in and out of Spain. I understand your concern with regards to the unstamped passport, however I don't believe this should hinder your future travel plans. As stamping passports is not a requirement, and has not been for many years now.

You may wish to keep you travel documents with you. Such as your boarding passes or baggage slips. This may help if you are asked or stopped.

I'm sorry I couldn't give you more information on this subject. If there's anything else you would like to ask, please use the link below to reply to me.

The response did not fill me with confidence to be honest, even less so after reading the story in The Sun. We travel back to Spain early January so I guess i'll find out then. I plan to take as much detail as I can with me, including our return boarding passes, and hope to get a more amiable border guard than the one on the Spain/Gibraltar border!

Rgds,

Aitch.

I wasn't blaming anyone in particular Carol. I've heard of several who have overstayed because of exceptional circumstances. It's the people that want to chance it that annoy me.

Steve 

Me too 👍🙂

Why does someone 'chancing it' annoy you?  The only one to suffer any consequences is the person doing the chancing.  Their risk and they pay the fine if they lose the gamble.  

It's quite clear that at the moment it is all based on entry and exit stamps and you need to make sure you get your exit stamp, or if that's not possible then keep your boarding cards. Most officials in my experience are quite reasonable and will allow for exceptional circumstances if it's just a matter of a few days and not deliberate evasion of the rules.  It should be become simpler with the e-passport system is fully functional, but who knows how long that is going to take or how reliable it will be?  Seems sensible to keep all boarding cards as a record of travel in future.