Does this have legs?

As a Brit living I Spain I am not sure.
Recent articles I have read in papers over here seem to be calling for less tourism and immigration.

I think it also depends on where you ask the question in Spain. Benidorm would probably support it but Madrid and Barcelona complain about immigrants pushing up house prices.
Seville trying to reduce the number of tourists by restricting numbers in guided tours amongst other measure
 
These stories come up from time to time and don't seem to go anywhere. I'm not sure Spain can just opt out of the EU rules tbh. There is also the scenario that Brits could visit Spain and then freely travel throughout Schengen unhindered as long as they then return home via Spain, thus in effect rendering the 90 day rule obsolete.
 
GMJ, yes last year we met a couple who had just landed in France the guy said he had applied for a french visa of some kind that gave him extra time as long as he didnt leave france, he said that he was going to wing it and cross boarders
 
met a scot’s guy at silves who had done exactly that paid for 6 month french visa as he said as long as he entered & left through france who could tell ?
 
rugbyken said:
met a scot’s guy at silves who had done exactly that paid for 6 month french visa as he said as long as he entered & left through france who could tell ?
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Actually the French authorities would have little problems tracking and proving he had left France, motorway tolls, cameras, checking credit cards etc, but the point is why would they commit such resources?

Knew someone who got done for cross EU border crime a few years back (not a friend, a business customer) and it was astonishing how much the French authorities knew and how quickly they got the info together, but he was “of interest” once they’d found large amounts of illegal substances in his vehicle, if your only crime is leaving France for a few weeks I doubt you’d get a pull, unless they had an automated system linked to your registration number.
 
I very much doubt this has legs for various reasons.
Spain must abide by the regulations set out as a member of the Schengen.
They can’t be allowed to simply pick and choose what they like and don’t like.
Then we have the issue of how this would affect all of the other nations within the Schengen.
Once within the Schengen you are not monitored until you leave.
That after all is the reasoning behind it.
As has been mentioned you could quite easily move around the whole Schengen area after entering via Spain then months later exit via Spain. And legally you would have the right to do so.

Then we have other foreigners being treated differently from us.
I don’t think that would go down to well.
Sadly this and other drawbacks are the result of us no longer being EU members, and I cannot see that changing in my lifetime.
We can’t expect to be treated any differently from other non member states, and the recent surge in entry refusals due to passports being more than ten years old only served to underline this.
With the new border control system ETIAS coming out in September, things may be set to get even worse. Without ETIAS we took 45 minutes to get through passport controls when leaving Madeira recently, god knows how long this would have taken with ETIAS. My advice is get used to it, or if your lucky enough to have an Irish parent then get an Irish passport.
 
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Boris7 said:
Actually the French authorities would have little problems tracking and proving he had left France, motorway tolls, cameras, checking credit cards etc, but the point is why would they commit such resources?

Knew someone who got done for cross EU border crime a few years back (not a friend, a business customer) and it was astonishing how much the French authorities knew and how quickly they got the info together, but he was “of interest” once they’d found large amounts of illegal substances in his vehicle, if your only crime is leaving France for a few weeks I doubt you’d get a pull, unless they had an automated system linked to your registration number.
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The French are reintroducing border checks at their neighbours borders even on the small back roads.
 
Fisherman said:
I very much doubt this has legs for various reasons.
Spain must abide by the regulations set out as a member of the Schengen.
They can’t be allowed to simply pick and choose what they like and don’t like.
Then we have the issue of how this would affect all of the other nations within the Schengen.
Once within the Schengen you are not monitored until you leave.
That after all is the reasoning behind it.
As has been mentioned you could quite easily move around the whole Schengen area after entering via Spain then months later exit via Spain. And legally you would have the right to do so.

Then we have other foreigners being treated differently from us.
I don’t think that would go down to well.
Sadly this and other drawbacks are the result of us no longer being EU members, and I cannot see that changing in my lifetime.
We can’t expect to be treated any differently from other non member states, and the recent surge in entry refusals due to passports being more than ten years old only served to underline this.
With the new border control system ETIAS coming out in September, things may be set to get even worse. Without ETIAS we took 45 minutes to get through passport controls when leaving Madeira recently, god knows how long this would have taken with ETIAS. My advice is get used to it, or if your lucky enough to have an Irish parent then get an Irish passport.
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I'm confused by

"As has been mentioned you could quite easily move around the whole Schengen area after entering via Spain then months later exit via Spain. And legally you would have the right to do so."

Does that mean you HAVE to enter and exit back to the UK via the same country?
 
Pudsey Bear said:
I'm confused by

"As has been mentioned you could quite easily move around the whole Schengen area after entering via Spain then months later exit via Spain. And legally you would have the right to do so."

Does that mean you HAVE to enter and exit back to the UK via the same country?
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No, doesn't mean that.
Just means if Spain changes it's rules, and you travelled throughout Schengen for longer than allowed, you would then leave through Spain.

Although, if the impression is that you travel through Schengen without being monitored, then there's nothing to stop you entering and leaving via France and saying you spent most of your time in Spain.

I've certainly had passport checks within Schengen, so anyone staying longer than allowed is taking a chance.
 
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I'm a member of a group on Facebook thats all about the French Visa and I am pretty sure you can travel to other countries under their six month Visa. In fact I think you can add your 90 days onto the 180. Its a right PIA though to get one. Of course there is an easy solution. Rejoin the single market. Could possibly happen at some stage.
 
As far as I know these rule changes for both Spain and Francre are for property owners. Do you really think should theses changes come about you will just be able to swan about the rest of Europe. You are in a big white box with number plates on its only a few clicks on a keyboard to program every ANPR camera to automatically check when you entered anywhere in the Schengen area.
Other colour vans are included.
 
mark61 said:
No, doesn't mean that.
Just means if Spain changes it's rules, and you travelled throughout Schengen for longer than allowed, you would then leave through Spain.

Although, if the impression is that you travel through Schengen without being monitored, then there's nothing to stop you entering and leaving via France and saying you spent most of your time in Spain.

I've certainly had passport checks within Schengen, so anyone staying longer than allowed is taking a chance.
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Article dated November 2023
Think this was covered in a previous thread ?
Conclusion then was that Schengen members were bound by terms of treaty.
 
mark61 said:
No, doesn't mean that.
Just means if Spain changes it's rules, and you travelled throughout Schengen for longer than allowed, you would then leave through Spain.

Although, if the impression is that you travel through Schengen without being monitored, then there's nothing to stop you entering and leaving via France and saying you spent most of your time in Spain.

I've certainly had passport checks within Schengen, so anyone staying longer than allowed is taking a chance.
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I am surprised you had border checks Mark, that surely defeats the whole purpose of the Schengen. I know during covid the Schengen was to some extent suspended with governments closing their borders. Anyway I don’t see any of this coming off, it’s 90 days for the foreseeable.
 
barryd said:
I'm a member of a group on Facebook thats all about the French Visa and I am pretty sure you can travel to other countries under their six month Visa. In fact I think you can add your 90 days onto the 180. Its a right PIA though to get one. Of course there is an easy solution. Rejoin the single market. Could possibly happen at some stage.
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Yes, I agree Mr Barry.
It may happen but I don't think it will for a multiple of reasons.
(My last contribution got moderated so I thought I'd tone it down a notch this time)🤣
 
merl said:
Yes, I agree Mr Barry.
It may happen but I don't think it will for a multiple of reasons.
(My last contribution got moderated so I thought I'd tone it down a notch this time)🤣
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Yes I saw it before it was moderated. Naughty!

I honestly think by the time they get round to it nobody will really care. Not many will anyway. Things have changed a lot in the past few years.
 
barryd said:
I'm a member of a group on Facebook thats all about the French Visa and I am pretty sure you can travel to other countries under their six month Visa. In fact I think you can add your 90 days onto the 180. Its a right PIA though to get one. Of course there is an easy solution. Rejoin the single market. Could possibly happen at some stage.
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Ok my last post was removed for simply stating I don’t reckon so, and stating why I thought so.
This 90 day rule affects us more than most, and it’s important to many on here.
It’s a real shame when we can’t debate it.
If my post was political, then so is this whole thread.
You can’t debate the 90 day rule without politics, it’s all about politics.
 
barryd said:
I'm a member of a group on Facebook thats all about the French Visa and I am pretty sure you can travel to other countries under their six month Visa. In fact I think you can add your 90 days onto the 180. Its a right PIA though to get one. Of course there is an easy solution. Rejoin the single market. Could possibly happen at some stage.
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You are right Barry, you can travel to other countries under the French 6 months visa. I haven't got a link but someone posted the wording from the French website and it said exactly that. You just have to leave and enter through France to and from UK. I shall be applying for it at the end of the summer.What a PIA, when I used to be a citizen.
 
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