Best way to leave EU with expired visa

2/16/2015 1:19:20 AM

I don’t know precisely what your chances are and I suspect there is no official public statistics on this so that the people who do know would have learned that in the course of their duty and would be reluctant to provide many details on the record. Also, I don’t know Spanish law at all. But I can confirm a few things:

  • Which sanction you can expect is indeed going to depend on the country. The Schengen regulations define what is or isn’t allowed (e.g. the 90 days limit) but not exactly what happens when you break the rules. There is also something called the “Return Directive” and some case law based on it but I don’t think it’s relevant in your situation as there hasn’t been any decision asking you to leave the territory yet.
  • There is a Schengen-wide infrastructure to enforce (re)entry bans called the SIS. This means that if you do get a ban, whether in Spain, in Germany or elsewhere, there will be an entry in a database that consular posts abroad and border checkpoints of all countries in the Schengen area (including Germany) can access.
  • There are wide disparities between countries in how they use the SIS. Informal sources suggested to me that Germany almost systematically issues reentry bans for any infringement to the law on entry and stay and accounts for a large portion of the “unwanted alien” alerts in the SIS so they do seem very strict about it.
  • Spain does appear to make only limited use of “unwanted alien” alerts (i.e. entry bans). Those stats are now over 10 years old and many things have changed in Spain since then but in 2003, there were about 10,000 bans originating in Spain in the database, compared to 300,000 for Germany or Italy, and 50,000 for France or Greece. If you consider the size and the circumstances of the country, they do seem to be very restrained in their use of entry bans.
  • Even if you don’t get a ban, you might still get a hefty fine (several hundred euros).
  • Your overstay will in any case be apparent in your passport because you will get a stamp showing you exited two months late. When you approach them to get a spousal visa (or whatever other plan you have to come back legally), the German consulate in Colombia will be able to see that. It’s not necessarily a deal breaker for spousal visas but could be for other types of visas.
  • In some countries, periods of illegal stay are also a valid reason to refuse naturalisation down the line, even after coming back into the country legally/finding a way to legalize one’s situation. Now, that’s a completely different question and you can’t do anything about it now but I mention this so that other readers realize that even if you don’t get a ban these things can haunt you for a long time.

All in all, this Spanish exit seems worth trying but that’s not enough to be completely out of trouble and there is still a long road ahead in any case. Good luck!

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

Search Posts

Latest posts

Popular posts