Schengen Rules - Clarification Needed

[Aqualibra]

Thanks for the various responses, all.

[Alistair242]

Originally Posted by HenrikH

Begs the question: why would you want to sail in the Med without going ashore?

Travelling this way you can go ashore but not stay overnight ashore. We are going to be there later this year and hope to check into the Schengen zone the same way.
Boat can stay 18 months before VAT is due and one day out will reset the clock.
Hope this works. The Schengen shuffle makes it difficult to cruise the the Med.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by HenrikH

Begs the question: why would you want to sail in the Med without going ashore?

I think the people in the video can go ashore, they just cannot stay ashore overnight according to what I remember in the video.

[SV Coronado]

I have cruised the Med and have first-hand experience dealing with Schengen. Every Customs official will tell you something different. I firmly believe that most don't really know the law or choose to enforce it their own way. At the end of the day, there are no loopholes. It's 90 days in, 90 days out. Some countries are more strict than others. In general, Port Customs seem to be a bit more laid back, but not at the airports or train stations. There have been plenty of cases where people have overstayed their 90 days, only to have their mother call and say, "I'm dying; you need to fly home now!" and they get busted trying to leave the country at the airport. This topic has been discussed in-depth on many of the popular Med cruising groups.

BTW, if in doubt, the EU website has a Schengen calculator to help you determine when you're out of time.

[Bazil 1705]

Hi everyone
If you are cruising the Med and you are a UK citizen does any official bother checking when you check out of a port to see if you have unofficially checked back in again, say just round the corner for instants, like the Greek islands.
Apparently the Spanish are turning a blind eye to people who overstay their 90 days, not sure about the French.
For instance you can spend 90 days in any 180 days, but if you are a cruising person checking in and out for instance, or tied up in some nice cove for a few days, It's going to take an awful lot of policing to check on all these yachties.

All comments welcome.
Barry

[boatman61]

The maritime police do random checks in anchorages and I have been checked at sea by Italian and French patrol boats.. its your choice.

[Rigdaddy]

Originally Posted by HenrikH

Begs the question: why would you want to sail in the Med without going ashore?

It seems that you can go ashore, you just can't stay ashore overnight.

[more]

FIRST MUST REMEBER ALL
i am eu citizen,eu passport,eu schengen contry.
i leave outside border by,foot,bike,walk,running,car,boat,train,airplane, hot ballon space craft,anithing moving.

my ID card,pasport is scanned on boarder mchine and check in eu/state database. if not eletric or server down i can return home. end story

for other her you can go on land not stay,or similar is joke. or crew comercial ship filipino can go on land,yes if have visa,no visa no land some law like in usa. if sailor crew from not eu/usa want go on ship for work ,before come in eu/usa must have visa. in usa shiping company must arange bus for transport crew from new york airport to florida(ussualy)

- for croatia 100%
coming from no schengen country ,first go to closest dedicatet spot. night,day,storm,not storm. forbidden anchor,stop,slow down. fine from 1000€ to seize boat easy.when you dock 8.00 in morning captain go to border police under 5 minute,if not go under 10 minute you have thousand case 1000-3000€ fine also in monte negro similar + in monte negro 1000€ fine speed limit in kotor bay .

all adriatic italy and croatia is radar cover with huge 3 big screen in my time,today is sort AI.

[more]

Originally Posted by Aqualibra

I'm looking for clarification regarding the Schengen rules as it relates to crew of a sailboat in transit. I recently saw a YT video of a non-EU couple who confirmed that they did not have to clear customs and immigration when entering into Italy because they were considered "in transit" and staying onboard their vessel. However, they were required to report their vessel's arrival with respective port captains. As a consequence, they were able to cruise throughout the many Schengen countries of the Mediterranean for longer than the oft quoted 90 day limit. They were forbidden from staying at accommodations ashore, but were able to take day trips inland and spend freely wherever they went. Can anyone please confirm if this is usual practice as there is a lot of commentary and consternation about what is allowed.
Thank you

for me croatian citizen,now,before in ex you also .go to italy with boat be simply go,go ashore becouse italy dont have this custom dock for yacht. ussualy guardia finaca stop somtime couple miles from shore. today i need only italian insurancy couple milion i forget exact number but is high.now schengen is ugly beast,totaly some coming with boat,airplane,car,walk.entry in shengen 1 milisecond or 90 days your id must be scanned and save on server

[Bazil 1705]

Cheers for that.
Barry

[K_V_B]

I think one should be careful here. What is being described here is taking advantage of facilities that exist for professional seamen. And in order to do so you need to get a seaman's book. You may eventually encounter an official that quesions if you obtained that legally, and that could land you in deep trouble. Overstaying is one thing. Committing fraud is another...

[dannc]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

I think one should be careful here. What is being described here is taking advantage of facilities that exist for professional seamen. And in order to do so you need to get a seaman's book. You may eventually encounter an official that quesions if you obtained that legally, and that could land you in deep trouble. Overstaying is one thing. Committing fraud is another...

Yes.

When I watched the video months ago, I felt that they were, at best, pushing the regulations to the limit, if not breaking the regulations. The way they got the paperwork done seemed unusual.

There are just too many ways what they did could get one in trouble and the penalties can be severe.

[Dockhead]

In a matter of months the Schengen countries will implement first EES, then ETIAS, and strict enforcement of the 90/180 rule will be centralized and automated. There will no longer be anywhere to hide.


Note that Spain, Italy and France all have bilateral agreements with the U.S., which give U.S. citizens an extra 3 months in each country when you've otherwise exhausted your Schengen days. There are similar agreements in place for Kiwis, Antipodeans, Canadians, etc. In the Med it's not that hard to stay legal; all the more since there are some fabulous non-Schengen destinations including Turkey, Morocco, Croatia, etc.


Yet another approach, in case you want to concentrate on one country, is a long-stay visa. This is fairly straightforward to get for France; maybe also for Italy. Then you can stay for a year in that country with 90/180 in other Schengen countries.


Pretending to be a pro seaman is a very, very bad idea, which can lead to serious problems.

[Shaneesprit]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

If you overstay the Schengen time limit, you can be fined.


I have also read about a boat being arrested, but I think that was just one nasty officer who had a bad day.


Send an email to the administration of the country in question. Schengen rules are applied with various degree of strictness by each participating country. Some are lax, some are not.



b.

EU are clamping down on lax enforcement, for anyone who has possessions, the system is going electronic.

I know someone who had a 5 figure fine, and it comes with a temporary ban as well!
It was Germany - They even stamped my passport when I had a resident visa for another country in the Schengen which made it look like I had stayed when I was only in transit for about 20mins between planes.

if you overstay a visa stamped in your passport the ban can be permanent or double digit years.

I would say that as long as the stamps in your Passport don’t show you in the Schengen for more than the 90days, so if they stamp you in be sure you get stamped out.

One way i extend my time in countries (for work not sailing) including outside of the EU is to ensure you arrive 15mins past midnight and leave as late as possible on the day of travel. Then if you zigzag in and out of the country every other week, use the surrounding countries it could probably be endless.

[rubberduck]

I think it best said "it's fine until it's not". There is really no way around Schengen rules for private citizens. If you say you're working that could open up a whole host of problems for the vessel's owner. But again, people get away with this stuff all the time.

I had friends from the US who had never checked into Europe. About a year in I convinced them it was the right thing to do so they went to the local police station. Its was all okay but again... "its fine until its not" and you end up with a massive fine or jail time.