Schengen Area - Plain and Simple. Sort of.

Knackers? "Hiya"? Ballymaloe relish on my chicken club? If you've guessed I am no longer in Spain, you'd be right! Gone are the sunny days and well-dressed Pijos of Seville, I am back in dirty ol' Dublin. Why? A little thing called the Schengen Area. If you're planning on saying goodbye to your cubicle and doing some long term travel in Europe, you should read this.

What's the deal with the Schengen Area?

• The Schengen Area is made up of 26 European countries (see list below)
• Those 26 countries basically act like a single country when it comes to internal travel, making border crossings easy peasy
• As your average Canadian tourist, I am only allowed to spend a total of three months (90 days) out of a six month (180 day) period within the Schengen Area
• That "six month period" I just mentioned begins as soon as I enter one of the countries in the Schengen Area
• You can spend all 90 days in one Schengen Area country, several Schengean Area countries or a mix of Schengen Area countries and non-Schengen Area countries (like Ireland or Turkmenistan). The key here is you can only spend a total of 90 days within a 180 day period. GET IT?

Why I don't dig it
Instead of being able to stay in each of the Schengen Area countries for 90 days, I only get 90 days to spend across ALL 26. For someone who wants to see it all, that just doesn't cut it. Of course, there are ways to extend your time in the Schengen Area but they involve paperwork. C'mon, paperwork?

Example travel scenarios
Example 1:  You fly into Paris on Feb 1. Between now and July 31, you can spend 90 days in the Schengen Area. You decide to spend all of the next 90 days eating Foie Gras and drinking Champagne. That's it, you're time is up. You must spend the next 90 days (until May 1st) out of the Schengen Area before you can legally return.

Example 2: You fly into Amsterdam on March 15. Between now and September 15, you can spend 90 days in the Schengen Area. You spend the next 30 days in the red light district. Yikes. You jump over to Belgium and spend another 30 days drinking beer. Then you catch a cheap-o flight to Turkey (outside of the Schengen Area so that's cool) and spend two weeks in the Baths getting scrubbed clean. Next up, six weeks in Greece. Whoops! Hold on, that's about 114 days in the Schengen Area. You run the risk of getting busted! Better leave for 90 days.

Example 3: You fly into Krakow on August 8. Between now and February 8 (of the next year), you can spend 90 days in the Schengen Area. You spend the next two weeks having the time of your life (because Krakow is the BEE'S KNEES) before catching a flight home. No worries, you're two weeks of debauchery barely made a dent in the 90 days you get in the Schengen Area. Well played.  

Remember!

Burn this into your memory - Once you've hit the 90 day maximum within the 180 day period, leaving for a short time and re-entering the area does not buy you another 90 days. You have to remain outside of the Schengen Area for 90 days before reentering.

So what's the big deal if you overstay your welcome?
In, what seems to be, the unlikey event you even get caught, you may face a) a beating in a windowless back room; b) a 1 - 5 year ban from the Schengen Area or c) an expensive fine. Any of these would make for a bad day.

A list of the 26 Schengen Area Countries

Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece

Hungary Iceland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands

Norway Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland

Want to read more? Wikipedia has loads of info on the Schengen Area

Be aware, I am by no means an expert on this topic so if you have any life or death type questions, your best bet may be to contact a Canadian Embassy.

Salty!