Can you extend your Schengen Visa and stay in the EU for more than 90 days? The answer is yes, but it depends! Find out the solution to your situation, and how to apply.

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Can you extend your Schengen Visa and stay in the EU for more than 90 days? Yes you can. But it’s difficult and, as usual, ‘it depends!’

On what?

Here are the complete rules and essential guidelines on how to extend your short stay Schengen Visa, the circumstances under which the extension can be granted, what documents you need, how to apply, and finally tell you about the other ways you can stay in Spain beyond your 90 days. I’m not going to pretend that it’s easy, but under certain emergency circumstances, the possibility is slim, but there.

Does it matter what kind of Schengen Visa I’ve got?

No, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve got the single entry, double entry or multiple entry visa, you can still apply if you have the right reason to do so.

What if you’ve got an EU passport?

Then this doesn’t apply to you. The Schengen visa is only for non-EU citizens, or third country nationals as they’re called. So if you’re British for example, since Brexit you are a third country national, so this is for you.

Do I need a visa just to go on holiday to Europe?

The UK is one of the more than 60 places whose citizens get a visa waiver, so you don’t actually need to apply for anything if you’re going to be staying in the EU for less than 90 days.

But how can you extend a visa if you haven’t got one?

It’s not that you haven’t got one, it’s just that your nationality acts like a ‘virtual visa’, that’s how I like to think of it.

So how I can extend my holiday?

That’s a question I see a lot on social media, and it’s not surprising because there’s so much to see and do in the Schengen area. Every country has it’s rich culture and traditions, I wouldn’t want to leave either. Extending your stay is possible, but it depends on your reasons, and they’re very strict. 

What are the reasons?

The first one is late entry. This is only really for people who need to actually apply for a Schengen Visa rather than the ones who have the visa waiver. Basically if you don’t manage to enter the Schengen Area until after the entry date on your visa, you can apply for an extension at the end to cover the days you missed at the beginning. This is probably the easiest one to get.

What’s the next reason for an extension?

Force Majeure! This is when something major and unexpected has happened in your home country prior to your visa expiring, such as a conflict or a war, or even violent protests across the country, extreme weather conditions, or no flight connections because of consecutive earthquakes or other major reasons. 

How long is the extension?

It could be for a few weeks, or until the situation changes for the better. If it carries on, you can apply for a visa renewal in order to remain in the Schengen Area.

Any other reasons?

Yes, the next way to get a short stay visa extension is for Humanitarian Reasons to prevent or overcome hardship for third country nationals. For example, if you need to continue receiving urgent medical treatment, or take part in a funeral after the sudden death of a family member, or to give support to someone close to you who’s going through hardship.

Next reason

Important personal reasons! This is the most risky one to apply for, because your definition of important is probably quite different from theirs. You could still give it a try if you have an emergency and there’s no other option, but don’t get your hopes up and rely on it. If you have some unfinished business abroad, or there’s an unplanned wedding there (it could be yours or a relative’s) then it’s within the rules that you may apply, but like I say, getting this extension is far from certain. The immigration authorities will decide whether or not to grant it on a case to case basis.

So just remember you can’t extend your holiday without a very strong reason. But there are ways you can stay in Spain, for example, after the 90 days.

How do I do that?

I’ll tell you in a minute. But first let’s find out how to apply for the Schengen Visa extension and what documents you need.

First, decide what reason you’re giving.

When should I apply?

It must be before the expiration date of your visa, or in your case, before your total of 90 days in any 180 day period is up. Make sure you use a Schengen Visa calculator that works, like THIS ONE. Best thing to do is apply a week in advance of the expiry.

Where do I apply?

It depends on which country you’re in. If you’re in Spain, you’d go to the national police station. You’ll need to check whether you need an appointment depending on whereabouts in Spain you are. Then you should gather together the documents.

What documents do I need?

You will need…

1/ Your passport containing your current visa if applicable, or your entry stamp.

2/ Your application form, modelo EX00, the short stay Schengen Visa extension form. There’s a link HERE to the appropriate page on the National Police’s website. You can download the forms and read the full requirements, conditions and information there.

3/ One photo of you. Make sure it’s the right dimensions and fits the requirements, check HERE for full details.

4/ Proof you have enough income to financially sustain yourself for the proposed length of your extension stay.

5/ Travel Health Insurance which covers the whole Schengen Area for the proposed length of your stay.

6/ Documents which prove the reason you need to stay.

What happens at the appointment?

You’ll be interviewed by an immigration officer who will check your documents and whether your reason is valid, or whether you’re just trying to sneakily extend your holiday.

How much is the fee?

If it’s for humanitarian reasons or Force Majeure, there’s no fee, but if it’s Important Personal Reasons or Late Entry, there is a fee, check the National Police link HERE for the up to date amount.

What about if you have to renew it?

There’s a fee for that too. Check the link above.

Do you get your money back if you’re rejected?

No. 

How long does it take to get a decision? 

Usually only a few days but they say anything up to a month on the website.

What if I go over my 90 days if it takes too long?

That’s okay, you’re allowed to stay while it’s being processed.

So what’s the other way to stay?

Well, it’s not the same as getting an extension on the Schengen visa, it’s more of a way of being allowed to apply to become a resident of Spain while you’re here.

How do I do that?

This is all because of the Entrepreneurs law, which was designed to attract foreign talent and allow online fast track applications while you’re on your 90 days stay, so you can get a resolution in about twenty business days.

What’s the visa called?

There are a few of them – there’s the Golden Visa, the Entrepreneur’s Visa, the Highly Qualified Worker’s Visa, the Intra-Corporate Transfer Visa, The Research Visa, and the Digital Nomad Visa.

Are they easy to get?

It depends! They’re all very different, and none of them can be done on the spur of the moment really, you’d need to plan ahead of your 90 day stay and use the time here wisely. 

How do I find out about them?

I’ve made quite a few videos about them already, and interviewed experts all about how to successfully apply. You can Subscribe to the YouTooSpain YouTube channel to see the list of videos, and contact me if you need help finding any of them.

Anything else I should know?

No, but if you have any questions you can ask below, or you can ask the experts live on Saturday mornings.

Peace & Love. Let’s dance!

Article by Skatz

 

Best Schengen Visa Calculator https://schengensimple.com/