Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WAYS TO EXTEND YOUR STAY PAST NINETY DAYS
Visit both Schengen and non-Schengen countries. The easiest ways to extend your trip past
ninety days is to split your time between Schengen and non-Schengen countries. For example,
once your ninety days has expired in the Schengen Area, travel to the UK, Ireland, or the
many Eastern European countries that aren't part of the agreement. Once you've spent those
ninety days there, you are free to return to the Schengen area for another ninety days. You can
keep repeating this process until you run out of money.
Working holiday visa. Citizens of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have working hol-
iday agreements with many European counties that last between one and two years. These
visas are intended to allow young people (18-35) to work while they travel. There are a few
stipulations, but the visa is relatively easy to obtain. Unfortunately, the United States does not
have a working holiday visa program with any European country. However, there is a com-
pany called BUNAC ( bunac.org ) that sells various programs that allow young people to work,
volunteer, or intern in Britain and Ireland. The programs last between four to twelve months.
Become a student at a European university. Full-time foreign students are granted visas
to complete their studies. There are many university courses taught completely in English
throughout Europe (but your options will increase exponentially if you speak the local lan-
guage). Additionally, a few countries charge foreign students the same tuition as its cit-
izens—which can be as low as a few hundred Euros a year. Once you have a visa, you are free
to move around any EU country without hassle. It isn't exactly uncommon for students to pay
the super cheap tuition, get their student visa, but just travel and never actually go to school.
There are many full-time foreign language courses throughout Europe that will enable you
to get a student visa—this is a nice option if you want to learn a foreign language and travel on
the weekends and holidays. These courses normally don't follow the same tuition guidelines as
normal European universities so they're more expensive. For example, the intensive twenty-
five-hour/week French language course through the Sorbonne University in Paris will cost
about $4,000 for a semester. However, student visa holders are often entitled to work twenty
hours/week. There are many options available throughout Europe but you'll have to scour the
web.
Long-term tourist visa. Some countries offer a long-term tourist visa generally valid for
one year. The process for applying for a long-term tourist visa is complicated and can take
months to get approved. I know France is one country that will allow you to apply for a one-
year visa; however, you need to have a lot of money in the bank and you won't have work-
ing rights. The French consulate never specifies how much money you need to have in sav-
ings but most people speculate it's around $30,000. Additionally, you have to satisfy a list of
other requirements that a large majority won't fulfill. The French Consulate of San Francisco
( consulfrance-sanfrancisco.org ) does a pretty good job of keeping information up to date (but
requirements seem to change often).
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