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Schengen visa question

166
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 June 2016 - 11:08

Hello!

We have 2 x staff members with multiple entry Schengen visas that expire on 31 JUL 2016.

They need to travel to France and Spain on 10 JUL 2016, returning to UAE 31 AUG 2016.

Am I correct in saying that even though a portion of their time in the Schengen area will be after their expiry date (31 JUL), the fact that they entered the Schengen area (10 JUL) i.e. before their expiry date, means they will be fine if they need to cross from France to Spain or vice versa.

When I speak to the VFS/Schengen helpline people they basically reply with stock answers that don't help, or they just can't answer me at all. Earlier this morning one of the agents actually said "We don't know the consequences of this scenario" What? You're the Schengen visa helpline! How do you not know the answer to this question?

Anyway, does anyone have an experience of this?

166
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 23 June 2016 - 13:21
Thank you for your reply, Lettie, but wow...talk about conflicting information! We regularly re-apply for Schengens whilst the old ones are still valid (because they only give domestic workers 3 x month validity) and have never had a problem. However after doing a bit of Googling it's apparent that as the rules regarding Schengen are "not harmonized" yet, different countries have different rules AND different immigration/passport control agents enforce those rules differently. For example one couple said they got fined somewhere when exiting the Schengen area on an expired visa (despite, like my example, they did actually enter Schengen on a valid visa) but one guy is saying in Amsterdam they were more "laid back" and didn't fine him or even query him on the fact that he was exiting Schengen (returning back to UK) on an expired visa. So, I guess it's just pot luck! I'll be reapplying for their visas just in case though.. *sigh*
300
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 23 June 2016 - 11:47
We were in a similar situation last year. The visa was expiring while we were supposed to be in Europe (2 different countries). We applied for a new visa beforehand, but didn't hear anything from VFS again. Two days before our travel was suppose to start, we phoned VFS about it and they referred us to the embassy. The embassy informed us that they can't issue a new visa while the old one was still valid and that you can travel on the old one that was expiring during the travel period. They were holding the passport with the new visa back until the old one expired, that was the reason we didn't get it back. We didn't have any problems, but then again, it was last year, so can't say for sure it is still valid.
 
 

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