What should you do if you’re in a country and you overstay a tourist visa? Should you get in touch with local immigration for a visa overstay forgiveness or keep your head down and hope for the best?
These are questions that have confronted many travelers over the years and the answers to them will largely depend on individual choice as well as the country in question.
UPDATED MAY 2020 :
With the recent happenings in Europe and around the world and after receiving so many comments and emails asking for more help and info regarding overstayed visas I've updated the post significantly with a lot more information as well as country specific details which you can find at the end.
Make sure you keep your visa and passport safe (an RFID passport wallet like the one I own is a great idea), and watch for destination specific recommendations regarding Covid 19.
Also, if you have dual citizenship read this post on how to travel with two passports to avoid any problems you may have.
What is a Visa?
Before explaining how to deal with an overstayed visa, let’s start at the very start: what is a visa, anyway? First, no, a visa is not your credit card!
Rather, a visa is simply some kind of document proving authorization for entry to a specific country
It's something like the temporary green card that you get in the US to avoid an unlawful presence status.
Visas come in all sorts of sizes and formats, but the most tylical is a passport page size paper with the travel permit. To enter Vietnam you have to have your visa ready prior to arrival, or requested and waiting for you.
For anyone wondering, the word itself comes from the Latin charta visa, which just means “a seen paper”. Throughout history, visas have taken all kinds of different forms, ranging from small stamps to massive, full form letters.
Nowadays, most visas are stickers placed inside your passport by immigration or diplomatic officials.
The image above is a perfect example of a typical, full page sized visa.
However, it’s worth noting that not all visas look like this. As mentioned earlier, some can be nothing more than a small stamp.
Yet just because someone stamps your passport at an airport it doesn’t necessarily mean you have a visa, and certainly does not make you a lawful permanent resident.
For example, most countries will stamp your visa when you enter and exit – but neither of these stamps are visas, they’re just records of your comings and goings. Confusing, right?
Generally, most countries you visit will require a visa. Some of these might be automatically granted on arrival, others might require a small fee on entry, and others still could require extensive application processes before you even leave your home country.
For example, the small Gulf state of Qatar will happily sell you a visa on arrival, and just charge the fee to your credit card.
On the other hand, United States travelers bound for Bolivia can get a visa on arrival, but need a hotel reservation and evidence of solvency.
On the other side of the world, Algeria has somewhat stricter policy, where you’ll need to apply before leaving home, and need supporting documents including a letter from an Algerian endorsing you.
Meanwhile, China also requires US visitors apply for a visa before departure, and failure to do so could mean Chinese officials will pretty much turn you around on arrival.
Yet one country over, US travelers can stay in Japan for up to 90 days without any visa whatsoever!
Put simply, no two countries are the same. Many common tourist destinations do offer visa waiver programs, others will sell visas on arrival, and other countries still will require lengthy application processes ahead of time.
The lesson here is to never assume anything; whatever country you’re visiting you’re going to have to play by their rules, whether you're there with a tourist visa, student visa, or something else.
I took this picture right after getting my Cambodia tourist visa
You might think that the European Union has a single policy on passports and visa requirements but this is unfortunately not the case.
Twenty six members of the EU have signed the Schengen Agreement which allows free movement without passport controls or the requirement for a visa within what is called the Schengen Area.
Ireland and the United Kingdom are the only EU countries outside the Schengen Area, which also includes four countries outside the European Union—Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (Ireland and the UK have their own common travel area).
What is a Tourist Visa, Specifically?
This brings us to another important question: what is a visitor visa, also known as a tourist visa?
As we’ve already mentioned, visas come in all shapes and sizes. However, they also come with different benefits and immigration law attached to them.
Common categories of visas include work, transit, temporary/ permanent residency, humanitarian/ refugee, and of course, tourism.
Each of these visas has a very different purpose.
For example, a transit visa might only allow a traveler to remain in a country for a very short period of time, such as 24 or 48 hours. A temporary residency visa might allow a much longer stay, but limit a traveler’s ability to work.
Generally speaking, tourist visas give visitors free movement within a country, but are restrictive in terms of work or other activities.
Think of it this way: the host country is effectively offering you the privileged to engage in tourism, and that’s pretty much all.
So, don’t assume you can work (paid or unpaid), do anything political, teach, or participate in any activity in an official capacity.
Some countries are extremely relaxed about their tourist visas, and in reality won’t mind if you do some volunteer work or take up some study during your trip (such as a language course).
On the other hand, other countries can be extremely strict. Again, the point is to remember every country has its own set of rules. Having said that, there are some general trends when it comes to tourist visas.
Most tourist visas (and visa waiver programs) grant travelers somewhere between 30 and 90 days of entry.
It’s also safe to assume you won’t be allowed multiple entry/ exits on the same visa, meaning you’ll have to get a new visa each time you cross an international border.
How Do "They" Know if You Overstay Your Visa?
To put it simply, most of the time authorities don't know exactly who has overstayed a visa and who has not (see this New York Times article on this topic). Immigration authorities usually get this information from airlines, but countries like Spain and USA don't always stamp passports upon entry or exit, so they can't know when you left.
Same thing if you enter by air and leave overland
This can lead to visitors being able to play with their status, but where you are plays a huge roll. Try entering or leaving Gaza without your passport checked.
Valid Reasons for Overstaying a Visa
Most people are law abiding and have perfectly good intentions, but sometimes life has a way of complicating things.
There’s all kinds of reasons why a traveler might overstay a visa, ranging from a missed bus trip to a serious injury, or just plain old complacency.
In other cases, you may not notice that you’re living in a country on a visa overstay for quite some time.
Jails in some countries can be like this, or worse.
It is normally only when you leave and try to reenter a country that problems arise, usually at passport control.
Turning up at passport control when you’ve overstayed a tourist visa can lead to either a refusal of entry or having to pay a large penalty fee depending on the country you’re visiting. It can also lead to further problems in the future.
For example, overstaying a visa in the US can make it extremely difficult to return.
Likewise, wearing out your welcome in an EU/Schengen Area country might make it difficult to visit other countries within the same bloc.
At the end of the day there are no real valid reasons for overstaying a visa that will get you off the hook just because you mention them, but pregnancy issues, an accident or an assault that results in body harm requiring hospitalization is usually convincing enough, at least for some time.
Seeking political asylum is not in itself a valid reason, but it can delay your departure for some time if you pursue this route.
This is how the EU is organized visa-wise more or less. Note that because of Brexit, the UK is no longer part of the EU.
Visa Overstay Penalty
The penalty for overstaying a visa can have lifelong consequences. In some countries you may face prison (India), huge penalty fees (most countries) or being banned from returning (USA).
What happens at the end of the day though depends mostly on how you fix your situation, and the smallest detail of your behavior will impact the final outcome.
This leads to an often asked question: is overstaying a visa a crime?
Overstaying in the Schengen Area
So what happens if you find yourself in a Schengen Area or EU country saying “I overstayed my tourist visa!” And more importantly, what should you do to avoid problems now and in the future?
The answers will vary from individual to individual and from country to country. It can also depend on how long you have overstayed your tourist visa.
Many travelers from North America and the European Union inadvertently find themselves in countries on an overstayed immigrant visa simply because there is no requirement to obtain a visa before you enter.
It can therefore be very easy to overstay without even realizing that you are doing so.
In other cases, you may not notice that you’re living in a country on an overstayed tourist visa for quite some time. It is normally only when leave and try to reenter a country that problems arise, usually at passport control.
Turning up at passport control when you’ve overstayed on tourist visa usually leads to either
- a refusal of entry or
- having to pay a large penalty fee depending on the country you’re visiting.
It can also lead to further problems if you try to visit that country (USA) or another in the EU/Schengen Area in the future.
Many US travelers end up on an overstayed tourist visas because they don’t realize that you can only be in the Schengen area for 90 out of each 180 days before you need to apply for visa renewal.
Even if you’ve previously remained in a country on an overstayed you may still be allowed reentry if you’ve got a return ticket, a valid reason for entry and the period you overstayed on your last visit wasn’t more than a few weeks.
Having said that, it is obviously still better if you don’t overstay in the first place and if you do overstay apply for visa renewal as soon as you realize that you need to.
Overstaying Outside the European Union
Outside of the European Union, the procedures for dealing with travelers with overstayed tourist visas vary considerably. In some cases, penalties can be minor or pretty much non existent.
In other cases, an overstayed tourist visa can become a nightmare and you need to find a provisional waiver asap. In general, there are three main types of penalties you can expect to encounter if you overstay a tourist visa.
Deportation
The first is simple deportation, which isn’t a big deal. This is because as mentioned earlier, visa problems typically arise during arrival or departure. So, if you’re already leaving a country, then deportation probably doesn’t sound all that scary, right?
Under most circumstances, it isn’t, though things can get complicated quickly. The biggest question is often who will pay for your flight? This varies a lot depending on the country, but again, there’s a few general rules.
If you get denied entry on arrival, it’s typically the responsibility of your airline to get you off the country’s doorstep. The company might just put you on the next flight home, or charge you an additional fee.
Under most other circumstances, a country will do everything it can to make the deportee pay the cost of their flight home.
If you can’t pay, they’ll attempt to contact your family, and make them pay. When all else fails, it’s possible the country will just buy you a ticket to get you out of their hair, but this shouldn’t be relied on.
In some circumstances, if nobody can pay, then you might face prosecution. In other extreme cases, you might simply be thrown across the closest border, and left to fend for yourself.
This is actually more common than you may think, and even countries like the US have done this to people in some unusual cases.
Fines
Other countries might impose fines. These usually aren’t too onerous; for example, fifty pesos ($12) in Argentina.
Similarly in Southeast Asia, the cost of overstaying a visa may be initially just a fine of a few dollars but could be an issue if you want to return to the country in the future.
Many countries might also charge additional fines for every day you overstay.
So, a one day overstay might not be a big deal, but being on an overstayed visa for 10 years could seriously hurt your bank balance and any chance of getting any visa overstay forgiveness document.
Future Problems
Even after you’ve been removed from the country, you might still face penalties down the track.
Many countries will impose future travel restrictions on travelers who have a history of overstaying visas, meaning you might struggle to return in the future.
An overstayed visa can also make it extremely difficult to apply for different visas, such as a work permit or residency.
Arrest and Prison
The highest penalties for visa overstays include arrest and the extreme hardship of prison time. This is extremely unusual for short overstays though, and normally only an issue in the most highly strung of countries like North Korea.
However, extremely long overstays can still be a problem in even the most welcoming of countries.
While an overstay of one or two days might earn you nothing more than an understanding smile at departure, months or years of living illegally in a country will almost certainly land you in a questioning room.
Passport stamps are not visas, but they are the only proof you'll have the you have entered the country legally. Make sure you request the officer to stamp your passport if he appears to forget doing so.
Authorities will want to know what you’ve been doing, and why you’ve overstayed your visa for so long. If you don’t have any good answers, then don’t assume you’ll be let off easy.
Countries like India are known to become a nightmare for long term overstaying visitors, and at some point you may want to contact a law firm to get specific legal advice from an immigration attorney.
The Secret to Obtain a Visa Overstay Forgiveness
Typically, if you do the right thing, nobody will give you any problems.
Under most circumstances, it is only if you’ve overstayed a tourist visa in the past and then have to apply for a pre-entry visa – for example if you want to travel to a country to work or study rather than as a tourist – that you are likely to experience more than routine problems obtaining authorization.
One important point to make is that resolving visa issues can often come down to the discretion of border or diplomatic officials.
So if you are caught overstaying a visa, be polite and patient. Acting reasonably and calmly can go a long way for an adjust status, especially if you’re trying to convince a border official that your overstay was just an honest mistake.
In a nutshell, there is no secret.
So to reiterate, the best advice is simple: check how long your tourist visa allows you to stay in a country (or, if you are visiting the European Union outside the UK and Ireland, in the Schengen Area) and stick to it.
If you’re overstaying for a few days only, you’ll probably be OK. If you know you won’t be returning to the country, you might want to take your chances.
But if you want to stay longer than you had intended in the country you are visiting, it is always much better to apply for a unlawful presence waiver than to remain on an overstayed tourist visa or have to get a visa overstay forgiveness.
That’s the only way to ensure that you won’t be denied entry or encounter other problems on your travels round the world in the future.
Country Specific Recommendations
To further help you out I've created the following sections for some specific countries. This information has been obtained from official government pages, and in some cases I called consulates to get it from a reliable source.
What to do if you overstay your Philippines visa
What to do if you overstay your USA visa
What to do if you overstay your Malaysia visa
Useful links for Immigration Related Questions
Have you overstayed a tourist visa? What did you do or are you going to do? What happened to you? Share your story with us in the comments section below, ask any question you might have, and please share this post if you liked it!
Hello I am Tess from the Philippines and in 2011 I took all my savings and gave it to a Philippine work agency. Me and 3 other women were send with a tourist visa to China. When we got there they told us that we would get a working visa in the days to come. Time passed and nothing, so we tried to call the agency for updates and to our surprise the agency took our money and disappeared. Now me in my situation (mother of four with some young children with a runaway father, With no money, nobody to help me and 4 mouths to feed, send to school etc… I had no choice but to stay and find work to provide. So after 6 years of overstayed I met my new life partner Sylvain from Canada working in China. I asked him if he could wait for me for a year because my youngest was still in school (all the others were done with school and working). He told me NO I cannot wait instead I will help you for that last year. So I gave myself up to the Chinese authorities, they were nice and understanding and I was send back home. Sylvain met me in the Philippines and I renewed all my papers and my passport. After all papers were ok we travelled to a few countries as Trustes House Sitters active members (volunteers taking care of pets while owners are away). We went to Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka etc… We always respect our visa limits. The only time was China and I was a victim of a scam. Since Sylvain and I have been together we applied 3 times only for a visit visa to New Brunswick Canada where our house is and I have been denied 3 times. The visa agency says that the China incident is probably why they refuse. 7 years later My question : can I get a pardon document from the Chinese government or something. I would like to finally be able to live the rest of my life with Sylvain anywhere also in Canada
Tank you for your help
Hello Tess, first of all I’m very sorry for taking as long to reply. I was not aware of your message. Also, I’m sorry you had to go through all this mess.
It is probably that the China issue is causing this problem, though honestly it should not mind Canada as it had nothing to do with them. Frankly I don’t think a pardon letter from China will help, as it is Canada who is giving you trouble. You can always try though.
This said, have you considered getting married? This page and others might help you https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/spouse-partner-children/eligibility.html
I’m sorry I can’t help much more, but hopefully this guides you a bit? Let me know how things go if you can/ want.
Thanks for getting in touch!
Thanks for spending time to write on visa overstay & forgiveness. I missed my flight from the US to Ghana on November 14 due to unforeseen circumstances. I was rebooked for a flight a week later on November 22. My tourist visa expired on November17. I tried to contact US immigration to inform them but was not successful.
Your write-up gave me a lot of comfort since the infraction was only for a few days and through no fault of mine.
Hello! Thank you for writing this article. I hope you get a chance to read & reply to this question 🙂 I went to Israel with my boyfriend who is Jewish, and we over stayed our 90 day visa by quite a bit. We arrive on November 8th 2021 and left Israel on November 13th 2022 so we overstayed for 9 months – this was because my boyfriend was there for business purposes and was Jewish so had nothing to worry about. Me on the other hand, who is not yet Jewish had anxiety the entire trip we were there – I attempted to submit a tourist visa extension but was unable to. We also left via cruise and nothing was said to us. I would like to come back there in November, but am not sure at all what may happen. Do you have any experience in Israeli Border Control?
Oh my goodness Marina, I’m so sorry I missed your email gosh 🙁 Visa-wise, if you are planning on going back you should be fine as they did not tell you anything. However, given current events I suppose you’ll be skipping your trip. Again, I’me very sorry for missing your email; it was burried beneath spam messagages.
Hello, I overstayed in Spain for 15 days unfortunately because I didn’t count my days right. But I didn’t go through passport check there, but in Germany when I had a flight to my homeland Bosnia. It was an honest mistake and they told me they will send a mail to my address with decision from, I guess immigration lawyer. They also told me that I can return to Schengen in august and maybe I will be forgiven or have some fines to pay. And they again mention that I can return back in August. so what do you think, will i be able to come back to Schengen and how big those fines could be? And also, another question. My husband is a professional basketball player who has work visa in Spain and will probably stay there for another year. If I get banned or something, or won’t be able to ever get ”family” visa (or how to you call that when you get visa because of your spouse just so you can be together) will I be able to do something about that and ask for forgiveness or contact somebody to explain them my situation so I would be able to be with my husband in Schengen’s countries? Please help ????????
Hello.
So I was traveling to Poland and my Visa was valid for 9 days. My return flight was on 10th day. Like 6 hours after the visa expires. It was an Erasmus+ project and tickets were bought by the organizers. So me and my friends overstayed for 6 hours and during the passport control officer told us that we overstayed for 1 day but this time its ok. Will it cause any difficulties in the future?
Hi David! I’m quite sure you’ll be fine, you were late only for a few hours. I hope you enjoyed that party!
Hi Federico,
Thank you for the informative website, and the work you put into helping people answer their visa questions.
You've probably received this question multiple times before, so please forgive me, but I am wondering if my situation might be different given the fact that I am not from (what would be considered) as first world country. I am from South Africa with a South African passport.
I recently traveled to German entering the Schengen region via Switzerland, I unintentionally overstayed my visa by 7 days. I feel stupid admitting this because I have traveled to Germany/Europe a few times (I even studied for my Master's in Germany) but I have never overstayed my visa. I was given a visa valid from 26.12.2022 to 24.01.2023 but with a 15-day limit. I can't even explain how my brain did not register the 15-day limit, the only explanation I can come up with is that my previous visas had no such limit so I just assumed that I was given a visa similar to previous visas (I've learned my lesson on paying attention). Having traveled on 27.12.2022 I thought I was allowed to stay until 24.01.2023. I only discovered that I had overstayed when I arrived at the Swiss border on my return – 19.01.2023. So even though I overstayed the total number of days on my visa, I didn't overstay the period in which my visa was actually valid. I explained to the border control that it was an honest mistake and I thought I could stay until 24.01.2023. I was asked to fill in a form that confirmed that I acknowledged my overstay, and notifying me that I would likely be issued a fine and/or a ban. The border official said that I would get a fine as I was leaving but didn't elaborate further. I haven't received the letter just yet, they said it could take about 2 months. That said I have 3 questions:
1. How likely is it that I would get a ban?
2. I was hoping to travel back to Europe in June 2023 again, and (assuming I don't get a ban, but only a fine as the official said) I was wondering if they will likely deny my next tourist visa?
3. Would it make any difference if I applied for my next visa before the letter arrives and the fine is paid? There is no obvious stamp on my passport that indicates that I overstayed my visa, just the entry, and exit dates.
I know it's premature to ask these questions without knowing what the official outcome is, but I am hoping that I only have to pay a fine and I am working on this assumption to make future decisions.
I hope to hear from you soon, and thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
Hi Thuli, what a bummer with this mistake, but it happens. Your case seems pretty normal to me, so with this in mind let me reply to your questions:
1) I find it very unlikely. It would actually make no sense.
2) To be honest I don’t know, but I also find it highly unlikely that they will deny your next tourist visa.
3) I also think that you might probably not even get the fine they suggested. I would wait, as you don’t want to waste your money, but as soon as those 60 days have gone by just apply for the visa. Please not that this is my opinion, but truth is that most of the results of these situations ultimately depend on the mood of people/officials and it seems that the officer you spoke with didn’t have a day that was too bad.
Hope this helps, let us know how it went!
Hi!
I’m in a bit of a situation and wanted to ask your advice.
I’m a British citizen living in Spain, with my Spanish partner. We’ve been applying the last couple months for the EU Family Member permit for me to allow me to stay, however it hasn’t been accepted yet and I have to return to the UK for work in 2 weeks time.
We hired a lawyer, she informed immigration of my overstay before my 90 days finished, we’ve done our Pareje de hecho and are just waiting for my acceptance.
Do you think I’ll have problems when I leave? Such as fines or a ban? Or will it have a negative affect on my Family Member application?
At the point of leaving I think will have over stayed around 6 weeks.
I want to come back to visit and work remotely from here, with the eventual goal of living here permanently!
Let me know what you think!
Cheers,
Gus
Hey Gus, sorry for taking as long to respond. I was traveling spending Christmas with family and totally missed your question. By now you probably already had something happen. Frankly I don’t think you will have problems when you leave- or had them already. Spain’s customs is quite lax and the reason for your overstay and your waiting should be proof enough. I recommend you bring some kind of paperwork proving that you submitted the Pareja de hecho documents and I think you’ll be fine. Cheers!
Hi, I am an indian cirtizen. i was on student visa in spain ( TIE expired on 31.05.2022) but i took a flight on 10.07.2022 ( as i applied the program and waiting for the result and was in a notion to be in spain legally 90 days after expiry of TIE) i was coming back without realizing that the passport offical in madrid will ask any question but he asked me to show the TIE and then he told me that it was expired on 31.05.2022. and i explained him the cause of overstay. He stamped the passport and let me go without any penalties and overstayed stamped.
Now my question is that i got selected for masters in portugal university, i had submitted all the documents. My question is the above issue will create any issue in my future visa issuance.
Hi Abhinav, thanks for getting in touch and sorry for taking as long to answer, I have been traveling the past 3 weeks. Reading your explanation I think you will be fine and if I were you I would not worry much about it as the university has given you the green light. Hope this helps!
My parents overstayed by a day. Is it ok to contact the officials myself here in germany. We miscalculated the number of days days overlooking the two 31 days months July and august. What would be the consequences?
Hi Sam, where did you overstay? Some countries are a lot more lenient than others… if it is Germany, and depending on the passport you have you should be alright (that’s my opinion anyhow). Good luck!
I overstayed my visa in 2019 for 3 months(July 31 2019- 0ct 30 2019), but more than half of the month was me waiting for my visa result. Let me explain. So my VISA expired on the 31st of July 2019, and then I unknowingly applied for a leave to remain in the UK as a tier 4 student on the 30th of august 2019. Which was a month late. So I waited a while for my visa result to come out, and it took a while to come out, so this prolonged my stay as an overstayer. My Visa result came out on the 21st Oct 2019 and was refused, rightly so because I overstayed my Tier 4 student Visa. I didn't know I was an overstayer and I'm aware I don't have a good reason. So I've got a few questions
1) DId I overstay my visa for 3 months or 1 month? I was a fair overstayer for one month, but then I applied to remain in the UK, and was waiting for the result to come out for about 1.5 months. Which prolonged my stay as an overstayer. Had my visa come earlier, I wouldn't have overstayed for 3 months
2) It's been 3 years since this happened. I was underraged the whole time I did my course(my course was International Foundation year, hence why I was given a one year visa because that's the duration to complete the course), but then turned 18 in June. I am 21 now and much more mature and have a strong sense of accountability and want to begin my undergraduate course. It was difficult to get CAS from UK unis because I was an overstayer. I luckily found a UK university that gave me a CAS(Which they refused at first, but then I explained why I overstayed and what I was doing the whole time I was in the UK), they gave me the CAS.
I am about to book my visa application now, Is it possible for me to be forgiven despite not having a "good reason"? Like I said, it's been 3 years since it happened. Anything to help me? I didn't intend to overstay my visa initially. I was ignorant and someone with little travel experience. I'm Nigerian and I only travelled to one other country, whic is Dubai back in 2011, I was 10 at that time. Pls help me. Can the UK forgive me If I explain myself? And do they forgive people for overstaying, especially since it happened 3 years ago.
Thank you for your time, i am looking forward to your reply
Hi David,
Thanks for taking the time to ask these questions. I will answer to the best of my ability, but please note I am not a lawyer and sometimes (very often) the outcome of immigration situations depends a lot on the mood of the authority figure you deal with. This said:
1) I would think it is 1.5 month. But that is enough to overstay for quite some time.
2) As mentioned at the beginning , this seems to be a case where it will depend a lot on what the person you deal with feels like doing. It’s been three years, you have been admitted to a University, and you do not say you’ve been told you’re going to be banned or something, so in my personal opinion I think you will be fine.
Best if lucks and please let me know!
Federico
Hello, I live in France, my boyfriend is from the UK. We met here in France when he was visiting and he ended up wanting to stay here as long as possible. As the end of his tourist stay was approaching and nearly there we realized he had lost his passport. We spent a week looking for it and ended up overstaying for 4 days before we cancelled his passport online. He applied for a new one and demanded a emergency travel document. He should be gone as soon as he gets it. (Ending up overstaying for a week)
Considering the situation, would he be penalised ? Will he still be able to come back to France ?
Thank u
Hello Nico, I think he will be fine as the issue is simple, he took the right measures and the passports you hold are all from Europe. I would not worry. Hope this helps!
Hi there!
Thanks so much for your overstay article/ comment section advice! It took ages of scouring the internet to find you, after sooooo many articles of people being unhelpful/ shaming when people are asking for help on Schengen overstay advice. Of course I know I shouldn't overstay, and did not intend to, but hey- life happens right?
Anyways was hoping for some exit advice. I'm an American: I flew NYC-Munich-Helsinki on May 4, 2022. I arrived in Finland expecting to go through passport control but there was nothing at the airport, I came right off the plane and passed through the airport and to the exit without passing a single checkpoint. I was very confused because I thought I needed at least a stamp to show I entered Europe. I thought it was strange but did not think much of it as I had to show vaccination status before boarding the flight so I figured that was the extent of my entry being accepted. It wasn't until recently that I was looking through my passport and noticed I did in fact receive a stamp in Munich, though I was only in the airport for 2 hours for my layover to Helsinki.
Fast forward to now… I have already bought my flight onward, I will be going to Thailand at the beginning of September (making my overstay around 5 weeks). One thing the internet agrees on is Schengen Overstay penalties are much harsher in Scandinavia than Spain. It would be *much* simpler to fly straight out of Helsinki to Thailand but it seems leaving Schengen through Finland is almost certain to be faced with a harsher punishment. Of course all of this is anecdotal but the Fins do love their rules.
So now my plan is to fly Helsinki to Spain, have a day or two there then fly Spain to Bangkok as my exit country from Schengen.
Two questions:
1. Am I likely to encounter issues from Helsinki to Spain? I know I'm flying within Schengen so I was hoping they are more concerned with making sure the passenger is really me than checking anything about my duration of stay.
2. Once in Spain, do you recommend a certain airport to leave from? Barcelona seems to be the talk of the internet, but I know Madrid is much larger so I *thought* I might be more likely to go unnoticed there as the volume of people are higher.
I can't thank you enough for your advice in this matter. I will definitely weigh my options carefully, just nice to have another opinion who might have more experience/ heard more experiences of success or failure stories for around 1 month Schengen Overstay.
Hey,
iam Serbian citizen and I overstayed my Schengen visa for 9 months. (Entry was over Hungary)
I met someone in Germany and I felt in love with this person.
After this period we went to the police, because the passport was “stolen” and I got an emergency travel document from my embassy.
At the airport in Germany I showed my emergency travel document and they didn’t stayed anything and I didn’t got a ban.
When I arrived in Serbia the immigration officer noticed that I was longer than I should in the Schengen area. He didn’t gave me something officially, only the good advice that I should not renter Germany this year.
Untill now Iam staying in Serbia. But in January of 2023 I want to marry the person in Germany (German citizen). We also have an appointment already.
The question is if this situation could cause any problems to get a marriage visa for Germany ?
Regards
Hi La, congratulations on finding your love! Regarding the visa I don’t think you will have any problems. In fact I’m not sure if there’s a “marriage visa” but perhaps you are better off if you just get the tourist visa and marry while there. Oh, I also assume you already have a new passport, right?
Hi,
Thank you for this excellent article. I am also worried about my situation. I was issued a single entry toursit visa in March valid from 08/03/2022 till 24/03/2022. I was ignorant and I thought I was given 3 weeks visa. I arrived on 9th and left on 20th (spent 11 days in Schengen area). I did not have any isssue when I was leaving. The immigration officer stamped my passport on exit, no issue whatsoever. Recently I started reading trend on overstayer and I realised I actually overstay my visa. The duration of stay stated on my visa is 7 days. That means I overstayed by 4 days. Now, I am so worried, I just applied for Germany visa for a business meeting (awaiting decision) but I am so concerned that my visa might be refused base on what happened in March. Can you advised me about my chances and what I could do if rejected? Thanks.
Hey Sam! First of all, it is weird you were given just 16 days for your visa. This said, your barely overstayed your visa, and as you were granted a short stay I really think you won’t have a problem. Add to it that you did not have any problems on the way out and things are looking pretty good for you 🙂 Hope this helps!
Thank you. I'm happy to inform you that my visa application was granted. I was given a multiple entry of 90 days with 6 months validity.
Hey Sam, that is great news indeed. Glad it worked out for you and thanks for coming back to share how things turned out. Happy travels!
(Thank you. I'm happy to inform you that my visa application was granted. I was given a multiple entry of 90 days with 6 months validity.)
Hi I read your replies here i was glad you make it for the second application. I just would like to ask if you make also a cover letter stating of your overstay? Thank you Your response will be highly appreciated.
(Thank you. I'm happy to inform you that my visa application was granted. I was given a multiple entry of 90 days with 6 months validity.)
Hi I read your replies here i was glad you make it for the second application. I just would like to ask if you make also a cover letter stating of your overstay? Thank you Your response will be highly appreciated.
Hey Jenny, good to hear from you and I’m glad your visa was granted. As for the second visa application, I would not mention the overstay. Good luck!
Hi, I am and Indonesian, and i was just got back from Germany in May 2022. I unintentionally overstayed my visa by two days, as a result of me not understanding that there are a duration of stay applicable, and only looking at the expiry date of the visa. They told me that this is not a big deal and i won't get banned/ whatsoever. They also told me i might receive a notification letter just to remind me to not repeat the same mistake in the future, but I haven't received anything up until today.
The problem is I am about to apply for a student visa just about this month/ early next month.
Do you think this will cause me a problem to get a student visa? Do you have any suggestion of what can I do to increase my chance to get the visa?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Anastasia. 2 days is really nothing, and I think you won’t have any problems getting your visa. Have fun in Germany! 🙂
I’m banned from Thailand for 10 years can I come back if I get a brand new visa? I have an American passport
Hi Alex, if you get the visa you should be able to. Not sure how hard/ easy getting it will be.
I am an American Passport holder and my husband has Dutch / American Passports . We are retired and independently financially secure. We have been traveling the world since 2015. We are now in Spain and after a side trip to Holland (total of 89 days we will leve EU to England. We will be in England 47 days and will go to Egypt but I want to stop in Malta for 2 weeks on the way. Since I am married to an EU passport holder will I have problems ? I assume they will allow me entry due to the fact I am married to an EU passport holder but am I assuming wrong. The rules are quite vague and I want to be law abiding Thanks in advance for your comments..
Hi Patricia, thanks for getting in touch. So there is the 90/180 rule you probably know of, meaning you can only be in Europe 90 out of 180 consecutive days. From what you are saying you would be more because you will only be in the UK 47, so you’d end up spending more than those 90/180. This said, I cannot see this being an issue when you land in Malta, plus you are married to en EU passport holder. So, in a nutshell, yes, you’d overspend the time you are in theory, but I would go with it anyhow. This is my own opinion though…at the end of the day it all will depend on the immigration officer you hand your passport too…hope this helps.
I am from India and I traveled to Germany on Touring visa to meet my wife who is studying in Germany. My visa period was 5th April to 19th may so I booked ticket for 37 days. At airport during my return., They stopped me and said you were stayed 7 days extra. I had not observed that small letter 30 days period on my visa honestly speaking and it is my big mistake
They handover me some paper s and told me that you will receive letter on my home address
How much will be fine amount for 7days??
I am applying for Family reunion visa next year so would it be reject??
If yes then Sir please advise what should I do to get out of this
My wife is there and I must have to go
Please guide
Hi Aniket, I’m sorry you had to go through this. To be honest 7 days is pretty much nothing. What did those papers say? Have you received that letter as they said? It’s important to know what those papers are, but in the grand scheme of things I would think you’re actually fine and I don’t think your family reunion visa will be rejected. Let me know!
I am American citizen in Italy on a Student Visa which expires May 29. I would like to tour EU during June and July – how do I go about getting a tourist visa?
Hi Maria! Your best bet is to call immigration directly and apply.
Hi! I was in Spain 08-28-21 to 10-10-21 and returned to Spain 06-12-21 to 03-03-22. I did not know about the 90/180 rule and extended my Dec stay to Mar 3, (I purposely kept my extended stay under the 90 day limit, not knowing my earlier trip counted towards the 90 day limit). As a result, I overstayed 42 days. I have family in Spain and want to apply for the non-lucrative visa (NLV). Will my over stay cause a problem? Should I acknowledge my mistake upfront or not draw attention to it? That said, without the NLV, when is the earliest I can return to Spain and do you think I will have a problem entering. I am a USA citizen, and currently do not have to apply for a tourist visa.
Hi Betz, if you were not told anything on your way out I am quite confident you are fine. I would wait until June to get in and you should be fine. Please note though that this is what I would do and not legal advice, but I hope it helps!
Hi betz,
I’m just about to leave Spain this week after overstaying 12 days, wondering how the process of leaving Spain goes. Is there passport control before boarding the flight at the airport or is consequences more enforced at point of re-entry?
I would appreciate hearing your story about leaving the country especially if there were any difficulties.
Hope to hear from you
Felicia
Hi Felicia, there is a passport check as there is in every country, and they will check your passport. However Spain is quite lenient with overstays, and if your passport is of a developed country chances are you won’t have a problem. Make sure you have a solid and credible story in case you are asked (you probably will be) , but you should be fine IMO. Hope this helps!
Hi,
June 2021 Brussels Airport with vaccination/PCR test .
I'm a international volunteer visiting my Syrian family in Brussels then train to Calais France to vol at Calais Refuge Kitchen.
Brussels immigration put me in illegal immigrant jail for 4 days.
I'm 74 and american and white
Does immigration keep a record of their arrest?
Will they again put me in jail if I attempt to see my Syrian family.
Thanks so much for any thoughts, ideas or concerns.
Hi
My son was born in Australia in the year 2014 and he is Australian citizen .
2015 we took Indian and went to India … visa was for 6 months
After that he stayed in india and now after 7 years he is planning to come to Australia.
So he overstayed in India for 6 years around …
What to do as they are coming back next month
I have no idea what to do
Any advise plz
Hi Kartika, we’ve been speaking via email… I hope it was of some help to you!
Hi – I have a US passport and my wife has US and Greek passports. I spent 75 days in Italy and 82 days in Greece. I was told by 1) my immigration attorney and 2) Greek port police upon entry to Greece, that I am entitled to 90 days in Greece regardless of time previously spent in Schengen due to a bilateral agreement between US & Greece. I also spoke with the US embassy in Athens before departing who sent me a copy of the bilateral agreement. However, I had a 90 minute connection in Zurich flying from Athens to the US. Zurich immigration detained me and fined me for an overstay. I am not concerned about the fine but the Swiss official told me to expect to be banned from Schengen when my official letter arrives. He told me I would have had to fly straight from Greece to the US to benefit from the bilateral agreement. I am beside myself that I am apparently being banned from all of Europe, including my wife’s home country, because of a 90 minute connection in Zurich. How can I reduce/eliminate the Schengen ban?
Hi Steve, to be honest I find it highly unlikely that you will be banned from all of Europe for a 90 minute connection. If I were you I’d speak with your immigration attorney to confirm they can make it happen and, in case they can, how you can challenge or plea to get rid of the ban. The agent would have to be very bored and in a bad mood if he was going to pursue the threat. Best of lucks !
Hello. I am Nigerian here in the Philippines, I have about 20 months overstay. Because of Monetary issues due to the pandemic, I haven't been able to clear that. I told to a few people about it here in the Philippines, they suggested that I get a job, but I need to process get a work permit (which I have to pay for, although the money will be refunded by the company). The company will take care of the overstay and ensure that my overstay is cleared, provided I am able to work to cover for the money. That I don't mine. I need to know if that is a right step to getting my documents straight. I hope to get a reply soon. Thanks
Hi Gabriel, it would be a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t deny the fact that you overstayed for 20 months. If you can get a contract from the employer, and take it from there. But from what I know Filipino immigration is not particularly friendly, so if you really want to get detailed, up to date information I recommend you speak with a lawyer – it could be a lawyer within that company I would think. Hope this helps!
Hello, I have a question hope you could possibly give an advice, i already searched for the best answer but failed, I have Philippine passport and had a au pair visa last May 2018 and must end May 2019, but I left Sweden AUGUST 2019, I am aware that i overstay for 86 days, and i voluntarily left Sweden, then AT the immigration in the airport the immigration officer also notice that I am overstayed, Gladly I didn't got banned or fine, they only said that in the future if I planned to comeback i might face a problem and have to explain my situation why i overstayed, do you think this will be hard for me to go back in Sweden again, will the Immigration give me a forgiveness waiver to enter Sweden again? what will be a consequences? hope someone will reply to me.. I really appreciate your time to advice me. THANK YOU/
Hello, I have a question hope you could possibly give an advice, i already searched for the best answer but failed, I have Philippine passport and had a au pair visa last May 2018 and must end May 2019, but I left Sweden AUGUST 2019, I am aware that i overstay for 86 days, and i voluntarily left Sweden, then AT the immigration in the airport the immigration officer also notice that I am overstayed, Gladly I didn't got banned or fine, they only said that in the future if I planned to comeback i might face a problem and have to explain my situation why i overstayed, do you think this will be hard for me to go back in Sweden again, will the Immigration give me a forgiveness waiver to enter Sweden again? what will be a consequences? hope someone will reply to me.. I really appreciate your time to advice me. THANK YOU/
Hi Meme! This is a very subjective question because whatever happens will depend on the mood of the immigration officer who checks your passport. If he’s happy, he’ll let you in without problems, but if he/ she is having a bad day, your could run into difficulties. I don’t think you would be banned, or would have a fine because it should have been given by now, but you might have an unpleasant arrival. Perhaps you might want to make sure you have your story straight, sound confident, pleasant and easy going, and I think you will be fine. Again though, this is all subjective. Hope this helps!
Hi all,
I hold a Nigerian passport but I'm temporarily residing in Ireland. This was my first Schengen application. I got a Schengen visa to Greece in 2020 under my student residence permit in Ireland. I Planned on staying for 4 days in Greece and my boyfriend (now fiance) is a citizen of Greece. However, I STAYED LONGER BY 7 DAYS thinking of not staying past my visa validity date. That is considering my Schengen visa was valid from 04/09/2020 to 22/09/2020. I got a flight for16/19/2020. Only to realize at border control, I overstayed? I was first confused because I either misunderstood or overlooked the duration as the number of days I specified on my visa application and they put it there.
I tried to explain and also pleaded with the officers that I didn't know. I thought it was indicative of the number of days I said I was going to stay (from my visa application) and I had from 04/09/2020 to 22/09/2020 to be in the Schengen but live before 22/04/2020. I was fined 600 euros (it's written on my passport next to my visa sticker '600euros' and has some wordings stamped in greek) to pay whenever I wanted to come back into the country or not pay it and stay out of the country for 2 years.
Fast-forward to this year, I and my fiance(he's Greek) are going to be married in Ireland. What's your advice on reapplying for a long-term visa (spousal visa) to Greece? I am also applying for the UK visit visa and they're asking if I have been given any penalties from any country's immigration control. Do I need to disclose Greece's overstay fine?
This is literally the only place I could get helpful information on visa issues. Great job guys.
Hi Molly, thanks for getting in touch and sorry I for not responding earlier! I am assuming that when you say you got a flight for 16/19/2020 you meant 16/09/2020? Regarding what to do, if you want to go by the book you could pay those 600 EUR and get it over with. This said, a potential work around could be to apply for a new passport (not sure how much it would cost you) explaining that you lost the old one (the one with the 600 eur marked fine). You could then apply for the visas with this new passport (which should have a new number) and hopefully get through without paying the fine. This said, if the officer left a note in the computer system during the last episode they could pick it up through your name when going through customs. Also, regarding the note for the UK visa it’s up to you…the question is very clear, but I understand how mentioning the other issue could rise some eyebrows. Hope this helps!
Yes I meant 16/09/2020. Thanks a million for taking your time to reply.
You’re most welcome! I hope I was able to help you in some way 🙂
Hello there,
I am an American citizen looking to get my Italian study visa to study in Italy. My worry is, in 2017, I went to Italy on a tourist visa to study there for 3 months, and I accidentally overstayed by 13 days. Since 2017, I have travelled back to Italy and have not encountered a problem due to my overstay. When I left in 2017, they stamped my passport without any issue. Now that I am applying for a formal study visa type D for a year, I am worried they will reject it for my over over stay from back in 2017. WHAT CAN I do?
Hi Alex, I think you should be fine. 13 days is not much of an overstay, your passport is not of a “potentially risky” country , you were on a student visa, and you’ve received no warning when returning. I would feel pretty comfortable requesting this visa if I were you.
Hope this helps!
Hello there,
I am an American citizen looking to get my Italian study visa to study in Italy. My worry is, in 2017, I went to Italy on a tourist visa to study there for 3 months, and I accidentally overstayed by 13 days. Since 2017, I have travelled back to Italy and have not encountered a problem due to my overstay. When I left in 2017, they stamped my passport without any issue. Now that I am applying for a formal study visa type D for a year, I am worried they will reject it for my over over stay from back in 2017.
I had a question about a situation I find myself with Colombia. A few years back I was refused extension of my visa by 1 day, since Colombia considered a full day the moment you arrive, go figure. I went to the immigration offer to try to resolve the issue but no, $340,000 peso fine off the bat, equivalent of say around $140 at the time.
So about 2 months later I ended up in Ecuador via the Puente Internacional border. It was a Sunday passed 6pm and the border was closed until the next morning. I kinda went thru to the other side and found myself in Ecuador. So now I’m considering taking a trip to Colombia and thinking could I resolve the issue by sweet talking the consulate and see if I can just pay the original overstay fee or use my alternative nationality to enter. Well the question is whether Colombia’s migration system has the ability to search by name if someone had been in the country previously regardless of Nationality. I had this issue in Brasil , where I also overstayed and was able to reenter with my dual citizenship but had issues renewing my visa because my US fine appeared in the system along with my US passport pic, go figure.
Hey Alex, first of all sorry for not getting back to you earlier; the system had marked your comment as spam.
As for your question, it is difficult to know, but I’m quite sure that by now you are in some kind of database. This said, depending on the number of years the previous “offense” may have expired because it really is minimal- 1 day is no big deal to anyone.
Perhaps your best bet is to call a consulate and ask, giving some other name other than yours, and get some feedback. See what they say. Depending on what they tell you, you can then decide what to do.
Interestingly, I crossed that border through that same bridge as well.
Hope this helps!
I am a student in France and have completed my degree. I secured a job in Germany and have applied for a work visa (german embassy in Paris). The issue is that my visa in France is expiring next week and my passport is still with the German embassy. I am afraid what will be the consequence if I receive my work visa after the expiration of my french student visa.
Hi Abdul, thanks for getting in touch. The best thing you can do is to ask the German embassy to supply a stamped document that proves they have your passport because they are issuing your visa. This said, unless you are going to travel there is no reason for you to need it the passport and you should be fine. If you want to be on the safe side, just as them to furnish that document. Hope this helps!
Thank you for your response. Just in case my passport comes 20 days after my fresh visa expires and it is a rejection. In that case, will the immigration officer understand that my reason for the overstay was the unavailability of my passport to travel? I am really worried about that.
Hi Abdul! It depends on the officer. Some agents are a really pain and want to play tough, others understand better. You could perhaps also ask the hiring company to send you an email stating that they have offered you a job and are also waiting for you to get your passport with the visa back, ideally with an expected starting date. But again, you can call the embassy and ask them to send you an email stating that they have your passport and is in process of a visa application. You should have no problems if you can get either of these documents, let alone if you can get both. Hope this helps!
hello, i am currently in australia (with a US passport). my visa will expire soon, however i’ve learned of special corona virus bridging visas they’re offering. so if i choose to apply for that visa, i have to wait for this one to expire first, making me unlawful for a couple of days in between. will this affect me poorly at all? i’m nervous to do so!
HI Kayla, from what you are saying it seems you need to wait for the current one to expire to apply for the other one? If you are sure that this is a requirement then there’s nothing to worry about, but I would think that you are allowed to start requesting it before then to avoid that situation. I would try to request it before those 2 days elapse. This said because of coronavirus immigration is being more flexible than ever and I don’t think you’d have any problems. Hope this helps!
Hello. I have overstayed my 1 year permit to stay in Croatia by 4 years. There were many reasons why (long story), and I have recently become statutorily married to my girlfriend who is an EU national and a permanent resident of Croatia… I’m meeting with a MUP official later this week to try to explain and apply for permanent residency under my wife.
I’ve received some conflicting advice. Some say I will need to pay the maximum fine, and someone else has told me that I wouldn’t need to since I’m now married to a permanent resident. It’s been very stressful and a bit frightening. Do you have any advice?
Hi Jake, I’m assuming you have a non EU passport so this post I found for Expats in Croatia could be of help. For the sake of it, make sure you show up with all those papers.
Truth is that what happens will ultimately depend on the mood of the agent you speak with, so remember to be polite, remain calm, and ultimately seek his/her empathy; after all you have been staying illegally for an extended period of time.
Another thing you might want to do is to call a Croatia embassy anonymously (or make up your name) and explain your case changing the details a bit (6 years instead of 4, etc). You might get an idea of what to expect, and might even get some tips.
Hope this helps, let me know how it goes!
It’s going to be end of mine day, however before ending I am
reading this wonderful piece of writing to improve my knowledge.
Hi so this is going to be long I am from Ireland and I went to tunisia 2 years ago I overstayed my visa there and got put Into a centre untill my family could take my flight they didn’t put a stamp in my passport saying I couldn’t return and I asked the police if I would have any problem when I return they said I wouldn’t but I have a real bad feeling I will I am planning to go in December for 3 weeks any advice would be great I over stayed a few times before and paid the fee at the airport when leaving and got stamps in my passport but this time the police said I wouldn’t have 2 pay that they sorted that I find it a bit strange
Hi Samantha, it is difficult to say. Even though they didn’t put anything on the passport there probably are records of your overstay, however you have not received any notification banning you from entry and you have paid the fees in the past. I’m not sure why you’d want to overstay so often but you’ll probably run out of luck eventually.
Wow, I can’t believe I missed this, sorry. To be honest, it does sound a bit weird, as you have overstayed a few times already (why?). This said some countries overlook these kinds of things, but I don’t believe Tunisia to be one of them. TBH it’s anyone’s guess. The best thing you can do is not overstay this time (has you been banned from entry you should have been told already). Hope this helps!
If I go to any country and staid there after the 3 months of tourist visa, my they force me to leave ?
Note: I’m from war country
Thanks in advance
Hello and sorry for taking so long to respond. It depends on the country. Sometimes you can pay a fine and ask for a visa renewal, others they will force you to leave. If you are from a war torn country though you may be eligible for asylum as a refugee. This is something you can/ should pursue. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions!
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publish was once good. I do not recognize who you are
but definitely you are going to a well-known blogger
for those who aren’t already. Cheers!
Thanks for the informative post. I’m in Malaysia and I overstayed 3 months because 10 days before my visa expired a terrorist group my country attacked my home looking for me, thank God my family was not home. I had to send all the money I had for them to flee and hide until things got better.
In 10 days without money I couldn’t fix the visa, so I registered with UNHCR, I was waiting for their call for more than 3 months, still no call yet. I have to move my family out of my country and to do so, I’ve to get a job, I’m a Software developer, so I want to move to another country to fix this.
So, my questions are as follows:
1. Is there any country that gives a humanitarian visa to people like me?
2. If I go to the immigration office and explain this will they allow me to go to another country or will force me to go to my country?
3. With my expired visa, can I still apply for a visa in an embassy in this country?
Sorry I had to ask all these questions. Thanks.
Hi Mahdi,
Sorry for talking so long to respond. Your question and situation is very technical, and I’m not in a position to offer a solution. However I do suggest you get back to UNHCR and see what they say. Regarding your questions:
1) Yes, there are plenty, but they go on a case by case basis. Even Malayisa might help. You may want to consider Australia and New Zealand.
2) I wouldn’t just walk in. You run the risk of being detained. Call.
3) You probably can apply for an extension, but there will be a penalty for sure…
I would like to know how things go for you Mahdi, stay in tough if you like to share your experience.
Hi so I need a lot of answers I have been travelling to Tunisia for as log as I know it’s the only place Really I have travelled I have overstayed my visa 2 times but paid at passport control the fine once I over stayed just by one month the second time was 3 months this time I over stayed by 4 months but the police removed me from the country they told me there qould be no problems coming back as they removed the penalty at the airport they also brought me to the airport and just put a normal stamp on my passport nothing stating I couldn’t return I’m wondering when I try 2 come back here will there be issues for me I really don’t want it 2 be I love that place and worrying so much please help
Hi Samantha!
Well the truth is that you have overstayed many times, and it is illegal at the end of the day. However you have nothing on the passport that says you had an issue, yet they could have (and probably do) have records of this in their database. Frankly whatever happens is in the hands of the customs agents, but it seems they are very lenient. If you really want to go, give it a shot! There are no guarantees though, remember! Hope this helps 🙂
Hi…
I overstayed my Schengen by 3 Months in Latvia…I’ve had a tough run. I’m Canadian & came to Russia for an incurable Medical Condition. Then during my wait, found it cheaper to be in Latvia. The medication isn’t ready. I’ve had many seizures so my memory is not reliable. I’m stoic. And don’t go to hospitals with the seizures..My doctor can write something…What’s my best scenario? Is Latvia strict? Can I apply for an extension? Anything is greatly appreciated. My best… Chris
Hey Chris, so sorry for taking so long to get back to you. You case is very specific, and I’m really sorry to hear about your situation, even more for taking so long to get back to you. If I were you I’d contact the Canadian consulate in Latvia, see if they can help. Check this page from the Latvia immigration department. http://www.pmlp.gov.lv/en/home/services/visas-and-invitations/issue-visa.html . If you speak with your doctor or a hospital in Latvia about your medical condition it could be a serious personal reason and the extension could be given. I think you have very good chances of getting it. Hope this helps!
Such a great article and post you shared! This is really helpful information. Glad to read this post and I appreciate your time and efforts in your work. Always loved your post. Looking forward to see more post! Thank you so much for sharing this post.
I’m Indian. i have overstayed my Schengen tourist visa. Presently I’m living in Zurich (Switzerland). Now I’m planning to go back to India from Brussels. Can any one suggest me which is the best way to travel from Zurich to Brussels? The immigration at the Brussels will a easy or a complicated?
Hari,
I understand the immigration in Brussels is pretty strict. Countries that are more relaxed are Spain and Italy for example, but there is no guarantee you’ll get penalized. The good thing is that the way out is much easier than the way in…
Hello. I have a US passport. I have travelled Europe and Africa for a year. Last January I came to Cyprus. I have travelled every 90 days and returned 3 times since I have been here. I would like to apply for a one year visa it is now that I feel I wish to stay put for a year and then decide where I will go next. I was under the belief that I was legally able to leave and return every 90 days. When I go to the immigration office I Cyprus should I expect to be in trouble?
Thank you
Hi Marjani. The 90/180 rule means that you can spend 90 days in Schengen countries, then have to be 90 days out before you can return for another 90 of the next 180. If that’s what you’ve been doing you should be fine. Hope this helps!
Hi there,
I’m very confused with the situation I’m in right now. I applied for a visa to visit my boyfriend in Denmark from the 13th to 30th of July. My visa was approved and i was given a visa valid until the 14th of August. So i left Denmark on the 30th july but there was a delay of my flight for that date, I was suppose to arrive in Iceland, take a connecting flight 1 hour before it was midnight to the 31st of July but with the plane being delayed for almost 1hr and a half in Denmark, I reached Iceland around 1am and as you know it, I didn’t think there was a problem, as long I didn’t over stayed according to my knowledge because my visa is valid until August 14th. Now that I’m applying for the visa to go to Iceland for a vacation with my boyfriend, I just got an email stating why I overstayed for 1 day, I was so surprised by this, I mean I thought I’m still in the clear since the visa was still valid until August. Please help me to understand how this could be called overstayed if my visa was expiring on August 14th and I got out of Schengen area even before August 1st. How do they call this overstay? I’m missing something in this overstay rule I’m so confused! I have sent an a reply email to the officer explaining my situation with the flight and i attached the original flight ticket but it gives me no hope to know that I’ve broken the law here and it can jeopardize things for me from now:(
Aselitha, I’m just as confused as you are, as there is no overstay. It must be some kind of error. I strongly recommend you call immigration at Iceland or call the Iceland consulate in your country and ask for an explanation. It makes no sense.
Hello my problem is my boy friend from the U.S. went to Pretoria Africa to bid on a contract. He said that his return flight ticket expired and his bank card is not working . Now he is on a overstay days he has to pay a fine. Do they have a waiver program there he bought a new flight ticket. He says he can’t leave until he pays this overstay fine. His overstay is 2 months. Please if you could give me some help on what to do for him.
Hi Julie,
I’ve he’s already been fined it’s going to be difficult to have the fine waived. Why did his return ticket expire? And his CC doesn’t work? Why? If it’s money what he needs you can send it to him via Western Union , Moneygram or a similar method…
Hello there,
I hope you’ll see my message because I could really use some advice right now!
I’m a special passport holder (I don’t want to write my country but basically I have the same rights as American/Canadian citizens – 90/180 days) I entered the Schengen area in April 2017 from Germany, then I married to a British citizen in Denmark in May. After that we moved to Spain, I tried to get my residency card here (family reunification), but it failed because they denied my husband’s residency card. Over and over again I asked the Spanish authorities if it’s okay to overstay while I’m waiting for us to be residents, they said yes, I’m totally legal here. But right now the whole process is failed and I’m left here unintentionally overstayed by 2 months my 90/180 without the residency card.
Now I want to leave the Schengen zone from Spain directly to my home country, will I be stopped at the border? Should I pay the overstaying fee since I’m already married to an EU citizen or refuse to pay?
After staying in my home county for a while, we want to move to Netherlands. Will this overstaying situation be a problem for me to get a family reunification visa ~ residency card through marriage?
If they ban me for 2 years or so, can i override the ban when I try to get residency card through marriage in Netherlands?
Everyone says different things, I’m so tired of all of it. Some say I already have a right to stay since I’m married to Eu citizen, some say it’s not relevant that I’m married to EU citizen I’m overstayed in the end. I don’t even trust the lawyers anymore because it was a lawyer that advice me to overstay and get my residency card.
My husband believes that if we go to the Netherlands and demand visa (family permit or something? I don’t know) at the border they will be obligated to give it to me and let me in and then I can get my residency card from there. This whole idea is without leaving the Schengen area and I’m not sure if it works since I’m already overstayed.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Zoey,
Sorry to hear about this problem. Hopefully what I say is of help, though really many of these things depend on the attitude of the officers you speak with. But there is some possible good news.
Spanish immigration is very relaxed at the airports, most of the time they don’t even check the passports and just stamp it for exit. Sometimes, not even that. So there is a good chance that if you fly out of Spain nothing will happen. Again though, this is not a rule, and there’s risk to it.
Frankly, I’m surprised that you don’t have the permit, as my wife was allowed to overstay when we got married (she has also a non European passport) . Perhaps Brexit is the reason for this problem?
On another note, the Netherlands are not an easy place where to get papers sorted, and I know this first hand from some friends of mine who are going through something similar. He is Dutch and his girlfriend is from Mexico. First, he has to prove the authorities in his country (Netherlands) that he is making enough money to support his partner. During the first year, she has to attend Dutch classes to learn the language before she can work. They were both interviewed separately to make sure the stories align. And when that is sorted they can consider getting married. So make sure you know what you’re getting into.
Hope this helps?!
Hi, I could really really use some advice.
I’m from the USA and my wife is Austrian – we got married in February.
At the end of march we began the process of getting my residency card. I was under the impression that I could stay here until that process was complete, but as of late I learned that I am not able to stay during that time. and now I’m very nervous.
what advice do you have for someone in Austria, who is married to an Austrian national, in the process of getting residency card – but has overstayed his visa. If all goes smoothly I will get my card soon, but I’m worried they will check my passport stamps when I pick up the res. card.
Please help – and time is of the essence.
Thank you
Joe
Hey Joe,
This is weird. My wife got the Spanish citizenship through me while I was there and didn’t have that problem. I’m not sure what to say. You my want to speak with the immigration ombudsman (or similar figure), find out when they should have it and risk it, or leave and return (watching the 90/180 rule). Speak with immigration again, ask someone else, see what they say.
So buying a one-way ticket is not a good option in my case, is that what it means? It happened almost 1 yr ago. I got overstayed but they said they wont put any sanction or restriction on me. I can even come back as long as i could have a valid visa. I was caught by the police and they said that incident will only be for the police record and doesnt have to do with foreign affairs, as long as i will leave within 28 days and i did. Does the embassy and immigration at the airport works differently on checking travel history? Why does the embassy granted me a new visa if I will just have an issue with the immigration on arrival later on? Will it also still shows even im using new passport now under married name? tia!
Hi Nina. if that is what they told you exactly then you should be fine. I would imagine that if the police has those records then so does immigration, regardless of what they say. But It seems they didn’t find it a strong violation and gave you a green light. The violation should not appear in your new passport with a married name; usually name changes involve different passports and your regulatory situation also changes…hope this helps and sorry for not replying earlier. The system didn’t tell me you had written again…
Thanks for the response! Lastly, does my overstay history can affect the processing of my residency through my husband? Will it still matter with our application?
It might, but it shouldn’t affect the result. Do expect to be interviewed separately to verify your history and commitment though. Nothing to worry about but you you should expect it! 🙂 Hope this helps!
Hello!
My situation is very complicated, i just made a very bad decision but I’m now in this situation and i want to get some ideas on what to do. I’m originally from the philippines but i have a korean passport and a korean name as i was married to korean before. I came twice to the US in a ESTA visa after my 3rd visit as i encountered difficulties in coming in but then airport immigration personnel approved my stay. After my 90days stay i decided to stay/overstay(still here in the US) it’s been 2 years since i overstayed but i have 2 instances that i got caught in the airport after they checked my passport and i was held for 4 hrs for questioning but then they released me they did not deport me as they said i have to attend a hearing and i just have to wait a letter to where and when should i go but i didn’t receive anything so i thought they let me free from deportation. The second experienced was when i applied for a visitors entry in a US base and they needed A valid I.D. so i showed my passport but then when they checked I’m in a deportation list but still they let me go after some interviews. I’m worried that the 3rd time they’ll get me I’m gonna be deported. I have a boyfriend now and planning to get married is there anyway that i can change my status? I need to know coz i don’t want my bf to marry me but then he will get in trouble or i will be deported. Please give me some advice on what to do. I really wanted to stay and be legal here.
Hi Jane.
Your situation is certainly not good, and with the current President the US has deportation and immigration issues are more strict. The only solution I can see at the moment is if you get married. If you can make this happen you should be able to stay; in fact you won’t be able to leave the country in a year I think it is. Otherwise you can try to leave the country and return normally, but as you’ve seen you’re already in a “list”….
Hope this helps!
Thank you for response! Also, will it not matter if i had the overstay issue on the same country im going to but I was using my Old passport then when I was not married yet, also I was not given any sanction neither a fine when they found out I overstayed, only that I had to leave the country, no stamp of deportation was marked into my old passport when I left also, only I had to be escorted until to boarding gate but all in all, I went to normal departure process in the airport. Will they be able to see it still even i have new passport under my married name? Coz im afraid, if they do, they would put me into too much questioning and become strict, including on the ticket I have ? thanks again!
If you have overstayed there’s a good chance there’s a record of it. However if that happened a number of years ago the consideration time could be over. There’s no way of knowing what will happen until you get there, but if it was a long time ago you should be fine. Hope this helps!
So buying a one-way ticket is not a good option in my case, is that what it means? It happened almost 1 yr ago. I got overstayed but they said they wont put any sanction or restriction on me. I can even come back as long as i could have a valid visa. Does the embassy and immigration at the airport works differently on checking travel history? Why does the embassy granted me a new visa if I will just have an issue with the immigration on arrival later on? 🙁
Hi,
I am set to fly going europe to visit/join my EU spouse. I am carrying a Schengen C-visa valid for 1 yr but with the max 90 days duration of stay in the purpose of applying for my residency personally there. I just want to ask if will it be okay if I would only buy 1 way ticket? Its for practically reason, coz first, if eventually we got my residency there within 3 months, of course, I dont have to return in my country (Philippines) then, Secondly, if our application is still on process and my max stay is about to finish, the immigration can waive and extend my stay there while application is on going. How does the Immigration at the airport works in cases like mine, who is a spouse of an EU citizen? Anyone had same situation pls let me know, I am leaving for Netherlands. TIA!
Hi Nina,
Most EU countries don’t require proof of onward travel upon arrival, so you should be fine traveling with a one way ticket. You can always explain that you’re not sure about what country you’ll be leaving the EU from…
Thank you for response! Also, will it not matter if i had the overstay issue on the same country im going to but I was using my Old passport then when I was not married yet, also I was not given any sanction neither a fine when they found out I overstayed, only that I had to leave the country, no stamp of deportation was marked into my old passport when I left also, only I had to be escorted until to boarding gate but all in all, I went to normal departure process in the airport. Will they be able to see it still even i have new passport under my married name? Coz im afraid, if they do, they would put me into too much questioning and become strict, including on the ticket I have 🙁 thanks again!
Hi, I’m currently visiting the US on the visa waiver program. If I overstay my 3 month tourist visa by 10 days will there be any ramifications should I wish return to the US? Many thanks, Charlie
Hi Charlie.
To be honest your guess is as good as mine. it will all depend on the mood of the agent who checks your passport when you leave and how much of a trouble maker he/she wants to be. Unfortunately these kinds of things are very subjective and fully depend on what people are up for…
Hello,
I had a student visa in France, I will overstay for two weeks, since I didn’t wanted any problems I went to the prefecture and they told me there would be no problem but they didn’t gave me any paper or anything confirming I would have no problem. They only told me that if someone said something I should just show that I bought my return ticket before my visa expired.
But since I will be traveling (between the Schengen zone) during the two weeks I’m afraid I could have problems, do you know anything about this situation? I don’t have any way of proving that an official source told me that I would have no problems
Hi Diana,
Truth is that, as you say, you don’t have proof that an official in France said that you wouldn’t have a problem- in France. But that doesn’t mean you cannot have issues outside the country. If for some reason a customs agent in another Schengen country sees that you have overstayed he can apply his own country’s law and the results could be different. They could think you’re planning on hiding elsewhere, for example. The country of your passport also plays a big role. If it’s from a first world country things are usually easier…
If you’re not going to fly between countries during those two weeks you should be fine (borders don’t usually check passports) but with today’s situation who know what you may encounter. To play it safe your best bet would probably be to not leave France, but I’m sure you want to get around so if you don’t fly you should be OK too. Remember though there is luck involved here! Hope this helps 🙂
Hello,
I had a student visa in France, I will overstay for two weeks, since I didn’t wanted any problems I went to the prefecture and they told me there would be no problem but they didn’t gave me any paper or anything confirming I would have no problem. They only told me that if someone said something I should just show that I bought my return ticket before my visa expired. But since I will be traveling (between the Schengen zone) during the two weeks I’m afraid I could have problems, do you know anything about this situation?
Hello. I need some help cause I am very worried about my situation.
I am a 35-years-old nurse from Brazil. About 10 years ago I overstayed for 2 years in Ireland (The Republic of Ireland). while I was coming back from a visit to Northern Ireland I was caught by immigration officers on a bus. I explained to them the situation, I was young, naive and had been left by a “friend” in Ireland, somenone who I trusted and the person took my money and never came back! As I had borrowed money from the bank in Brazil, I decided to stay illegally in the country to make some money at least to pay my debits with the bank.
Well, the immigration officer out no stamp in my passport and wrote nothing about being deported. Let’s just say that I was gently invited to leave the country.
Like I said before, that was 10 years ago.
Now, I am a gratuated registered nurse with 4 years emergency and intensive care experience and I got a positive answer from the Nursing Board Of Ireland and they accepted my register. I also had an interview and got a job offer from a public hospital in Ireland.
Now I am worried that They may not let me in (though I am doing everything properly this time) because of my historic.
Do you know anything that could help me?
Hi Erick!
From what you’re saying you should be fine. Bans for overstaying seldom last more than 2-3 years and that situation was 10 years ago. I would proceed normally, get the work visa and all the papers you need following standard procedure and you should be fine. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi there! I have a really complicated case…. I am an American, mother to two American born children. A daughter (4year old) and a son with my domestic partner (2 years old) my partner and I have been together for 3 years now and we actually decided to come to Italy last year (he was born and raised in Italy) Anyway, we came to Italy on a tourist visa from the U.S. and after 3months my partner and I decided we wanted to try and stay here in Italy except he was still trying to finalize a divorce from his previous marriage and would attempt to sell the house they owned together. Before he left we went to the immigration office in Bari and they pretty much explained that the only other option besides exiting the country and re-entering with a visa de trasferimento would be for us to get married . With that being said we couldn’t afford for all of us to fly back and forth again so he ended up leaving us with his family. After 6 months he returned divorced but still sharing a home with his ex wife. So he started looking for a job and actually went off to train to be on the air crew for Ryan air. He’s supposed to go to Sweden for a month and we thought all we had to do was get married but after reading your article I’m clueless as to what to do, I’ve been in Italy for over a year now. Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you! !!!
Hi Kimberly!
Sorry to hear about this situation. From what I read I understand you are in Italy legally (haven’t overstayed any visa) and he has an Italian passport right? Assuming this is correct I also agree that the easiest solution is to get married. I’ve searched a bit on the web for you and it seems you can actually get married right away. Check this link http://flyawaybride.com/fab-guide-legal-wedding-in-italy/ for more info, but it says here (and in other websites I found) that “There is no official residency requirement for civil ceremonies in Italy”. Do make sure you have all the required paperwork in Italian and with the Apostille stamp. Hope this helps?
Wow! Great information you shared. It is so useful information for travelers. Thanks for sharing it.
I am a Canadian citizen working in Portugal. I have a temporary two year Portuguese residency card ( titulo de residencia ) . I have lost my passport while in the Azores. My question is, if i don’t find my passport am i able to fly back to Lisbon with just my Portuguese residency card? this is a local flight with Ryan air.
Hey Wes. When you loose a passport you have to immediately speak with your consulate. They will give you a temporary travel authorization sheet that will allow you to go where you need to. The fact that it’s an internal flight is even easier and I believe the card should be enough. Double check with Ryanair though as they are quite picky and annoying with things they shouldn’t be (I know this based on experience!). Hope this helps!
Hi Frederico, how are you?
I have a question, I overstayed my tourist visa in england for only two days, you think that would be a problem when I apply for my spouse visa? (I will get marry in this october and apply for my visa.)
Thank you.
Hi Carolina! Two days is not much time, I think you’ll be fine. Make sure you can easily explain the reason though…
I have a explanation but is pretty silly and stupid. My fiancée booked my bus ticket to france, flight france/morroco and than morroco/brazil without let me know the date, and when he realized was too late, all the tickets were non-refundable. So not sure if this would be a excuse, we didnt want to loose all the money from thee tickets, because also mine has his tickets as well, so was sooo much money involve. ><
Oi Carolina,
Almost all airline tickers can have the due date changed, though there will of course be a fee which is usually between 150-200 USD. This said, if you only overstay a few days you probably will be fine. Are you still in France?
hi my name is Esmarelda. I went to Sweden 10 May 2016 till the 08 Aug 2016 and my passport say I can stay for 81 days but I did not know at the time I overstayed by 6 days. will I get a fine and can I apply for a new visa to go back to Sweden. they check my passport and they said I overstayed but he did not write in my passport. are I still safe to go back
Hi Esmeralda. 6 days is not much and if they didn’t write anything you’re probably safe to go back. I wouldn’t worry much. Enjoy Sweden!
Hi,
I am desperatey need your expert opinion. I got overstayed in netherlands for 5 months, I was with my boyfriend and we hope to get married there but couldnt happen as I am only carrying a tourist visa. Unfortunately, the police checked me and had interviews, i told them I didnt realized my schengen visa has expired as i thought its expiration is August (08-04-2016 as written on my visa), instead it was April and also I have Uk visa that will expires august 03, and I applied both visa at the same time that why I thought the validity is the same, and the date format in the schengen visa is quite confusing that I overlook 08-04 should be read as April 08 and not August 04. They told me I have to leave netherlands within 28 days. They interviewed me and my boyfriend telling them we have intention to get married and we proved to them that we are really a true couple. They didnt give me a fine or get ban decision and advised me since my bf is eu citizen I shall reapply for new visa that will allow me to stay with eu citizen partner. They said they will give me a chance and no alert or bad mark will be put in my record either they wont put a deportation stamp at all in my passport but only a normal exit stamp. They give me several letters, letter i will show at airport upon picking up of my passport, police report that indicates I can return in netherlands or does not indicate that I cannot return to netherlands, and a letter that says I shall report to them every monday within the 28 days. But of course if i left the country already then it will not applies anymore. So me and my fiance are worried that when I reapply for visa i will be denied due to overstay even i wasnt penalized or deported but they just allowed me to leave the country, and they advised me to apply in Dutch embassy “only” when I reapply for schengen but that I should apply for a visa to stay with eu citizen so that it will allow us to get married there, its like a temporary residence visa since my bf is eu citizen but living and working in netherlands. I am really worried about getting denied when I reapply for a new visa and got so much into depression thinking I wont be able to be with my fiance again. We think of all other option. 1. To leave before my uk visa expires but authorities want me to leave only out of netherlands and even if i told them that its much better maybe I rather leave from Uk so my passport will remain good but they wont leave me by bus going UK (coz no border control if by land so i wont get exit stamp out of NL that will show my passport that I got overstayed in a schengen), but instead i will still need to leave by plane going to uk and it wont make sense coz i will still get an exit stamp in NL that will still show i am overstayed when I apply for new visa. Option 2. Since they will not put any anything in my record either in my passport, i can leave out of NL before the date I mistakenly thought its expiration and so that even they put exit stamp I can just explain to dutch embassy that I mistakenly overlook the date and also by the way the police told me to never mention about the police incident upon applying for new visa. Option 3. To declare I lost my passport and get a new one when I reapply for visa, though I dont know if they could still track my travel record if they wont see the stamps as I declared my passport as lost and also I will be applying for Dutch embassy which is the same country I was caught so I dont know if the report will show there on their record even if the police said it wont as it is only for police data and will not show into any foreign affairs record or system, unless I violate the 28 days period to leave. Option 4. Days after the incident, my fiance found out he doesnt need a visa going to my country and so its much better we’ll just marry in my country, update my status even I can request for new passport with married name, then apply for new visa as a spouse. I wonder if would it still affect my visa application as a legal spouse of eu citizen even i had history of overstaying but not banned or deported or even get fined? I am really desperate of finding a solution on how I can be with my fiance again and stay with him together coz we really dont want to be far away from each other for long. I am not sure if getting married will help with my visa application and make sure they wont deny it because of what happen. I hope you could help me understand this kind of situation coz I really dont wanna lose the only person that matters to me. Thank you
Hi – I am not sure what Federico would say but I had a similar experience in France – no overstay issues but getting a carte de sejour for my wife. I found the best way was to get the advice of an immigration consultant. He cost me 50 euros an hour but in two hours I had all that I needed. I could even pay him to represent me when I went to apply.
Nevertheless, under EU rules, the spouse of an EU citizen is entitled to be with that EU citizen. Each country in the EU applies this slightly differently – they will want to be sure that it is a real marriage for example. So you have a joint bank account, things like that. But my advice is go talk to a consultant who specialises in the Dutch system. – you can find them on the internet. By the way – there is a risk that if the UK Border people see that you have overstayed your Schengen visa they might cancel your UK visa – it has happened.
Hi Brian,
Thanks for your response. Have u got overstayed also but wasnt sanctioned or whatsoever? They told me to get a new visa,not the tourisy one,so i can be with my fiance in NL again and get married but I really have to leave and they wont harm my record. My fiance think the best option is just to get married instead in my country and apply for family reunification visa in dutch embassy but my big worry is that they might use my overstay issue against me as it will reflect on exit stamps on my passport anyway even they didnt tagged me for overstay. I am not sure if declaring my passport as lost will helps when i reapply for the visa after we get married. I appreciate your response.
It was my wife and daughter who overstayed by quite a few months. We had no problem coming and going. But we also had no problem with the police too. It may depend on your nationality, for example, some nationalities are given a Schengen visa automatically on arrival. Again I recommend that you find someone who specialises in these things in the Netherlands. They will provide you with the best advice because they will know how the EU rules are applied there. Also have a look at http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/entry-exit/non-eu-family/index_en.htm you may find this has some useful info.
Hi Brian,
I have checked the site and its very informative, atleast its give me an idea on how I shall start the process. It is very informative. Thank u for sharing it to me. I will appreciate more advise, pls. Specially with those who had the similar situation. Best of luck to everyone!
Hi Christi, hi and thanks Brian for stepping in and helping Christi out.
After carefully reading the conversation I would recommend 2 of the four options you mention, either number 2 or number 4. Immigration already gave you a solution to the problem, and while anything can happen at customs no matter what you’re told, you already have important paperwork with you that will help your interests. However, if you can get married overseas, it seems like a fairly legit solution too. Please note that having overstayed does not directly mean denial to another visa, specially if authorities believe you and provided handy documentation.
For what it’s worth, my wife is not from the EU (although she now has an EU passport) but during the early days I was told by an airport agent that when entering the EU she could and should come with me and join the line of the EU nationals. We weren’t even married then but, as a couple, were traveling together and should do the same at immigration points.
Oh and as far as declaring a passport a lost could help or not, there is no one answer. I’m quite sure that the immigration agent will see in his screen that the passport is a replacement for a lost passport, and if he decides to check past records he might see you overstayed once. If, on the other hand, he feels lazy (or there’s a long line and is stressed) he might skip checking it.
Let us know which way you decide to go!
PS I’m quite confident you’ll be fine no matter what you decide to do.
HI Maitravelsite,
I just want to ask something I hope you can help me.
I overstayed my schengen tourist visa for 11 months and told them that I lost my passport and I traveled back home using a travel document issued by the Philippines embassy in Netherlands, and now I am here in the Philippines and I have a schedule interview in the USA embassy here for tourist visa application next month with my new passport.. Do you think that the US embassy will know about my overstaying history in the Schengen Country and if that can affect my us tourist visa application? thank you.
Hi Sibi! They could know it but I feel it is highly unlikely because it’s a new passport that I suppose has no stamps. It is also for another continent so it shouldn’t affect your visa request. Best of lucks and I hope this helps! 🙂
Hello! I would really appreciate some advice! Im on a tourist visa in Ireland, from Canada, and it ends July 18. I have a job offer for 2 weeks from August 9 to August 23. This will make me 35 days late overstaying my visa, but will pay for my flight to Australia. Are there repercussions if I want to visit other EU countries (or any other countries) afterwords?? There’s no immigration check when leaving Ireland I’ve read and been told…. I’m okay to not come back to Ireland (no offence!) but other EU countries would be very detrimental…I would appreciate any advice I can get, thank you kindly.
Hey Luca! Overstaying one month is quite a bit, but you do have a “good passport” . There is no way of knowing if there will be any consequences, and mind you your passport can be checked. I can’t tell you what to do, but odd’s are probably on your favor…
Thank you kindly for taking the time to reply, it is very much appreciated.
You’re welcome!
Hi, I am an EU citizen holidaying in Senegal with an entry date of 7/4/2016 in my UK passport. I have had to delay my departure for a few days and will now leave on 9/7/2016 which by my reckoning will put me 3/4 days over the 90 day limit. I have visited the country many times and always been within the visa limits … this will be my first time to overstay. I’m planning to just turn up at the airport … are you aware of any sanctions that may apply? Thanks
Hey Brian, I’m pretty sure that there’s some kind of sanction that can be applied, but I was not able to figure out how much. Odds are though that any problem of the sort can be solved with money (if you know what I mean)…
Thanks for your reply – I ended up making a short trip to The Gambia so got my passport stamped again on reentry to Senegal – got to see another country – albeit a small one! Cheers Brian
Good news Brian! Gambia is a sweet little country, been there myself. And you got another stamp! Thanks for the update and dropping by 🙂
Hi,
I traveled to France on a multiple entry tourist visa From November to February this year. I had to overstay by a few days because there was a mishap with my flights and the agency I booked through did not tell me I needed a transit visa to cross through London on my way back to India (home country) and because of this I had to book another set of flights back (also considering the cost)
I had no trouble coming back to India as it was a couple of days and well within the total limit date of my visa (I overstayed the number of days allowed but not the visa expiry date)
I am planning on going back France, should I mention in my cover letter that I had to overstay because of this mishap or just apply without letting the embassy know?
Hello Ankur. Tell you what, I wouldn’t have thought that you needed a transient visa for the UK either if you weren’t leaving the airport! all things said you should be fine. It was only a few days, nobody said anything on the way out so I would apply as normal, but again that’s what I would do. Hope this helps and bon voyage!
Hi!I entered india through Etv june 14, 2016 and it will expire july 13, 2016.My ticket going back to Malaysia is july 15 because i booked it earlier than when i received my Etv.Will it be possible india immigration give 2 days extension?pls help.thanks
Hi Flor. India customs agents are known to be a pain the b&** . If you’re planning on staying those two extra days make sure you get some kind of official paper that permits this, otherwise you may encounter more trouble than you want to. Or change the flight…
HELP , THIS LOOKS LIKE I HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE. I AM AN OLDER CANADIAN WOMAN VISITING TUNISIA FOR THE 5TH TIME. I CANNOT GET HOLD OF THE CANADIAN EMBASSY HERE NO MATTER WHAT I DO. I AM WAITING FOR MY FRIEND TO GET THEIR VISA TO LEAVE HERE SO WE CAN LEAVE TOGETHER. THE VISA IS GAURANTEED BUT TAKING LONGER. I WILL HAVE STAYED IN TUNISIA 32 EXTRA DAYS AT THE TIME MY FRIENDS VISA IS ISSUED. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME? I HEAR VARING THINGS FROM A 20 DINAR A WEEK PENALTY TO A 100 DINAR A DAY PENALTY. PLEASE ADVISE. THANKYOU SO MUCH
Hi Donna,
Odds are that a penalty will happen, but the amount will depend on the mood of the immigration agents. I recommend you walk up to the embassy and make sure you find someone, you might be able to get an extension that would cover the extra time but who knows. Other than having to pay some money (which you might not even have to) I don’t think there’s anything else to worry about. Hope this helps!
Hi. I’m a Filipino,married to british husband.we have house in Bulgaria where my son and I just recently visit. We flew out to Hanoi embassy,get and granted a visit visavisa which covers 60 days. We entered Bulgaria last Dec.31 2015,. We got no any problem entering BG. But on our date of leaving bg to Phil. We were stopped by immigration. And unknowingly my 4 !month old baby and I overstayed for few days. I was interviewed in a really nice way though. I honestly didn’t know we overstayed as. The no. Of days staying in BG on my visa is 53 days. I assumed its all OK as it also states our date of departure in our visa. I assumed nothing was wrong, and all OK as we left on the exact date stated on my date of exit in my visa which is march 3 2016. Upon realising and counting again. Yes we overstayed. They interviewed me though in a real nice way. Didn’t give me fine or being banned. He just us go. Though he knows I have definite plan of coming back. He just said next time be careful on counting days.
So I’m now confused, do I have to worry? Or will it bring much trouble on my next visit to Bulgaria? And another question is what kind of stamped they’re doing when you overstayed? I only got exit stamp from BG immigration though. I hope somebody will help or enlighten me on this kind of issue as I’m worrying a lot now for me and my baby.. Many thanks jho
Sorry just to clarify. It was march 6,2016 when we left Bulgaria. Not march 3. Sorry for typo errors.. Many thanks.
Hi Josephine, it seems that you were allowed to continue to travel with no problems. From what you’re saying you’re fine and should be able to return without any trouble. At the end of the day most of the problems have to do with the attitude of the customs agent. They probably saw you hadn’t realized, were traveling with family, and so no need to make a big deal as it was only a few days. Good for you! 🙂
Hi Federico.
Thanks for your quick reply. Do you mean that i still have to purchase the tourist visa for 30 days regardless my passport is visa exempted for 30 days of my first entry to Cambodia?
From what you said if you travel into the country because you are visa exempt you will have to leave it within 30 days. Being visa exempt means that you are “given” at no cost a tourist visa for 30 days. However if you have this “ordinary” visa you can stay in the country for as long as you like if you extend it from within. This would avoid you having to leave…
Please see question 13 here http://www.embassyofcambodia.org/faq.html 🙂
Thank you so much Federico…i understand now. Will apply for the ordinary visa.
You’re welcome! 🙂
Hi Federico!
You are very informative. I have a few enquiries. I am Malaysian and will be travelling to Cambodia very soon. As Malaysian is exempted from visa in Cambodia and only allowed to stay for a period of 30 days, is there a way I can extend my stay there? If I can’t, will i have to travel back to my country and stamp my passport there and how long before I can enter Cambodia again? Or can i just go to any Cambodia border to get it stamp i.e Thailand or Vietnam then re-enter again and how long will it take before i can re-enter. Thank you.
Hey Jasmin! You should be able to extend your stay by asking for a visa extension, or can simply get an “ordinary” visa instead of a tourist visa which costs around 35 USD.
The difference between the ordinary visa and the tourist visa is that the ordinary one can be extended indefinitely. Be aware that although the “ordinary” visa is often called a “business visa,” it does not allow the right to work in Cambodia. In order to be legally employed, you will need a Cambodia work permit.
Once you have your first 30-day ordinary visa for Cambodia, you can extend it from inside the country for 1, 3, 6, or 12 months. It’s advisable to extend it for 6 or 12 months, as these visa types are multiple-entry. The 1- and 3-month ordinary visas are single-entry only, meaning that if you leave for a weekend trip to Vietnam, you’ll need to get a new Cambodian visa when you return.
You can get more info here http://www.tourismcambodia.com/tripplanner/essential-information/visa-passport.htm
Hope this helps Jasmin!
May I please email you privately? I really desperately need help in regards to this issue.
You did email me, and we’re still in touch. Keep me posted!
Hi! Thanks for this article! I’m hoping you can give some advice. I am currently staying in the Schengen zone (greece). I need to get back to the UK from the middle of April – End of May where I have my flight back to Canada (home country and where passport is from). When I was planning my trip, I was planning my schengen on the old rules, ie. first day of entry is the first day of my 180 days. Did not spend more than 90 of those 180 days in the Schengen zone (spend about half the time in the UK, Canada, and Croatia) and then after the 180 days I re-entered. However I’ve just realised that the rules have changed so that the 180 days are ‘floating’. Putting this new rule into account I’ve overstayed my visa for almost one month. My flight is booked back to Canada May 25. I have no problem changing plans to immediately leave greece but not sure which is the best way to do it. Should I fly directly to the UK where they are strict on border control and hope for the best? Or should I try to go to another country like Albania or Croatia where they may not be as strict, and then enter the UK again from there. Or is there another option I am missing since this was an honest mistake not sure if there is anything I can do!
Thanks so much
K
Hi Kassie,
Truth is that nothing you do guarantees you can get back to Canada without being penalized; in fact you are just as likely to go through the UK and find not trouble at all. Why? It all depends on the customs agents you find along the way and the mood they’re in. Because of this there’s no fail proof to anything. Unless you already have plans to travel to these other destinations I would suggest you just travel as planned and be honest about what the problem is. You have a “good” passport, so you shouldn’t have much of a problem IMO. Then again, remember that this is an opinion based on experience but if you encounter a moody agent you might have some minor trouble (penalty fee). Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for your response! I appreciate it so much! I ended up getting back in to the UK no problems. The airline looked closer at my passport than either passport control leaving schengen or entering UK so I was lucky! I’m hoping you can advise me on one more thing! So I have overstayed but didn’t get caught. I am supposed to be re-entering the Schengen in May for a bachelorette party. If I’ve calculated correctly, the entry in May won’t be in violation of the rules. If I count back 180 days from the day in May I plan to enter, I have stayed less than 90 days. However, it will only be 6 weeks since I last left and overstayed. Is there a chance of getting caught/deported/penalised as I re-enter the shcengen (and then re-enter the UK again for my flight home). Can it be retro-active at all? Thanks!
Hi Kassie! Good to know all went well, thanks for updating! Regarding your question, once you leave you are fine and should not be penalized for re-entering if you’re in good terms. However you may get a picky customs agent, who could see you overstayed before, and then get you into some kind of trouble again based on a previous violation. You’ll have to decide if it’s worth it…
Hello, I have a question about overstaying in Peru. I am very confused…I have dual nationality USA/Perú I used my American passport last time I entered Peru, that is 4 years ago, I assumed that since I have all my paperwork up to date like my IDs and I vote in both countries, that I could stay in both countries as long as I wanted. Now I am worried that I will have to pay a fine, I have just came a cross a person who had a problem like that, but was an American but did not have dual citizenship like I do. Am I worrying for nothing? I really hope so, because I would not be able to pay a 4 year fine, and I have a ticket to go back to America. I do have to get a new passport because I lost it, but I am sure they will have a record of me entering the country 4 years ago. Please help me. Thanks in advance.
I tried calling on the phone to the embassy but they will only talk to emergency cases,and they do not consider this an emergency.
Hi Sarah, I would not worry about it as I have done the same, only that my passports are from the US and Spain. This said I have never been four years within Spain without leaving it, but I have been more time than what the tourist visa would allow and left without problems. I’ve also done this more than once. In other words not worries because you are a citizen of the country 🙂
Good morning,
I’m a citizen of Egypt, currently staying in Northern Cyprus on a 15 days tourist visa (stamp). What options do I have if I want to stay for a longer period, and what are the possible consequences of overstaying those 15 days ?
Thanks in advance. Regards
Hi Eslam. Overstaying can result on anything from nothing (if very lucky), a fee (which can be large), being banned from re-entering or being thrown into jail (worse case scenario, not common at all). You many want to ask immigration if you can apply for a tourist visa extension or some different visa altogether. Sorry for not getting back to you earlier…
Hi,
I need help here urgently. I’m a Malaysian and 9 years ago I overstayed in the UK for 2 months and was sent back (holding a visa student at that time). Now, I’m working for a multinational company and we selected for corporate bonus trip. We are entering Germany as incentive trip, so, would I have problem entering Germany since no visa is required?
Please advise.
Gabby, so sorry for taking so long to get back to you, I was away. If you were not banned from re-entering you should be fine, and the UK is not a Schengen country anyhow… hope this helps!
Hi, your site was the only one giving some good in site on boarder control… im freaking out… Im Brazilian and was a student in Italy and my student visa was valid until 30 of December 2015
I left Italy on the 3 of December, and went to UK were stayed for 12 days. After that I came to Dublin and Brazilians are aloud 90 days in ireland. So I didn’t even checked my stamp. So today I was checking my passport and realised they gave me a weird stamp of 22 days… that expired in 7 of January. Witch is way early than the 90 days agreement… So I’m freaking out and don’t know how to proceed. It was a honest mistake… Have my ticket flying back to Brazil in 12 days. Have no idea what to do. Any advice?
Oi Ana Paula!
Is your flight to BR from Ireland? Your visa expired 15 days ago, and 12 days more will mean a month. You have
threefour options:1) Risk everything and just leave when you have your flight, though this could mean a penalty fee and a ban from re-entering Ireland or even EU
2) Call immigration and tell them about your problem, see what they can do without changing the flight
3) Change your departure date ASAP so that consequences will be minimal.
4) You could fly to the UK and back to Ireland (assuming your flight to Brazil is from Ireland). Passports from the UK are not checked as thoroughly and you can return with a longer visa, but I’m not sure it’s worth it for 12 days?
My suggestion is you start with 2 (without giving too many details) and then decide. Hope this helps? Let us know what you do!
Hello! We are travelling to Philippines and we just realised that the our visas expire 3 days before our return. We thought we could stay 30 days but apparently we can stay 21 days. D you thing that we will have a problem if we stay 3 days more? and if yes, what kind of problem? do we have to pay penalty?and if yes, any idea of how much more or less? Many thanks for your help!
hi have u found out cuz i bought a ticket for 1 day extra and idk what to do
Hello Jose,
Please check the comment I left in response to Ada, it might help you too 🙂
I’m in United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) and I’m from United States and I only have a passport.. my question is what may happen if I stay past my 6 months period by staying 8 months in United Kingdom? Will border control or immigration hunt me down and deport me or ban me from the country? Please respond asap thank you.
Hey Melissa,
Nobody will hunt you down, but when the time to leave comes you might be fined, not sure how much though and it’s difficult to tell as it really depends on the person you’re dealing with. You might even get away with it! I don’t think you’ll be banned from re-entering the country as yours is a “good” passport to have. In theory it can happen, but if you’re reasons are compelling enough being banned should not be an issue. You may want to call immigration and ask home much the fine can be… hope this helps!
Thank you for your reply. I have another question. If I was to go to Ireland for 30 days just before my 6 months is up and return back to United Kingdom after the 30 days how can I inform border control that I’ve left United Kingdom so that they may not fine me. I can’t afford to be fined. But I also need to stay around here longer than 6 months. I will be going home to my country but I also need to be safe.
No problem! Ask them to stamp your passport whenever you leave a country/ enter one. This can show that you’ve been there, if it’s what you want… Note too that the allocated time is per year. This means that if you leave for some weeks and return, your amount of days does not go back to zero. In other words, you can be in the UK 180 out of every 360. Does this help?
Hello Ada! Well, turns out that you’re in a similar situation I found myself in when I reached the Philippines. I arrived to the country on a one way flight, not knowing how long I wanted to stay knowing that 3 weeks was the limit. Customs would not let me into the country unless I showed proof of purchase of an outbound flight. So I kind of lied to get myself into the country as I did not want to allocate three weeks if for some reason I did not like it, and just showed them an itinerary of a flight saying that I had bought it. All this to say that they are quite picky and you might find yourself in trouble, ranging from a penalty to simply being banned.
Yet rules have changed and the 21 day limit has been extended to 30 for a large number of countries. In this link of the official Immigration website of the you’ll find a list of the countries who’s visas have been extended from 21 to 20 days. If you want to extend the visa anyhow (which is also possible) this link will tell what forms are needed and how to extend a visa for the Philippines.
Hope this helps!
PS Sorry for taking three days to answer!
Thanks for your reply!!!
Yes, 30 days is now the limit! Great! So, I have nothing to worry about.
We will fly to Vietnam (Hanoi) from Manila and I just realised that we need to pay £52! for the visa (greek passport)… I think it is the most expensive visa that I have seen!!! And we just need to spend 15-20 days there…and after Cambodia…any ideas if i applied the e visa? is it secure? thanks again!!!
Hi Ada!
Good to hear that things are on the smooth side again. Yup, the visa is quite expensive. I used the e-visa option when I went and had no problem. If I’m not mistaken I paid 25 USD (pick up on arrival) but then this was years ago…
Great Federico!
Many thanks for your help and advices!!!
Keep on the good job in this website!
Take care
Ada
You are most welcome Ada! 🙂
Hi Ada,
I’m a Filipino citizen, it’s so EASY..you just have to ask an extension of stay in the nearest immigration office wherever you are and pay for 3000 pesos.
This site can help you; http://www.living-in-the-philippines.com/visa-extension-philippines.shtml
Thanks for sharing this Faye!
Hi Federico,I really need your help right now! I am Canadian,I got a 6 months tourist visa to India just after I graduated in my BFA from China.
I’m here for 148 days now,my ticket to leave India is just 2 days before the visa ends.
But just yesterday,I tried checking in a hotel and failed because they told me there’s a small line written below: “EACH STAY NOT TO EXCEED 90 DAYS”,which I had no idea about,the only thing I know is that my visa is suppose to be valid for 6 months of stay.
I have my plane tickets on 13th of Jan to U.S.,and 27th of Jan to Canada.My mom is waiting for me in U.S.,we planned to visit for 2 weeks then head back to Canada. There is no refound for canceling the tickets..And I don’t know what’ll happen or what to do right now. Is there gonna be a problem for me to enter U.S.? Are they gonna allow me on the plane? I can’t afford losing a lot of money as I’m already left with pennys after this trip.And my mom is gonna be so angry at me..> <please help me..
Hey Beli,
Sorry I didn’t see this until today. You won’t have a problem entering the US, but there might be an issue leaving India (from what I hear they are quite picky). You may be fined when leaving, but I don’t know how much- fortunately the currency exchange is favorable as you have CAD. You may want to call India immigration directly after calling the Canadian consulate to give them a heads up- and you may get from them what can happen. You sent this message 3 days ago..let me know how you are and what’s going in.
Federico
Great News!!! Everything went well,I’m in U.S. right now,thanks for guiding me! I’ll share the story to you all:
So after your suggestion I tried to call Canadian Consulate,they didn’t pick up their calls,even with the 24/7 number.. Well luckily I’ve found an emergancy e-mail contact which is: sos@international.gc.ca ,they replied the next day,saying:
As permission to exit/ enter a country is the sole prerogative of the host country, your will need to contact the nearest Foreigner’s Registration Office (FRO) to your present residence in India to enquire about visa extension or issuance of an exit visa. The FRO is usually situated at the office of the local Commissioner of Police or District Superintendent of Police. Alternately, you may contact the Ministry of Home Affairs of India (www.mha.nic.in).contacted.Thank You.
And so I contacted the Delhi(where I stayed)FRO,they told me to go to their office on Monday. That was a Friday I called around 16:30(Their opening time is 9:30-18:00 but they don’t pick up new applications after 15:00. )
So I asked him to hold on,I have a few questions:Is there anything I can prepare for these 2 days to make the process faster? Caues my flight is leaving in 4 days.
He said:just come to the office on Monday,ok,byebye..
I was in India for 5 months..So these behaviors are nothing new to me..I explained again that it’s an emergancy so I need to know what all I need to carry that day,I don’t have extra days to prepare for those.
Than he said: Ok,carry a copy of your passport and visa,and a photo.
I tried to make sure asked if that’s all,He said: Yes,that’s all,come on monday.
So I prepared that,and on Monday before going I called them again to make sure of my appointment before leaving,he seemed to remember me when I answered them about my nationality.
Cause straightly he said: Don’t come today,fill up an online form for exit permit and you’ll get a date to visit my office..
I was just going to burst when I heard that..I simpliy shouted why didn’t you tell me that on Friday! I told you that my flight is leaving tomorrow I can’t miss it!
My Indian friends were beside me and worried..telling me don’t be angry with these pple..
He was like a robot! Repeating the same thing. After hanging up I was super nurves about what might happen,cause these pple seem to not care about others at all!
So by filling this form,you’ll need your Photo,Indian Visa Copy(PDF),Passport Copy(PDF),And you’ll need your Proof Of Residence in PDF.Last page of that form,details would be mentioned.
In my case,I lived at my friend’s rented appartment,so I’ll need A Copy Of Electric Bill From With The Same Address,And I Need The Landlord To Write A Letter About Me Staying At His Place,Signed,And One Of His Identity Proof With The Same Address On It.
Here’s the website:http://indianfrro.gov.in/frro/menufrro.jsp
After completing the application form,you can choose a date to visit the FRO which is writen in the last page,so I chose the earlist date which luckily was just the next day.
You’ll need to print it out carry it to the visa office with a photo,passport print,visa print,proof of residence print.
Do go early in the morning cause these gov workers really know how to take their time..
So before going,my Indian friends gave me some really great suggestions of dealing with them..
They said: Indians are very emotional,if you act like a little girl who doesn’t know anything and if necessary cry a bit,they’ll just let you go,and always let them know that you’re a student.
So that’s what I did,I told them that I’m a student,just graduted,this is my first time traveling,and the visa officers didn’t tell me anything about the 90 days rule,I always thought I can stay for 6 months..
First they all said it’s imposible for you to leave today no matter what situation you have..
I tried crying a little than the old grandpas finally got soften a bit,gave me a chance to speak,and I showed him that I was just using the scholarship money saved for this trip,stayed free at my friend’s place,can’t afford losing my flight,or I can’t go back anymore..So he tried to help me and at last they all agreed. They were really nice everyone stayed late at the end,I left past 18:00,and they charged me 1800rs only.
But NEVER NEVER try it over a lady officer,Indian ladies always try to be very strict with people when they have to power to.
So at last it was finished at my last day,there were no problem at all at the airport.
Thanks again for you help!
Beli,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! Many other readers will benefit from this. I’m also very happy to learn that everything went well and you managed to leave on the due date. It was also very smart of you to call often and repeatedly asking the same questions to make sure they provided the answers, otherwise you wouldn’t have been as successful. A good tip for everyone! I’m not sure the crying part will work for males or people over 25 though 😉 Good for you and have a great year!
gud day sir! i had question,, can i visit again uganda, last year 2013 i was stayed 9 months, and when i leave the country my special past was expire 20 days, now i hold my new pasport.. can i visit again in uganda without problem,,,thank you..
Hello Elmer, happy 2016! Did you get any kind of warning when you left, or was it all smooth? If you were not told anything my best guess is that you are already to travel to Uganda again. If you want to make sure I would call a consulate just in case. Remember too that this is an opinion based on experience, but they may have taken notes somewhere and pushed something without you knowing. I recommend you check with immigration (just make up some story with a questions about a new passport).
they asked me if i come back, then i told them maybe i comeback, then they stamp my pasport, without saying,,
If this is the case I think you should be fine 🙂
thank you very much for the advice,,, and happy new year!
You’re welcome!
Hello there! I have just passed my second application for a Visit Visa in the UK. I was first issued a Multiple Entry, 6 month visa last 2013. Now, I am quite worried if I will be able to get another approval because of what happened during my first travel. On 2013, I stayed in the UK for almost 5 months. (seems okay…) BUT, the intended travel period that I stated in my first VISA application was just 30 days. I don’t know if I really have to be worried because my visa states that I am allowed to stay in the UK for a maximum of 180 days. Is this a case of overstaying? Will this affect my second application?
Please advise
Hi Riri! From what you say you did not overstay your visa (still had a month to go)so you should be fine. Hope this helps! 🙂
My question is that I’m visiting the UK using only my passport. My visit is just only for 3 weeks but my fiance is very sick. I was wondering if I could stay past my passport stamp done by border control. If so will I be allowed to enter again on my next visit. I wouldn’t be staying but maybe 2 or 3 weeks past my stamp and I’m visiting in Northern Ireland. Please help
Hi Melissa,
Overstaying by three weeks (and in fact even just one day) can get you banned. It all depends on the mood of the people you’d be dealing with. If you can I suggest you visit for the allocated time, but if you know you’re going to overstay you have to be ready to deal with the consequences. One or two days are easier to get away with, but two or three weeks is longer. Can’t you get a multiple entry visa, or leave and return to get a new stamp?
Thank you for your reply. I can’t leave and come right back. I’ll keep in mind about the country banning me. I just want to make sure my fiance is better and not still sick.
Best of lucks Melissa!
Hello, I am Indian national and came to Maldives on 90days tourist visa. Now, I have overstayed about a week here in Maldives. Now,they are telling to pay penalty for overstaying and deportation from the country. If I pay for the overstaying, can I get visa extention? Or in any case I will be deported, even if I pay the penalty?
Thanks
I have the feeling you will be deported, but really all these things depend on how you are able to relate with the people. Paying the penalty though will probably allow you to return, where as if you don’t it could get more complicated for you…besides denying you entry ever again until you pay (and even if). A week though is not much, you should be able to make it work out for you. Good luck and I hope this helps!
hi i am a Bangladeshi citizen , i became overstay in malaysia for 6 months, during this time i was trying to do working visa, after that i cleared my overstay through an agent, in my passport i got final chop for special pass for 21 days, i came back from the KL august 21, my question is if i try to go back to the KL with student visa is there will be any problem in immigration to enter in malaysia?
Hi Liza! Well, there is no real guarantee about anything as it is a very subjective matter. The good thing is that you were able to fix the initial issue, but they could use it as an excuse to create some sort of trouble when you try to go again. This said I think it is unlikely this will happen because you are going with a a visa already, but do expect questions from the immigration officer. You have the correct paperwork and that should be enough. Hope this helps!
Hi, I overstayed in Singapore for around 1 day due to mixed up in dates. I was still 19 years old at that time and I only found out I overstayed when I went to the immigration office to apply for renewal of my student visa. The person told me I overstayed but since it’s my first offence, just don’t do it again. She asked me to write on a blank A4 paper the reason why I apply late (handwritten) and passed it to her. Then she let me go without need to pay fine or any official letter stating that I have overstayed. I received my student pass without having any problem and am able to travel in and out of the country smoothly up until now. I looked up in the internet, those people overstayed in Singapore before, they need to pay fine and had received official letter. My question is, so was I considered overstayed in Singapore?
I am applying for Australian tourist visa and one of the question is have I ever overstayed in any country before. I am not sure how to answer this. Can you please help me with this? Thank you!
Hi Danielle! From what you’re saying the Singaporean officer let you go without further implications, and I understand that your name is not in that new list with people who have overstayed, right? If this is the case and there it no observation in your passport I would say that you have not overstayed. Worst comes to worst, if Australia points this out sometime down the line you explain all this letting them know that you believed Singapore had not considered your case to be an overstay. Remember though that this is what I would do, and it does not guarantee anything. But I think you should be fine. Hope this helps!
Hi, I am not aware with any list of people who have overstayed though. May I know where to find it?
Nevertheless, thank you so much for your prompt reply! 🙂
Hey Danielle! I thought that this is what you were referring to when you were talking about the other people who have stayed. I found it weird, but hey. I suppose it exists but is only official. In any case, if you have not been notified any further I think you should be fine…
Hi,
Oh, what I meant by ‘those people’ are those people who shared their experience for overstaying in Singapore in various Internet website and forums. Sorry for the confusion!
And thank you so much, it’s really helpful 🙂
Glad I could help! 🙂
Hi am alex
I have overstay in France for 5days with my 90 days tourist stamp and i want to travel back to my country,i want to ask please will there be any problem if i want to com back to France in the later future? please kindly reply as soon as you can.
Hi Alex! Five days is not much so I think you should be fine on your way out and it shouldn’t affect any return in the future. If things do go the wrong way (penalty) it would be a case of bad luck. But it’s not enough of a reason to forbid future returns assuming there are no other things to add. Hope this helps!
I have a situation of my fiancé that is currently in Malaysia.. He is a United State Citizen and have been in the country for Chevron business project and completion of job with the collection of his payment. His visa has been blacklisted and having a difficulty to come back to the state since his visa expired on Aug 16,2015 which is a violation of overstay now… I need to find a way to get fee or how I can get the blacklist remove. They have exhausted all mean and have no more business in the country other than exiting back to the United States. I need some advise or direction on this matter.. We are being advise to remove the blacklist will cost $3000.00 each person which it two individual that were contracted for the project. The have paid all taxes in Malaysia and United States, but require the DP10 visa to be able to cash the check they received from Chevron in the country or need a clearance to bring check home to states to cash the check for job perform. Can some give me advise or a direction? They face arrest, but the have no other business with Malaysia no more. How can we proceed forward in this matter?
Hello Sonia,
So sorry to hear you are having this major problem. To tell you the truth I have no expertise in this area and cannot give any solid technical advice, but before paying anything I would check on guarantees. I suppose you have spoken with HR people in Chevron …have you insisted? Have you also spoken with the US consulate in KL? What I find odd is that the visa expired before you got the money from Chevron…it doesn’t make sense. I strongly suggest you speak in detail with somebody from the consulate, and if they don’t answer locally call via Skype or what not to embassies in the US, or the department of foreign affairs to see if they can guide you. Hope this helps, I would really like to know the outcome of this.
Federico
In my search for answers in Malaysia since my fiancé is now label for over stay in the country. He was there to collect his check and meeting with business team members. The check issue is not small by far, and willing to work with both country Malaysia and United States to settle all debt of clearance of check… Since check only has 10 days validation, every time they get new check the have to go to court for documentation of company check… There requesting 3000.00 usd or better yet myr to be paid to be removed from the blacklist. The check that was paid for service of work with Chevron we have paid Malaysia taxes and United States taxes. They have been work with Bank of America in malaysia to open an account in Malaysia to deposit check, now we face another problem. The passport is good, but since Visa expired they will not validate they can not open a bank account to settle the check in the bank, till immigration money is cleared. It a circle of events from chevron, bank and immigration clearance. I have contact US embassy… This country is know for scammers and fraud behavior there just treating this situation with no interest in my opinion and referring all communication based with scammers, stop talking to them, and really not answering none of my questions….. We have faced all kinds of fee with immigration wanting 3000.00 to be stamped with DP10 visa. This all crazy sounding to me… What do I know about Malaysia and there processes… I really need so guidance anything will help… Thankful not arrested but if caught they will be there for 3 months and deported… Please give me advise and direction to my question.
Questions;
Is there any way around the immigration fee?
How to advise me with Bank account if possible?
Or just be honest and upfront is these true issue? I am beyond confused, worry, and don’t know how to resolve….
The problem is the check was issue, but in order for them to bring the check in the United States. The court need to show that check would be process in States, but needed to pay all taxes first which is $2200.00 and $1500.00 court in USD to convert myr to pay taxes and court. I really think we are being taking advantage since they are American Citizen and just trying all possible to get out of country…Since tax rate changes daily if you don’t pay all taxes at once it will continue to increase until it settled.. It just a big headache.. so frustrated and not sure what to do on this matter for my love and simplify resolution…
Hi Sonia,
What a mess. It really is very complicated, and you’re not getting much help. I don’t think there’s a way around immigration fees, but the amount you mention (3000 usd) is way too high.
I am not quite sure as how to help, I have gone online and in this link you can contact Chevron HR Headquarters: http://www.chevron.com/contact/humanresources/ . In particular this is the number for payments by the company :
Payroll Forms
W-2 Inquiries
1099 Inquiries
Chevron Stations Inc. employees should contact the HR/Payroll Department at 1.877.814.4274.
I suggest you call here having all your documentation ready and see what they say. You should also ask them to extend the 10 day validation to whatever you know you need, and show the proof.
The only other idea that comes to mind may be contacting a lawyer. Perhaps someone you know knows a reliable one? Sorry I can’t be of more help…
I know a family who is Japanese but the children also have french nationality. So, the children are able to travel the Schengen area no problem. However, their father who does not own a EU passport is with them. He has now overstayed and will like to stay longer. What paperwork should he fill to make this possible? And, what kind of punishments will he receive for overstaying? Is it easy to get a visa when you have direct family who are from the EU?
Thank you
It depends on what country will issue the visa. I do recommend though that if the children have French nationality their father not only tries to obtain a visa but tries to obtain a French passport as well (based n family reunification). Not sure if Japanese nationals are allowed to have a dual citizenship? Overstaying penalties can vary in amount and may even incur deportation, so I suggest he initially calls the closest Japanese consulate first to get up to date information as these things can change often. Hope this helps!
I am thinking of vistiting the Japanese consulate regarding the overstay of my Japanese father. Is it also a possiblity to call or email the consulate? Or, is it better if it is not in writen and recorded form?
I would start be calling , and take it from there. Next step is to visit…emails are not replied quickly usually anywhere in the world…
Hi Sir, my sister has left for Italy last year as tourist but did not return. I am planning a trip to Italy, its my 2nd visit. I am worried if it will affect my application for the visa. Please help.
Hi Angela! I understand that your sister has stayed there illegally, and you’re concerned about any implications with your trip. You should be fine, as your sister could have left Italy overland to another country without the Italian customs knowing. In any case the police should not (I type this instead of “cannot” because sometimes it’s a personal thing agents have) be able to penalize you for something someone else has done. Hope this helps!
HI! last year I overstay 7 days in malaysia KL,I didnt had any problem when I get out of the country just some questions from the inmigration people and then they write something in my passport ,the question is if I can enter again to the country ,if it would be all okay
What did they write on your passport? Knowing that is crucial to make an educated guess 🙂
In my passport they write something like this :m.lol/j/bsi-jbs/547/3jlo 4(47) auth:tki bsi
Wow…I’m not sure what that means so I can’t really help. Perhaps you can call the consulate to make sure all is in good standard?
Hi,
I am indian and overstayed in malaysia for 2 years. I was cheated by an agent, he even taken my passport and fee for getting ready work permit and then changed his residence. I came to Malaysia by tourist visa.In india before coming itself i paid money to an agent for the visa but he also cheated me.
Now am going back to india by applying an emergency certificate(passport)from Indian Embassy.
I got a job opportunity in Australia now but I should get a police clearance from Malaysia Now.Is it Possible to get One? If I get also will it affect my migration process leagally?
PLS Answer me….
Hi Veena! SO sorry to hear you were cheated, unfortunately this happens very often. My question is, why would you need police clearance from Malaysia to work in Australia? They are different countries. In any case once you get your emergency document and you can leave Malaysia you should know what your status is, if you are banned for a certain time or not (you probably will) and any fees you may have to pay. Unfortunately I can’t say exactly whay will happen, but if you’re not going back to Malaysia for a while, can’t you just leave that to a side (and pay any fee that comes your way?).
Hello sir. I overstayed in uk 3 years it was tourist visa 6 months and now I back home one year ago I didnt have any problems with immigration there and didnt get exist stamp in airport I heard that they check by e-boreder now I have new passport. Is that possible to go back again? Or I banned to enter uk and schengen.. Thanks
Hi Raiz! If you were never told anything and didn’t get an email or notification it probably means that you were very lucky and got away with it! I would think that you can indeed go back, but you may want to call the UK consulate in your country to make sure that everything is all right. Just tell them that upon arrival there was an issue with the scanning of your passport and you want to make sure all is OK with the new one. Hope this helps!
Thanks alot for your help and there is one more i want to know if they keeping records for all departure by e-border instead of exit stamp may be they know my date of departure. Thanks
They may be keeping track of that, yes, but if it doesn´t raise a flag at the moment or shortly after it probably means it went unnoticed…
Ok so heres the thing i came to US with a tourist visa den i overstayed it now its been a year and now i want to continue my education but i cant get admission to any college due to my legal status. Is there any thing i can do about it now ??
Hello Sayed. Usually when you request enrollment in a school you get a permission that allows you to stay in the country and then get a student Visa. Because of how the world is today the school might think it’s risky to allow admission to somebody who’s in the country illegally and simply wants to enroll just to spend more time in the country for some dubious reason, which 99.999999% of the times will not be true and they know it. I’m afraid you might not have many options other than leaving and re-applying from overseas. Perhaps you may want to call an immigration office without identifying yourself?
So should i apply for highschool? Will that help ??
By school I meant any teaching institution…and it would be the same. You’d have the same problem…
I have a UK friend who came to Malaysia to vie for contract tender but due to some financial difficulties the tender award did not take off. He was left stranded now over-stayed for a few months here in Malaysia with no money & air-ticket to return home to UK. Will the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur extend him some kind of financial aid so that he can go back to be with his ailing mother.
Hi Angie I’m not sure bit it is possible. The only way of knowing is be getting in touch with them…
I do seem to recall that one person had a similar problem and he did get the help needed…let is know how it goes and good luck!
Hello.
My boyfriend had a problem. He is an EU citizen.he had 90 days permitted to enter the country but the problem is he overstayed for 2 days. .so he went to travel in thailand via bus to exit. .but when he reached the malaysian boarder. The immigration officer tell him that you overstay for 2 days and then my boyfriend told that he will pay for the 2 days overstay. .but the immigration officer dont want that he will pay. . Instead he let him exit with the normal stamp on hiss passport and there is written with a pen back to slovenia via thailand below the stamp.he went to visit the island of thailand like kho li pe when he was in thailand where there is also immigration office there he consult to one of the officer about his situationif he can still back to malaysia while there written in his passport back to slovenia then the officer ask about his passport to see if whats in his passport when he saw the passport he said dont worry you can come back to malaysia 100 % via ferry going to langkawi where this is a boarder of malaysia entry point so when my boyfriend went there the immigration officer check his passport the officer told that he cant enter mean while because he needs to follow the rules which is written in the passport . .he ask the immigration officer if he will go back to slovenia can he will come again in malaysia. . The immigration officer answered him in the way yes you can come back. . What does it mean that he can comeback without problems? Just he need ti follow the rules then comeback?is he banned?because the immigration officer they didnt say to him that he is ban? he needs to change his passport so that when he come bck from slovenia the passport is clean? Please help. . Thanks. .
Hi Blend,
This situation is quite peculiar as I’ve never heard of a customs officer writing something on a passport that would require the person to travel to the country of origin (the country of the passport). As far as I know they don’t have the authority. They can deny entry, but that’s about it. From what I know since he overstayed less than one week he has to spend 2 days outside the country before coming back, but the information is not 100% reliable. My suggestion is you call/visit the closest Malaysian consulate near you and see what they say. Hope this helps!
Hi. . .
We are also wondering why the officer written it to his passport. . Actually he denied to re enter in langkawi boarder in malaysia last may 8 and it happens last may 2. .because of that written. .i read also about that rules. . But we are really confused if how many days or months he needs to be away in the country and how many days he can comeback again. . He is in thailand now he will travel back to slovenia this coming friday. . Thanks
So he will be going to back to Slovenia then. Did you call a Slovenian consulate?
Hi
I recently went to Uzbekistan and overstayed my visa as i missed my flight due to sheer carelessness.the visa expired on that day and the authorities made me pay a fine and allowed me to exit the country with a stamp with says “was turned out of f the country due to breach of stay regulations.
I want to apply for UK tourist visa so will this have any affect on my UK visa application.
thanks in advance for your response
Respected sir,please guide me for latter of clearance for overstayed in Malaysia for student visa of European countries. I was overstayed in Malaysia for one year, because my agent hold my passport. i don’t have my passport at that time. When i got my passport back i went to the malaysian immigration office in kuala lumpur.I was banned in Malaysia for 5 years.now I want to study in Europe.I have shared my query with the university, they suggest me to attech all immigration’s documents with my visa application & a letter
Hi Prateek, unfortunately I don’t write these letters, it is out of the scope of this website. Just write one that is not too long (not more than half a page with font size 12) explaining what you want it for and making sure you include all necessary documentation (letter of acceptance from Uni, for example).But in any case you should be fine…
Hi my friend met a filipino guy and had a baby to him,when the baby was 4 months old she became really sick and has spent weeks in hospital,she is home but has a nasogastric tube and has to be fed via a pump and will do for however long it takes for her to start eating solids or she grows out of her condition..well the thing is Dad has to go back to the philippines in Sept his( is it? ) visa expires then,he is a huge support to my friend and father to his little girl,the question is how does he apply to stay in NZ and are there enough grounds to stay in NZ with having a sick child(who is a Nz citizen) ..i remember reading a similar story be never heard the outcome.
Hi Janet,
This case is very specific and sensitive. I strongly recommend you/he calls immigration asap to see if he can do something about it. There might be, but it also depends on how cooperative the people you deal with will be… Ideally it would be best if he speaks with a woman because she will understand motherhood better. Hope this helps!
If someone was deported from Aisa country. Can he/she applies for a shengen visa To Europe
Yup! 🙂
I overstay in maldives Asia content For almost 3months and some weeks. Due to the process of falling into a wrong agent hands. I sent my passport to him for a for a shengen visa. Andrew my passport spent almost 3months on his hands. So he’s planning to send it back to me now witwithout any visa after collecting money from me. Now he’s sending its back and amenities planning to go back to my country Nigeria. So Pls tell me what panty am I going to face on my way back home. Or if am deported will I be able to apply for Europe visa (shegen visa)
Hi Isaac, sorry to hear about your experience. I do not know what the penalty for overstaying in the Maldives is, but even if you are fined and/or deported, you can still apply for a schengen visa and should not affect the results. However, they could use this fact as a reason to deny it, on the presumption that you may overstay again. If you have the money though I would give it a try… hope this helps!
Thank the very much. I appreciate ur cosign. But it won’t affect trying to apply for Europe visa. But am I going to be jaile if I don’t have to the specific amount they will demand. Or if I don’t have to the amount dey fine me?
You mean if you can be fined or put in jail for not having the amount of money required for the visa? No, of course not! The way things work is that you call the consulate or embassy of the country in the EU you want to enter through, and ask how much the visa is for that country, and then mention you want a Schengen visa too. And that’s it. You are just gathering information, no problem. You can even call a few different ones to see which one is cheapest, or take a look at the official immigration websites. I have the links to several in my post, you start there… From what I found online the visa for less than 90 days is 60 Euros and 99 Euros for more more than that time. Payment is non refundable. Hope this helps!
Yes. Thanks. But the same thing happened to my friend and he is about applying for north American visa. Is there going to be a problem when applying for north American visa. Cos he was deported too from Asia country??
What do you mean by “the same thing happened to my friend”? He cannot be fined for not having the money for the visa when inquiring, that’s impossible. And the same thing would happen with the US; he can be denied the visa because of suspicion of overstaying based on past experiences, but that is a completely subjective decision that will depend on the person. There is no real way of know what will happen, but again, if I were you and losing the money did not mean a lot to me, I would inquire and try to get one before departure.
Yeah. Thanks. But how many days of weeks or months will some stay in their custody before Derporting he /she to his country. Will the immigration responsible for the transportation (flight)?
Usually immigration covers the cost of the flight.
Hi
Wale is my name i’m a Nigerian citizen and passport holder.I came to Vietnam early Jan.5th 2013 on a one month tourist visa,while trying to extend my visa things got complicated and my visa expired.I have being in Vietnam for over a year now.Presently i intend travelling to meet my Philippine fiancee,on approaching Philippine embassy i was asked to bring either my residence permit or work permit before i could be granted a visa and this i don’t have.I called the Vietnam embassy in Hanoi and they told me i must provide any means of legal residence in Vietnam before i could be granted a visa.I told them i don’t have this,the man i spoke with told me the only solution is if i have someone in Philippine who can apply for visa on my behalf then i can be granted visa without asking for residence or work permit.Please tell me is this possible,i really want to meet my fiancee this April/May.
Hi Wale,
Sorry for the late response. How come you can’t enter the Philippines with a tourist visa? It’s 3 weeks, but at least it gets you in. You will also need to show proof of purchase of outbound flight ( when there I just showed an itinerary, I hadn’t purchased it yet). Your case is very specific and if that is what the consulates and embassies are saying there’s not much more I can suggest, except the tourist visa thing…
Thanks for the reply,i guess its not that too late,as the saying its better to be late than be the late(smiles).I want to really know if i can get a tourist visa to travel to Philippine when i neither have residence or work permit here in Vietnam,given the country passport i’m carrying.Also if its possible what else would i need to present at the point of exit and the point of entry to Philippine?I need your clear explanations please,thanks.
Wale.
Hi Wale,
FYI when I got the tourist visa for the Philippines I had no residence or work permit, it was just a 3 week tourist visa which I go on arrival. I was required to show proof of departure from the country, which I did not have, so I asked for a computer with internet and printed an itinerary as if it was my departure flight and got away with it. The reason I didn’t buy it was because I didn’t know if I would like the country or not, and one week would be enough or I would stay all three. A few days later I realized I would stay all three so I purchased the flight with the itinerary I had shown. This with US passport. With yours it should be more or less the same (please check this link I found for you https://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=NG&AR=00&PASSTYPES=PASS&DE=PH&user=KLMB2C&subuser=KLMB2C). Here is a link to the Filipino embassy in Abuja where you can call to get all the info you need, or navigate the site for more details http://abujape.dfa.gov.ph/. Hope this helps!
Hi Federico! Great advice and something that is quite often overlooked as travelers! When we traveled through Asia with my boyfriend, we always looked beforehand if we needed a visa, how much time we were allowed to stay, how much a visa would cost and whether there were entry fees/departure tax etc. Thank you for providing this very useful information! If you’re interested in quality photos, videos and storytelling on top of traditional travel tips: http://www.ooaworld.com
Thanks for dropping by and your comments Carole, glad the post is useful! I see you loved Luang Prabang as much as I did, what a lovely city 🙂
Hi. Pls I overstay my visa in Asia country maldives. Almost 2month due to the process of sending my passport back to my country for uptaining a shengen visa. Now dey have issues me the shegen visa. And they are sending it back to me. What am I supposed to do no? And secondly if dey deport me to my country with a deporting stamp on my passport. Will I be able to travel to Europe. With my passport? Pls I need urgent answer. Thank you
Hello,
I overstayed in UK for 31 days on my student visa on 2011 and returned to my country with my own expenses. I have never stopped by anyone and never filled any form on my return. Now I am going to get married to EU citizen next month.
The reason for overstaying is, I undergone a surgery on NHS,I have got only the Certificate on attendance stating the date the time and the signature of the attended doctor, but this all happened on my overstaying period.
Visa expired on Jan 31 2011 and the certificate I have got is 22 Feb 2011 and returned to home country on 3 March 2011.
My question is,Does it create a problem on appying visa? Do I get visa? I am bit worried. Please advise.
Thanks in Advance.
Hi Peter,
If you have never received and letter or notification you should be fine. You also have those papers that show you overstayed because of health reasons, and worse comes to worse you can always contact the hospital. In my opinion you should be fine and I would apply to the visa as if nothing happened. Should you run into trouble because of it get the hospital to help you out…
Hope this helps?!
Thank you so much for your reply.
Initially, I had a thought, while applying for visa planning to give explanation by showing the certificate before they find out the overstay period. Will that work?
Who knows. I guess submitting it might help from the beginning, but it can also make things worse because it will raise eyebrows. Sorry for taking so long to reply
Hi there, I’m a Malaysian with a UK visitor visa for 6 months which ends on 28th of April. I’ve planned to travel a few EU countries and return to UK on 23rd. I’ve also bought my flight ticket back to M’sia BUT it’s the wrong date, which is 2 days later from the end of my visitor visa valid date. I can’t change my date of flight coz it’s fully booked on the 28th.
So will there be a problem for me to return to UK from my EU trip at the borders?
And if I managed to re-enter UK, overstay 2 days and leave exactly on the 30th, will I face a lot of questioning while leaving UK?
Thanks!
Hi Ray,
2 days is not much time, so I don’t think you would run into trouble leaving after such a short overstay. If you have important stuff to do I wouldn’t worry too much knowing where you’re at. However, if you don’t have anything really important to do, why not try to leave on the 27th for example? Contact the airline and explain your situation…they should be able to help. This way you are sure to not have any problems. Hope this helps!
Hi, I came to Hungary on a student visa, got my residence permit and studied for two years without any problems. Unfortunately due to my parents sudden financial problems I had to drop out. I had nine months left on my permit so I did a few odd jobs to either save up enough to go back to uni or buy a ticket home (I’m Nigerian) but I couldn’t make enough for either. It’s been 4 months since my permit expired and I don’t really know what to do next. I guess I could turn myself in but I don’t know if I’ll get deported (which would be a better option) or arrested and made to pay a huge fine (which I definitely won’t be able to). I want to keep working to save for uni but I don’t know if I’ll be allowed to renew my permit. But I also don’t know what will happen if I buy a ticket instead and try to leave voluntarily. Long story I know, sorry.
Hi there, sorry to here about the trouble you’re going through. Truth is I don’t know what would happen either. When in Hungary I was once fined on the spot for not validating my metro ticket ( I bought it, but didn’t know it had to be validated in a machine) so this tells me that they’re quite strict. It was obvious the police was targeting foreigners only too. I doubt you’ll be arrested but a fine plus deportation is a strong possibility. Perhaps your best bet is to call Hungary immigration and see what they have to say?
Hello, i have a torist and visting visa to South africa, and i have over stayed the entery with 2 month and over stayed my visa with 1 month because i have a 3 month visa, i would like to know if i wont have any problem when going back to my country Nigeria , because i heard i would be banned, also i like to know if i wont get arrested at the airport when going back, and like to know if i wont have any problem with other country when i try to apply or travel to other countries, also if there would be a banned stamp on my passport… Thanks i love to hear from you.
Hello Jaiye,
As you have overstayed the chances of having trouble exist, you know this as well as I do. This said 1 month is not much so I can understand a fin, but I don’t think you would be banned, however as this is all very subjective if you run into an annoying customs agent this can happen too. As for the banned stamp it again depends on the agent, but this should not affect too much when you travel to other countries. Something that can also happen is “losing” your passport once in Nigeria and the new one you get will not have the stamp…
please i am 2 year and 3 months overstay in vietnam. can i extend it or will they give me a stamp visa to go back to my country philippines, how much will i pay
Hi there. 2 years and three months is a lot of time, so I think you will most probably be deported- it’s one of those countries where it’s not good to overstay. You could be banned from re-entering for a number of years. As for the fine, it is usually about 200,000 dong per day….
hi
Recently I had been to Germany on behalf of my company (ITC InfoTech ) to attend business meetings and discussion. I was in Germany from 11th Feb 2015 till 21st Feb 2015. At the time of exit on 21st Feb 2015, I was stopped by the immigration officer stating that I had overstayed in the country. I had been granted a Schengen Visa German consulate india , which had a validity from 11th Jan2015 till 24th Feb2015 with duration of stay allowed for 30 days.
The office at the port of Exit in the airport highlighted to me that I had over stayed by 12 days and hence it is a Criminal offence to overstay. I did the mistake in reading the Schengen visa at my end as I thought that the expiry date of the visa to be the last day of visa and over looked stay period allowed in visa . Hence planned the return tickets accordingly.
FYI i have a normal visa stamping on exit-on same page as the entry.
The immigration officer advised to sign a couple of documents.
Hi Vikas. What is your question? 🙂
Hi my questions are
What will be the action taken by the German Embassy for overstay by 12 days?
can i ever re enter Germany again? If so in how many days can I apply for visa without being refused.
Will I ever be able to apply for work permit?
Hi Vikas,
In your original comment you say you arrived on February 11th, but I now suppose you meant January 11th? Otherwise you have not overstayed. With what you say, I think you’re fine. DO you remember what you signed? If you have not been given any warning and your exit stamp is the usual one I think that you can travel as usual and are definitely not banned. If you had been fined you would have been given some sort of notification upon leaving. As for the visa, I don’t know and it’s really up to the consulate… Hope this helps!
Hi ,
I did overstay sorry the arrival date is 11Jan2015,
I was charged with German Residence act section95 No1.2 Residence in germany without Permit is a criminal offence it seems.
I am scared as to what will happen next they have provided a contact person to whom I will be getting the details of the Penalty or whatever the next step but I wanna know will I be allowed to work in Germany with the presence of this record ?
How can I send or attach attachments here ? There a couple of documents you could have a look at for precise understanding.
btw the police officer was very polite and even said its a very minor issue since its your first visit and even wished me a good flight journey !
They asked me how much cash I had at that moment I dont know for what reason but I had 50 euros I dont know why they asked cash any idea on this >?.
Hi Vikas, I replied via email. Feel free to send the attachments in an email, I’d be happy to have a look 🙂
Hi. I am very curious to know what happened to vikas (convesation dated
February 26, 2015 at 2:34 am) who mistakingly overstayed his/her visa in Germany. My sister had a similar situation except she overstayed less than a day. She gave the embassy the exact dates of travel and was given 10 days. She didn’t realize that her dates would be more than 10 days (by a half a day) until the immigration officer pointed it out to her. She is a very rule-following person and would never intentionally break the law. She is so concerned what the letter (the same one given to vikas) would mean. It suggests that she committed a criminal offense. Can you please let us know what she can expect? We are all freaking out because of this unexpected turn of event.
Hi Mona! I understand that she would only overstay about half a day, which frankly is very little. Those letters are meant to scare, but I doubt anything serious might happen. I wouldn’t worry much, thinking that things can go wrong if you get agent who’s in a bad mood. Might want to speak with immigration and see what they say, but don’t worry… oh and as for Vikas, I never found out what the final outcome was…
My question is that
i am pakistani and i overstayed in new zealand and came back to pakistan and now i m applying for usa business visa ( will i get problem )?
Hi Sameer,
In theory you should be fine as one country is not related to the other or has any kind of border infringement agreements, but it is possible that the US uses the NZ case as a precedent to not allow entry. In any case I would try it, making sure you have a good reason for overstaying in NZ. Hope this helps!
I live in italy via us military. we have been here 7 years. My mom is widowed and the las titme she visited she overstayed her visa by a long time. When she left she went through Germany. They pulled her aside asked her why she overstayed she said she was here with her daughter. They stamped her passport as normal and let her go on with her flight. I would like her to return just for the 90 day toursit. With a direct flight in and out of Italy. Should I just not do this. Should we assume she is in some database already barring her from Schnegen states?
If she hasn’t been notified of anything she is in good standard and should be able to fly in an out without problems. Hope this helps!
In the case of Israel, I accidentaly stayed 4 months more then my Visa allowed. After much deliberation, I called the Ministry of Interior, and explained my situation, and turns out, I just had to get an appointment on the next week, pay 180 sheckels,and I got a temporary visa untill the end of my stay.
Sometimes its better to contact the authorities and be honest; no tricks or anything 🙂
Yup. It usually makes things easier Pedro, just like you say. Thanks for stopping by!
Hello,
Iam chinese, with a 180days tourist visa in UK, may I know how many days can I stay here? 90days or 180days? After 180days, I want yo study here, so now I planned to apply a visa in UK university to get a student visa to stay here longer, is that possible? Or they not allowed me to get a student visa or marriage visa with a tourist visa here?
Thank you for helping.
Br,
Lucy
Hi Lucy. You can spend 90 out of every 180 days, so in a year you can spend 180 but not continuously- you’d have to leave and re-enter the country. If you are planning on studying there apply for the student visa asap. That would over rule the tourist visa. Make sure though that you can get it while there, in some countries you have to apply from abroad. There are a few links at the bottom of the article, I recommend you call immigration in the UK to get up to date details.
HI
May I know what is meaning 180days but not continually ? Means I must leave the country after 90days and come back again? Sorry my english is poor, that’s also why I want to study here, to live here longer.
And do they allow me to marry someone I love from here in this 180days? If I stay here 180days continually not leave the country, will I have to pay a lot fine?( How much that will be?) will they send me to jail in China or in UK jail? I do not want to go to jail.:(
Hi Lucy, it means that you cannot spend those 180 days straight. You can stay 90, leave for 90, and return (starting the count all over again) or you can spend a few, then leave, then return again and so on making sure that again you don’t spend more than 90 during those 180. As for getting married you can of course get married whenever you want! The fine you are asking about depends on the country where you’re at, you will not be sent to jail in China and it’s unlikely in Europe too. It is very possible though that you get fined and deported, and are banned from re-entering EU again in a while. But, as I say, it is very possible , which means that there’s a chance nothing happens too. It’s a small one though. If you can apply for a student visa that would be much better too. 🙂
Hi, i have question i’m a filipino and im here in qatar for visit visa, and at the same time looking for a job.. And my visa will expire this month, my problem is my passport is in my pocket while in the laundry. What should i do? Please help me
Hi Earl. I have a friend who had the same problem in Israel and didn’t do anything. On the day of his departure he was stopped and asked to get a new one in the consulate, so you may want to do the same before heading there, or ask them if it’s good enough as it is. Hope this helps! You’ll be alright though.
Urgent!
My relative is currently on the deportation list in the philipines for overstaying her tourist visa and working without permit for 1 year. Her passport was taken off her by immigration 4 months ago and is still waiting for it back. She wants to come back home as soon as possible. What are her options? What is the quickest way to get her back home? Thank you.
Hi Sarah,
What country is her passport from? Traveling without a passport is impossible, so I recommend you and your relative contact his/her consulate asap and explain the situation. Don’t know if it will help but at least your relative’s country will know about the situation officially. Hope this helps and good luck!
Hi. Your advice is very helpful. Please enlighten me, I’m now planning to study in Canada but I am not sure if I will be eligible because, last 2009 I went to Sweden to visit my relatives and after one week I decided to go to Italy until my 30 days visa expired. And I was given a chance to get an amnesty after 1 year to work, and I worked there legally for 4 years. I would like to know what are the chances that I will be denied to have student visas because I am not sure if it will appears in the Police Certificate that once I was illegal worker in Italy. Is it possible not to declare my travel history in Europe. Please help me.
Hi Gelena,
I don’t think you will be denied the visa as Italy has nothing to do with Canada.Does it state somewhere that you were caught working illegally?
Hey, Can anyone help..,?! What Is the fines/penalties for overstaying in Colombia on a student visa for about an extra 30-40 days? I’ve heard Venezuela is too dangerous to travel to so I’m not sure I can renew my visa now ! Gracias
Hey Leanne. I entered Venezuela couple of years ago, traveling around the country did turn to be a pain indeed and I left earlier than intended to, but the border crossing was easy. This said, you already overstayed and I found this online…”The law provides for a fine to be imposed on you between 1/2 and 7 times the minimum monthly salary. So for 2013 the fine will be between 294,750 and 4.126,500 COP.” Rules and laws constantly change in Colombia though, and from what I’ve also reach people overstay constantly, go to migracion and pay some money that allows them to make their way out without much of a hassle (bribe..). Hope this helps!
I overstayed my Visa in Italy not on purpose but through sheer ignorance: Although duration of my stay was indicated as 15 days, I took advantage of the fact my Visa’s validity was for a month until November 22 2014 to enjoy visting some more. It wasn’t until I got to the airport to leave on November 17th and the passport control lady brought up the extra days did I realise this is considered an overstay (or is it?). She stamped a random page of my passport with the usual exit stamp. Now I fear my plans to visit two schengen countries and revisit Italy for 3 months in the next are in jeopardy. Can you advice?
I should mention that the extra days add up to about 10 days. And the stamp on the passport appears to be a normal exit stamp but at the back of the passport instead of next to the entry stamp.
Custom agents tend to do this in order to not have to look for the page that has available space and be quicker…
If she stamped it with the usual exit stamp you’re good to travel and should not have any problems. Enjoy your trip!
This year i deported from cyprus EUROPE…for overstay .my question is..can i go canada or uk and australia ..there are no facing any problem at canadian immigration …record
Thanx sir
You should be able to enter without problems. The countries are unrelated, though you could be asked some questions and may be allowed less time than what you’d expect. Hope this helps!
Hi Federico!
I am Canadian and just came back from Spain and overstayed the 90 day limit by about a week but they didn’t say anything. Now Im going back there but my flight passes through Frankfurt and from what I understand I’ll have to go through immigration there. I am afraid that they wont let me in because Ive already reached the limit so I was wondering if I get a new passport, will they not be able to tell? Or does the computer go through your travel history when it scans your passport? Thank you!
Hey Daniela! Currently writing this reply from Spain 🙂 As for your question, getting a new passport does not guarantee you can get through. It may help, but if your info has been stored your new passport will have been updated too, unless you get there before they get the info (and I’m not sure how fast they can be). You would be in Spain illegally though (you say you already reached the limit), is it worth it ?
Am niger citizen I have a little problem,inside 2011 am in china caused I studied there ,there was a time went my school given us x visa extensions you have to taken your passport to embersy for your visa..so went I submitted it I just left it there almost six month caused I knw our school are giving us a semester visa that 6 month I don’t know d visa this time isn’t reached d six month so I over stayed for almost ten days at the ended I was fined 5thousands yen n a visa permitted to leaved China in ten days.. So now am planning of getting back inside this month…so can i still get visa and can they allow me in when I get d visa thanks
Do you have school? They should help…in theory if you were not told anything you haven’t been denied entry…
I don’t told am denied or anything… Am just wanna get back so am looking for visa now …so how will I know that am not banned Or I can still get the visa
I don’t told am denied or anything… Am just wanna get back so am looking for visa now …so how will I know that am not banned Or I can still get the visa ..but their was an agent that I gave my new and old passport today he called me and told me the visa request have rejected… But I don’t know whether is true or not caused I know I don’t have any problems apart from this over stayed issue
The best way to know if it is true or not is to call the consulate and ask them directly…
Hi I am a consultant hired by a firm in the usa, I have been visting their subsidiary office here in Portugal for the past few years. This last entry I have exceeded my stay of 90 days by over 10 days. In addition I was not aware of the 90/180 days rule which I now realize I have violated, as within the last 6 months I have stayed for almost 5.5 months. What are my best options, Should I contact the immigration office and ask for assistance or leave and hope for the best. I cannot afford being banned entry…
I would contact immigration and also the company. If you’re working for them and spend so much time there they should be able to get you some kind of working visa that would allow you to say as needed…
hi there. im an israeli citizen (we get automatic 90 days visa to the schengen area same as in USA)/ last winter i stayed in austria without knowing i can stay only 90 days i overstayed my visa. i realized that only after i was 94 days in the shcengen area. when i did i went to the ministry on intiria offices in the nearest town and told them about it. they called the police. i had to pay 400 EU fine and i was told by the police to leave the country asap. (i recieved a piece of paper that summs what happened and tell that i was oredered to leave the schengen area). i asked the cops if i will be banned and they say they dont thing so but they cannot be sure. they also told me to go back to the austrian embassy in tel aviv when i arive home’ sign them on a paper that proofes that i left the countrey and send it back to them. 2 days after i left austria. had no problems on the airport, but i do thing there was something in the computer because the officer looked at the computer screen for like 10 seconds before he gave me my passport back. when i arrived hom i went to the enbassy and sended the signed paper to the police station with verafiyng that they recieved it. few weeks later i received a letter from the austrian police but it was in german so i asked a friend of mine to translate, she said it bassicle summs up the all story and that there is nothing written about any rentry bann or anything like that, it just says that it could be worst if i overstayed more time. i plan on going back to europe 2 times this winter. my first trip is for 1 week and i shoul land in zurich and the second one is for 2 month and i should land in munich. i have 2 ways ticked for both of them. am i facing a possibility of rentry?
i know its a lot to read, hope to get an answer. thanks
Hey there. If you were not notified you are banned from entering, you should be all right. They fined you, and 4 days is not much, so you should be OK. Plus you paid the tickets already so I would definitely give it a shot. Hope this helps!
Hi All,
I am a South African citizen, my daughter who is not, stayed there for a longer period (the tourist visa is valid for three months) when she left the South Africa she was issued with a fine of SAR 1000 and was told to pay this fine at her local embassy in the country where she resides. This was given to her in 2010, she of course did not pay the fine and would like to return to S.A. to visit the family for two weeks. Will she get arrested at the airport upon her arrival? If anyone can shed some light on this it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
It’s difficult to know. Most probably she will be notified either at the airport once leaving that the fine is due or when she lands in SA. I know of someone who was in a similar situation in the USA (ticket was a speeding ticket) and when pulled over for something small the 3 year old speeding ticket was still in the DB and was arrested until he paid.
I am a Nigerian came in from Serbia to Hungary can i go back home with my passport?
I don’t see why not…
Hi i am a philippines citizen ! My working visa is expired 2 months ago . I was giving birth last month to a baby boy . I have an american bf( the father of my son ) who willing to marry me . But i dont want to marry him because i dont want someday that he can take my baby away from me and i dont want to go to america living with him . My problem is what will happen to me and my baby if i go to immiigration to tell them that my visa expired , yes sounds crazy but i dont want to be with my bf anymore ! I know i go to jail but its just a temporary and they wiill send me to phil. My quetion is how about my baby ? Wht will happen to him ? They willl take my baby ? Or they gonna allow us to go to phils . Together ? Pls answer me . I need some help and advice .