# Re non EU nationals overstaying Spain



## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

Can anyone *‘’who has’’* overstayed confirm what happened to them, please?


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## Do28 (Dec 21, 2010)

woodpecker9 said:


> Can anyone *‘’who has’’* overstayed confirm what happened to them, please?


I don't know anyone who has been caught but know loads who have overstayed and continue to do so....... There is a document that I will link shortly that gives guidelines that start with a warning and then goes onto fines and bans. So the mechanism for punishment exists and is documented but how its enforced is another matter.....


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

There's this woman who was denied entry because she didn't have an exit stamp in her passport.

Apparently she hadn't in fact overstayed, but without an exit stamp, the border guards took it that she had.

there are lots of reports about this - thisone just came to the top of the google pile









British woman blocked from Spain


A BRITISH woman has said she was denied entry to Spain from Gibraltar after her passport allegedly wasn't stamped on exit. Since Brexit, British citizens are only allowed to be in the EU for 90 out of every 180 days.




www.express.co.uk


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

xabiaxica said:


> There's this woman who was denied entry because she didn't have an exit stamp in her passport.
> 
> Apparently she hadn't in fact overstayed, but without an exit stamp, the border guards took it that she had.
> 
> ...


Can anyone *‘’who has’’* overstayed confirm what happened to them, please?


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

Not sure it would help much as every case is likely to be dealt with differently on it's merits and circumstances.

Are we to take it you're an overstayer or are anticipating being?

This is the official line:

Brits Overstaying EU's 90/180 Days Rule to Face Penalties - SchengenVisaInfo.com


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

MataMata said:


> Are we to take it you're an overstayer or are anticipating being?


Please do not ask for private personal confidential information.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

woodpecker9 said:


> Can anyone *‘’who has’’* overstayed confirm what happened to them, please?


I would be surprised if anyone would openly admit to breaking the law.


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

MataMata said:


> This is the official line:
> Brits Overstaying EU's 90/180 Days Rule to Face Penalties - SchengenVisaInfo.com





xabiaxica said:


> I would be surprised if anyone would openly admit to breaking the law.


I suppose so, but this is a usual forum with hidden identities. Breaking the law ranges from a parking ticket to murder.

I personally believe many non-resident Brits in Spain are overstayers, partly due to the blind eye attitude of the Spanish authorities which they have taken advantage of, and of course tax dodging.

Yes, I am sure there is ink on paper Spanish and Schengen rule book, but what is the true reality of what if anything is being enforced. We will only get that from the horse’s mouth at this stage.


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## trotter58 (Feb 8, 2017)

woodpecker9 said:


> Please do not ask for private personal confidential information.


Isn't that what you're doing by asking anyone if they've overstayed?


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

trotter58 said:


> Isn't that what you're doing by asking anyone if they've overstayed?


My question was an open question to anyone prepared to volunteer their experience, and not directed to any named person. Can we now return to the subject, please?

Mrs. Hilda Woodpecker
2 Branch Avenue


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## Do28 (Dec 21, 2010)

woodpecker9 said:


> My question was an open question to anyone prepared to volunteer their experience, and not directed to any named person. Can we now return to the subject, please?
> 
> Mrs. Hilda Woodpecker
> 2 Branch Avenue


Well I have overstayed multiple times. Nothing to report. 

Are you therefore asking if anyone has been caught and what their punishment was?


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

Do28 said:


> Well I have overstayed multiple times. Nothing to report.
> 
> Are you therefore asking if anyone has been caught and what their punishment was?


YES.

Thank you for volunteering the information, I respect your honesty. I would like to ask if you would be kind enough to inform the thread, were your overstays recent, were immigration aware, did they even bother to check your passport stamps, or are we in your opinion still in the turn of a blind eye situation.

Of course, you do not need to give this information and I respect your privacy.


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## Do28 (Dec 21, 2010)

woodpecker9 said:


> YES.
> 
> Thank you for volunteering the information, I respect your honesty. I would like to ask if you would be kind enough to inform the thread, were your overstays recent, were immigration aware, did they even bother to check your passport stamps, or are we in your opinion still in the turn of a blind eye situation.
> 
> Of course, you do not need to give this information and I respect your privacy.


I have never had an issue. I have never had my passport inspected and both my passports are a mess for stamps because as crew our passports are not stamped in and out unless we are transit crew where the can be stamped in but not out and vice versa. It would have to take a pretty dedicated border guard with plenty of time on their hands to work through my passport stamps in two passports!!

My over stays have not been intentional and are spread across the zone rather than just Spain and are just the by product of work in a post Brexit world and one of the reasons that I decided to apply for residency which I got in July. So now none of my time here comes of Schengen time and I can still work across the zone. I only realised I was over staying when I put a spreadsheet together to track it and that was no simple task!

At the moment I suspect they are not actually bothered and don't have the interest to check unless you are in a hot spot or have wound them up. I also suspect the attention they give to Brits is in direct proportion to the trouble the idiot that is in charge of the UK is causing with the EU at any moment in time. They are also waiting on the rollout of ETIAS which is supposed to provide tracking via the online visa process but its plagued with issues and has now been put back again until at least 2023 so it's up to each country how they police it.

My opinion (and its just opinion!) is you have little problem at the moment (taking aside members off this groups obsessive love of rules - we can take the Brits out of Britain but not the British out of the British!!!  ) but at the end of the day it is against the rules and I would not consider it a long term option or a boundary you can keep intentionally pushing.

Is there a reason you have not registered here? Even now they are still accepting registrations under article 50 (my friend is in Cadiz this morning as I write this registering in the WA) and the moment you apply any over stay is suspended until your decision is made and any appeals heard. He is another overstayer that has not had an issue but decided to legitimise. Bloody pensioner who came to learn Spanish and like it so much he forgot to leave often enough!!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Do28 said:


> Well I have overstayed multiple times. Nothing to report.
> 
> Are you therefore asking if anyone has been caught and what their punishment was?


Were the overstays since the beginning of this year?


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## Do28 (Dec 21, 2010)

xabiaxica said:


> Were the overstays since the beginning of this year?


Me or the OP? Me its been pretty consistent over a few years actually. I work for a UK company that is spread all over Europe and I spent a lot of time at our various bases in the EU doing crew testing. I put a spreadsheet together to add them all up and was surprised how easily I managed to do it. It was exasperated by the increase in time I spent living in Spain rather than going to the UK which was created by the fact that my wife was able to spend more time here during covid. All the domino's in a line I guess. I would imagine the number of people who set out to intentionally abuse the system is really quite small. I have gained a lot of stamps this year in my passports since 1 January so countries are definitely stepping up the process but it is still far from consistent. Italy for example I have been to around 15 times this year and only have 5 stamps. France its been about 50%, Germany about 80%. I could list them all if I had time but the general impression is its very inconsistent.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

woodpecker9 said:


> Please do not ask for private personal confidential information.


Aren't you asking for personal confidential information ???
I'm not an overstayer, but I certainly wouldn't tell you on a forum if I was.
Many people overstay and for many nothing happens, but others are "caught"... It's up to you.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Do28 said:


> Me or the OP? Me its been pretty consistent over a few years actually. I work for a UK company that is spread all over Europe and I spent a lot of time at our various bases in the EU doing crew testing. I put a spreadsheet together to add them all up and was surprised how easily I managed to do it. It was exasperated by the increase in time I spent living in Spain rather than going to the UK which was created by the fact that my wife was able to spend more time here during covid. All the domino's in a line I guess. I would imagine the number of people who set out to intentionally abuse the system is really quite small. I have gained a lot of stamps this year in my passports since 1 January so countries are definitely stepping up the process but it is still far from consistent. Italy for example I have been to around 15 times this year and only have 5 stamps. France its been about 50%, Germany about 80%. I could list them all if I had time but the general impression is its very inconsistent.


You, which is why I quoted you.

Any 'overstays' on your part prior to the beginning of this year are irrelevant to the OP's question, since you were still an EU citizen until the end of last year. He specifically asks about NON-EU citizens.

As a beneficiary of the WA resident in the EU, your passport shouldn't be stamped at all in the Schengen zone, as part of the WA agreement, although the TIE will override any issues the stamps might cause in the future.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Do28 said:


> I have never had an issue. I have never had my passport inspected and both my passports are a mess for stamps because as crew our passports are not stamped in and out unless we are transit crew where the can be stamped in but not out and vice versa. It would have to take a pretty dedicated border guard with plenty of time on their hands to work through my passport stamps in two passports!!
> 
> My over stays have not been intentional and are spread across the zone rather than just Spain and are just the by product of work in a post Brexit world and one of the reasons that I decided to apply for residency which I got in July. So now none of my time here comes of Schengen time and I can still work across the zone. I only realised I was over staying when I put a spreadsheet together to track it and that was no simple task!
> 
> ...


As you say "crew" and are constantly travelling with more than one passport I think your circumstances seem to be different to many other forum members. I have only travelled twice and only to the UK since Brexit and both times my passport was throughly checked in and out of both countries, and even stamped. Maybe in your line of work overstaying a day is not counted as an illegality. Overstaying by weeks or even months could/ should be different.
_"My opinion (and its just opinion!) is you have little problem at the moment (*taking aside members off this groups obsessive love of rules - we can take the Brits out of Britain but not the British out of the British!!! *  ) but at the end of the day it is against the rules and I would not consider it a long term option or a boundary you can keep intentionally pushing."_
It's not an obsessive love of rules IMHO, it's quoting facts or the law which is important for members to know, especially if that member is thinking of breaking it. It's another thing entirely if that person wants to take this risk or indeed if the laws are enforced, especially taking into account that the different areas of Spain crack down on different laws depending on their needs or what the jefe decides on that day.


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## Do28 (Dec 21, 2010)

xabiaxica said:


> You, which is why I quoted you.
> 
> Any 'overstays' on your part prior to the beginning of this year are irrelevant to the OP's question, since you were still an EU citizen until the end of last year. He specifically asks about NON-EU citizens.
> 
> As a beneficiary of the WA resident in the EU, your passport shouldn't be stamped at all in the Schengen zone, as part of the WA agreement, although the TIE will override any issues the stamps might cause in the future.


I am fully aware of that. I am just answering his question on my position and adding a little perspective.

As for passport stamps, you are quite correct but once again you are applying your knowledge to a total lack of knowledge about my job and the circumstances. Frequently its impossible to get to them in time to stop a passport stamp. I know they are pointless and I constantly remind them sometimes its difficult to beat a drone....... I visit a dozen countries a month and they are all doing things differently........ Who could imagine a lack of joined up thinking existed in the EU.....


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## Do28 (Dec 21, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> As you say "crew" and are constantly travelling with more than one passport I think your circumstances seem to be different to many other forum members. I have only travelled twice and only to the UK since Brexit and both times my passport was throughly checked in and out of both countries, and even stamped. Maybe in your line of work overstaying a day is not counted as an illegality. Overstaying by weeks or even months could/ should be different.
> _"My opinion (and its just opinion!) is you have little problem at the moment (*taking aside members off this groups obsessive love of rules - we can take the Brits out of Britain but not the British out of the British!!! *  ) but at the end of the day it is against the rules and I would not consider it a long term option or a boundary you can keep intentionally pushing."_
> It's not an obsessive love of rules IMHO, it's quoting facts or the law which is important for members to know, especially if that member is thinking of breaking it. It's another thing entirely if that person wants to take this risk or indeed if the laws are enforced, especially taking into account that the different areas of Spain crack down on different laws depending on their needs or what the jefe decides on that day.


So you are lecturing me on my comments and then making guesses yourself on what exemptions might or might not exist for crew. I am not sure you get the irony of that.....

At no point did I suggest that what the OP has done is acceptable and clearly pointed it the rules. I guess I am just a but more pragmatic about it than you. Checked in an out of Spain and the UK is an interesting comment, please tell me exactly what you think they were doing and if your passport was stamped by the UK on entry and if so why? The UK does not stamp the passports of its citizens in or out of the country (there a couple of reasons an individual can request a stamp but thats a separate discussion).


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## proud.to.be.EUROPEAN (Feb 14, 2020)

OP is asking about consequences of overstay. They are defined in Schengen rule book, equaly applying to all non-EU nationals.

OP question is more like, "has anyone got caught speeding and what was consequence".
Getting caught breaking rules is just matter of luck and chance. However, each case could have different outcome.


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## Do28 (Dec 21, 2010)

proud.to.be.EUROPEAN said:


> OP is asking about consequences of overstay. They are defined in Schengen rule book, equaly applying to all non-EU nationals.
> 
> OP question is more like, "has anyone got caught speeding and what was consequence".
> Getting caught breaking rules is just matter of luck and chance. However, each case could have different outcome.


Yep, exactly what I said at the start as I recall!


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Aren't you asking for personal confidential information ???
> ...


Yes - but it's OK as posters on this forum have 'hidden identities' apart from woodpecker9 who somehow seems to think they are different. 😉 

However I would like to know the answer as well. All we get in the UK press is that Brits are leaving in their droves and thousands of Brexit voting Brits are moaning because their lives have changed and they didn't think they would - nonsense like that.

It would be nice to know what's actually happening the ground.


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## timwip (Feb 27, 2017)

Do28 said:


> ........ Who could imagine a lack of joined up thinking existed in the EU.....


I realize that you are saying this tongue in cheek; however, I would challenge you to name one country where there is a unified plan. Certainly not the United States or Britain. Perhaps China is the only country that I can think of. They are unified only because they demand that of their citizens.


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

My original question was aimed at trying to determine the current reality of what actions if any the Spanish authorities are taking against British overstayers. It was not to gain an education from the obsessive rules group. I apologise if I have misled anyone.

I have no intention of contacting Spanish immigration to report any member who admits to overstaying.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

jimenato said:


> However I would like to know the answer as well. All we get in the UK press is that Brits are leaving in their droves and thousands of Brexit voting Brits are moaning because their lives have changed and they didn't think they would - nonsense like that.
> 
> It would be nice to know what's actually happening the ground.


We see these headlines too - on closer inspection they are usually talking about British residents living in their second homes (now restricted to three months) rather than ones who actually live here. So they can't really be defined as "leaving in droves" as they were only really on an extended holiday, and I doubt there are more than a few hundred.

I don't personally know anyone who's gone back, but I know several who are planning to move here permanently, despite the stricter conditions.


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## Do28 (Dec 21, 2010)

timwip said:


> I realize that you are saying this tongue in cheek; however, I would challenge you to name one country where there is a unified plan. Certainly not the United States or Britain. Perhaps China is the only country that I can think of. They are unified only because they demand that of their citizens.


Perhaps the emoticon with the tongue hanging out was not enough to capture your attention..........


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola, 

I have a friend who is overstaying as they are not fit to travel; to try to be legal they have employed the services of a solicitor. As they are housebound, relying on others to do their shopping, there have been no consequences; nor do i think there will be when they return to their country but there may be when they want to return to the Schengen area 

Davexf


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

davexf said:


> Hola,
> 
> I have a friend who is overstaying as they are not fit to travel; to try to be legal they have employed the services of a solicitor. As they are housebound, relying on others to do their shopping, there have been no consequences; nor do i think there will be when they return to their country but there may be when they want to return to the Schengen area
> 
> Davexf


These circumstances are exactly the kind of permitted reasons for an overstay.


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## Relyat (Sep 29, 2013)

British passport warning as woman BANNED from entering Spain


BRITISH PASSPORT holders are facing new post-Brexit bureaucracy as one woman trying to enter Spain was banned from entering after border officers noticed an exit stamp was missing from her passport.




www.express.co.uk


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## badImage (Jun 11, 2013)

Relyat said:


> British passport warning as woman BANNED from entering Spain
> 
> 
> BRITISH PASSPORT holders are facing new post-Brexit bureaucracy as one woman trying to enter Spain was banned from entering after border officers noticed an exit stamp was missing from her passport.
> ...


Well there's always the entry stamp if you realize you are missing the exit stamp. Ask nicely and they'll stamp your passport at port of entry, here it'd be Gibraltar.


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## ksjazzguitar (Dec 22, 2010)

@woodpecker9


> > Are we to take it you're an overstayer or are anticipating being?
> Please do not ask for private personal confidential information.


I love that you are asking people about their experience breaking the law, but then get defensive when someone asks you your plans. That's rich. You go on to ask:



> I would like to ask if you would be kind enough to inform the thread, were your overstays recent, were immigration aware, did they even bother to check your passport stamps, or are we in your opinion still in the turn of a blind eye situation.


How is that less "personal confidential information" than what you were asked? He didn't ask for your passport number, or even your exact plans.

Really, your question is, "If I break the law, what are the odds I will get away with it and what are the most likely consequences if I get caught?" No one here can answer that, unless they have done a large, randomized sampling. Even if you get 10 people that say, "Sure, they don't care, go for it, I got away with it.", how would you know that that is a representative sample? Maybe you got lucky. Maybe the people that didn't are in jail or are deported and don't participate in expat groups anymore because they've given up. There's probably a lot of self-selection in this groups - mostly people that want to become an expat and those that have succeeded. If someone got deported and barred from reentry, I doubt they'd be hangin out in expat forums.

All anyone can say for sure is that some people get caught and some don't. Without a large population study, it is impossible to do anything more than guess at the numbers. Some people suffer no consequences and some (presumably) suffer the maximum punishment allowed by law. If you don't like that uncertainty, then don't break the law. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. That's one of the prices for living outside the law - you never know for sure what will happen. Living inside the law isn't always a guarantee either, but it certainly is much more predictable.


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