Brexit has happened more than 2,5 years ago. Still today’s when I use the country filter European Union I still have to deal with the UK included. Very annoying if for whatever soever reason I don’t want to travel there. Also because of visa rules, it would be useful to filter Schengen countries.
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Hi @Lieve,
I think you are referring to Schengen visa rules? Which includes more than 26 countries but If you just want to search for countries outside the UK you can narrow the map function so that you search only within a certain radius. I also find that this is a very helpful thread on narrowing searches.
All that being said I too agree that it would be useful to do an overall search of sits outside the Schengen countries.
Kelly
Sorry but there mapfunction is not working property if your are looking for the Netherlands or Belgium. What concerns there chengen countries 26 is far from correct as many EU are not in Schengen.
@Lieve I apologize I must not be understanding you correctly… are simply requesting that THS creates a search filter for the “EU” that no longer includes the UK?
If that’s the case then I am happy to pass that request along. Maybe @Vanessa-PartnershipsMgr has some input on this she can provide the next time she is online.
Kelly
Hi @Lieve and I agree that the UK still appears in many online searches on Google and there is much confusion and discussion online generally about the fact that the UK is still a part of Europe, just not the European Union.
Within the TrustedHousesitters country search filters I don’t believe (I have checked my account on both the desktop and the app this morning) that you can search “Europe” per se. Only individual countries. But using the map feature you can hone in on the areas of Europe you are interested in. I can do this for both The Netherlands and Belgium - are you still having that as an issue?
This doesn’t solve your Schengen filter request but I think it’s unlikely to be included because all aspects of visa related travel must be carefully considered by different nationalities depending on their own personal situation and regulations can change at any time. The UK and France are still arguing about whether travel visas should be extended to Brits despite Brexit. However, I will pass your feedback back to the wider team.
For anyone wondering what this is all about, here are a few handy links to official websites that contain all the information about Schengen and the imminent ETIAS visa (delayed I think until beginning of 2023 due to the pandemic).
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Iceland Liechtenstein and Switserland certainly don’t belongs NOT to Schengen, as they don’t even belong to the European Union. This also excludes Andorra. Croatian belongs to the EU, but not to Schengen.
@Lieve - @Goolly is correct in that Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are Schengen Area countries. You’ll find the full list here:
- 22 members fully implement the Schengen acquis,
- Four of them – members of the EFTA, implement Schengen acquis through specific agreements related to the Schengen agreement.
- Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Lichtenstein are associate members of the Schengen Area but are not members of the EU. They are part of the EFTA and implement the Schengen acquis through specific agreements related to the Schengen agreement.
- Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City have opened their borders with, but are not members of the visa-free zone.
- The Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands are special members of the EU and part of the Schengen Zone even though they are located outside the European continent.
- There are five more EU members, that have not joined the Schengen zone: Ireland – which still maintains opt-outs and Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Cyprus – that are seeking to join soon.
It’s so complicated!
On the app and Web you can selected:European Union.
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Hi @Lieve that’s very odd as I just checked with membership services, and several of the team have tried this and we can’t get the results you mention when searching for sits - no map, no list of sits or a dropdown menu.
However, I’ve just had a thought, are you talking about the list of countries in your profile where you can indicate preferences for where you would like to sit?
As shown here:
We are in the US and planning to go to Europe primarily doing pet sitting for 2 years or more. We know Schengen visas are for a maximum of 90 days in a 180 day time period. If we want to stay longer, we apparently need a national visa for the specific country we plan to visit.
So, any suggestions for the best way to stay in various Schengen countries over a 2+ year period? Do we just get a bunch of national visas even thought we don;t know exzctly where we’ll be?
This site goes over much of what I summarized previously. We appreciate any ideas and hope to get to Europe about April, 2023.
Thanks!
@Wetravel we are US citizens and traveled around Europe for the first 2 years of our nomadic lifestyle (pre-house sitting). We carefully calculated our Schengen days and went to non-Schengen countries to re-set our time. Its very do-able. If you wish to stay longer in a specific country, then yes, you will need to apply for the appropriate visa and it’s not that easy. It takes time, money and can be a very lengthy process.
We attempted to get a retirement visa for Italy when we first started our travels. We submitted mountains of paperwork and financial documents to the Italian consulate, in person. After 9 weeks we were denied and they don’t tell you why. Our plan B was to move in and out of Schengen. Its worked beautifully for 6 years.
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This comment deserves lots of these 
and a massive thunder of these 
I also travelled long term in and out and now as I am exploring another region of the globe am learning to do all these very clever things. It’s just fascinating when you discover the things you once thought you couldn’t do are very possible.
But sorry that doesn’t help the map search 
I just zoom in and out with my little fingies and that in itself shows up places I never knew existed.