Hi all.
I’m just on my first sit in France. It’s for a month and then i’m spending a further 3 weeks out here to make the most of it. I’m now looking at a new sit in Germany which is for 3 months. With the rule of max 90 days in 180 for UK residents I know I would need to apply for some sort of visa. Can anyone advise what type of visa it would be for Germany?
Hello
I am not 100 percent sure about this, but from what I have read in the past, it would only be possible to get a long stay visa–beyond 90 days allowed with Schengen-- in Germany for very specific purposes, such as studying ,working or visiting with family. I don’t think they would issue one simply for tourism.
At such short notice, from what I’ve read, I’d say it’s very difficult to secure a visa to stay for longer than 90 days in a 180 day period. Thanks Brexit!
No expert but I don’t think you’ll get a tourist visa that will be any better than what you can do as UK citizen. If you get a long-term tourist visa (eg valid for 1 or 2 years for multiple entry) you are still limited to 90 days in any 180 day period.
You definitely cannot tell them you want a visa for house-sitting 
As I understand it, that should be possible.
Count back 180 days from the end of your first trip, for example January 1 to the end of June could be the first 180-day period. Then start the second 180-day period in July.
Edit: This is how it was. Things have changed:
@BJane You never know, things might change again after 4th July!
I believe there is something called a Schengen visa, but I didn’t look into it. I have a year visa for France. There were substantial requirements for France (proof of income, at least three months of housing, medical coverage for the length of time of the requested visa among them). I would expect the Schengen visa, or German is similar.
@Edith a Schengen visa has a maximum of 90 days out of 180.
If you live in the UK, I am quite sure you need to stick within the 90 day schengen rules, sorry but I am pretty sure you will need to change your plans. We have family in Spain that we visit, so we know the rules pretty well.
Your tourist visa doesn’t cover it so that’s out, only up to 90days. You will struggle to apply for a working visa, as there is no cash changing hands (plus you need a employment contract, plus it’s slightly pricey when you are sitting for free). The other alternative is to apply to stay longer as a temporary resident for a year, but I know in Spain you need a proven decent passive income to apply, plus you are only house sitting so I doubt they will accept your application anyway.
There are 2 possible solutions (again this is for Spain, so you’ll need to double check for Germany… but they are all in the schengen zone):-
It’s a right pain, but that’s brexit. We do the ‘schengen shuffle’ all of the time to stick within the 90day rule.
Yeah Germany definitely looks a little more challenging. Considering doing more in France as an option to do an another two months here from September. It seems I can apply for a long stay visa on a tourist visa a little easier.
Yes, @Silversitters, you are right. I should have said « long-term visa, » bet perhaps they are only issued by country. I don’t know anything about Germany’s requirements, but France asks for at least three months (I believe) proof of housing, among other things.
In France, I believe their long stay visa, ie the sort you extend off the back of your tourist visa is a RESIDENCE visa. So you won’t pass their rules while pet/house sitting, as you will need proof of a rental contract of some sort, whether you rent a room in a house, or the whole thing, or buy a property etc, plus proof of your passive income too.
Is that a resident visa ? I know many U.K. residents who own homes in France can not spend more than 90days out of 180 even though they own their own properties in France
There are two different types of visa that allow you to stay in France for more than the 90/180 days. The one year visa is a sort of residence permit and you are required to show proof of accomodation but this doesn’t have to be a rental contract. A letter from a host would be fine (although, I definitely wouldn’t mention pet-sitting!). There is also a 4 to 6 month visa for temporary stays. In both cases proof of funds to cover the duration of the stay are required (typically an amount equivalent to French minimum wage for the period of your stay). For stay of over 6 months, proof of private health insurance is usually also required. The French “Service Public” website is a good place to look: Visa de long séjour (séjour de plus de 3 mois à 1 an) | Service-Public.fr and there is also a really helpful Facebook group Applying for a French CdS (Carte de Séjour) and/or visa
I’m from the states, and when I went to my first flight, they wouldn’t let me board because my return ticket was more than 3 months past my arrival so a visa was required to enter the UK. I tried to explain that I was going to leave the UZk before the 3 months, but the kind Delta/Virgin attendant said that according to the computer, I needed a visa. So after 3 long hours and almost missing my first leg of travel, I rebooked a return ticket for before the 3 months. Real pain, but there didn’t seem to be any way around it. I don’t want to leave as I have sits booked until Jan. Any suggestions?
@willisangela Did you arrive directly into U.K. or via Ireland ?
The U.K. tourist rules with a US passport are that the maximum time you can stay in U.K. is 6 months as a tourist. Unlike EU countries there is no specific rule about how many days/ months you must be out of the U.K. before you can come back again .
So you could leave UK on or before 6 months are up and return the next day .
However another part of the rules state that you can’t make UK your main residence without the proper residence permit. So if you encounter a border Official and they believe that you are making U.K. your main residence ( because you are spending most of the year living in U.K. ) you will need to Evri fence that is not the case . ( eg - Return flight / property / job back in US )
They will also want to know your income source ( to check that you are not funding your travels by working in U.K. without a work visa ) .
It all depends if you use the e-gates or see a Border Official ( if gates aren’t open / working )
Best option is to leave U.K. after a few months and do some sitting in EU for a few months and then return to U.K.
Thanks Laura. This is really useful.
@Silversitters I am here on a one-year tourist visa, a specific type (equivalent to a residence permit). There are a few ways of addressing some of the requirements, but it’s an involved process and does require proof of adequate funds. I’m working on pulling my info together to extend it for another year. I’m from the U.S., by the way.
I have been dealing with EU regulations for years on behalf of my significant other, so I know about this.
First, it doesn’t matter whether you live in the UK, your passport is the important thing. I lived in Ireland on a British passport, so was subject to the 90-day rule, not treated like an Irish citizen. I know you probably meant “citizen” rather than resident, but if you’re dealing with laws it’s important to get your terminology right.
The 90 day rule means 90 days out of the preceeding 180 days. They count backwards from the day you leave to see if you broke the rules. So at the end of your ~5 months stay they will see that you have been in the zone for four months and then you’re in trouble.
There is no way round this except to get a long-stay visa, and these are issued by individual states for visits to their own countries. Yes, you can go anywhere in the Schengen zone on a visa from any country, but technically speaking you need a German visa because you plan to spend most of your time in Germany.
How to get a long stay visa? Proof of funds, proof of attachment to your own country, so they know you plan to return home, and a good reason to be in Germany for so long. Petsitting is not a good reason, and is probably classed as work so you will need the homeowner to sponsor you as an employee. And aside from the other complications they would have to prove that they advertised the “job” europe-wide and couldn’t find any EU citizen with the right qualifications who would take the job. Sounds like too much hassle!
I think you’re stuffed. As someone else said, you can get a long stay visa if you try hard enough but it’s a long and complex process. Expensive too!
Also, remember that 3 months is almost always more than 90 days.
The rule is 90 days, not 3 months.