90 days rule - check your passport for the date it was stamped.

S

spikehcm681

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When we travelled to Portugal in September I chose a ferry which would arrive in France at 00:05 hours - thinking to maximise the length of our stay.

We are in the process of planning to return to Portugal in March so I checked the dates in our passports. Although we arrived in France on the 28th September, because they were stamped by the French authorities in Dover before we boarded the ferry, the date in the passport was the 27th.

This won't affect many Funsters but I thought it might just save someone being "embarrassed" when returning from 90 days in Europe.
 
I think anyone shaving it that fine is asking for trouble.

It only takes one flat tyre, one roadworks, one gyppy tummy, one missed turning, one storm at sea, and you miss your ferry home.
With the potential of then not only being fined for overstaying, but also of being barred from re-entry.

These are the rules countries like the UK have been imposing on overstayers for decades.
Now the boot is on the other foot. Reap what is sowed.

I'd ensure you always have a few days in hand.
One day you will need it.
 
Brains said:
I think anyone shaving it that fine is asking for trouble.

It only takes one flat tyre, one roadworks, one gyppy tummy, one missed turning, one storm at sea, and you miss your ferry home.
With the potential of then not only being fined for overstaying, but also of being barred from re-entry.

These are the rules countries like the UK have been imposing on overstayers for decades.
Now the boot is on the other foot. Reap what is sowed.

I'd ensure you always have a few days in hand.
One day you will need it.
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We do leave some slack.

But if, say, you've left yourself a couple of days for "unforseens" and you've calculated these 2 days from an erroneous baseline, you've only got one day left - and that may not be enough?

Incidentally, when we do arrive a day or so early we've found DFDS to be flexible - but we do tend to get to the docks in the middle of the night!

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David and Sally said:
Really? When did that start?
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You can't expect all countries to be as inneficient as us!. I do think that it's going to be daft pushing it to exactly 90 days although in the ops example wouldn't the time have no effect on days starting in March as by the time it gets anywhere near 90 days the September ones will be outside the calculation?
 
The Wino said:
You can't expect all countries to be as inneficient as us!. I do think that it's going to be daft pushing it to exactly 90 days although in the ops example wouldn't the time have no effect on days starting in March as by the time it gets anywhere near 90 days the September ones will be outside the calculation?
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We have been overwintering in the Algarve for the last 7 years. We have a small caravan which is stored in the Alentejo.

It's 1200 miles from Calais to the caravan storage location and another 170 from there to our winter campsite. We allow 4/5 days to drive from Calais to the caravan, two days to sort it out (pressure wash etc) and another day from there to the campsite. That's 8 days - and allowing for some slack on the return journey that's 18 days of our holiday gone - and we haven't struck a bat!

It also takes a couple of days to attach the awning and transfer kit from the van/caravan to it - and at least the same when packing everything up. Total so far is 23 days of "holiday". Hence our trying to maximise the 90 days.

And we now do that twice a year. But we feel that it's worth it. At 75, Cumbrian winters no longer offer the attractions they once did.

P.S. I don't understand your point about March and September.
 
spikehcm681 said:
We have been overwintering in the Algarve for the last 7 years. We have a small caravan which is stored in the Alentejo.

It's 1200 miles from Calais to the caravan storage location and another 170 from there to our winter campsite. We allow 4/5 days to drive from Calais to the caravan, two days to sort it out (pressure wash etc) and another day from there to the campsite. That's 8 days - and allowing for some slack on the return journey that's 18 days of our holiday gone - and we haven't struck a bat!

It also takes a couple of days to attach the awning and transfer kit from the van/caravan to it - and at least the same when packing everything up. Total so far is 23 days of "holiday". Hence our trying to maximise the 90 days.

And we now do that twice a year. But we feel that it's worth it. At 75, Cumbrian winters no longer offer the attractions they once did.

P.S. I don't understand your point about March and September.
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My point about March and September was that after 180 days your previous day's drop out of the 90 in 180 calculation.
I can see why you want to maximise the days in the EU but if anything having a lengthy journey increases the chances of a delay. Although not a problem if you're early in your travels as your schedule allows the chance to catch up if necessary.

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Brains said:
Under Jack Straw, the Labour Home Secretary, 1997.
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We don't deport or penalise anyone. overstayers, murderers, rapist, illegals. We have too many soft judges and over-paid solicitors stopping all that. But this is off track and well expressed in other threads.
 
David and Sally said:
We don't deport or penalise anyone. overstayers, murderers, rapist, illegals. We have too many soft judges and over-paid solicitors stopping all that. But this is off track and well expressed in other threads.
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Add foreign footballers to the the list and why when we are out of Europe are we applying to host the "Euros"
 
It is only a guess, but as France and the UK have border points at the point of ferry entry at Dover and Dunkirk/Calais, not exit, we are for border purposes in France from when we pass the French passport controls at Dover and the Channel Tunnel. That would have put you in France a couple of hours earlier than you thought.

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Richard &Anne say
Why not? We're still in Europe

Most proper Europeans I have met don't think so and never have.
 
nicholsong says
"Even they cannot change the boundaries of Geographical Europe".

Ah yes, if only it were just about geography eh?

That said boundaries / borders are just lines on maps and can be moved at any time, sadly that is usually by military invasion, or as is the case in constituency boundaries in the UK, by corrupt power hungry politicians determined to carry on riding the gravy train and trousering as much public loot as possible.
 
P Bentley said:
Richard &Anne say
Why not? We're still in Europe

Most proper Europeans I have met don't think so and never have.
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They're getting mixed up with mainland Europe and the European continent. Most mainland Europeans we meet are very pleasant, you always get the odd one though 🙄

Would be good if we could leave Europe too though, maybe get towed down to the west coast of Africa 😎 now that I WOULD vote for 😆
 
The Wino said:
My point about March and September was that after 180 days your previous day's drop out of the 90 in 180 calculation.
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I still don't understand this.

But thanks for your concern.

I use the authorised Shengen calculator to make sure that we can plan ahead with confidence.

Meanwhile, back at the Euros .....................
 
spikehcm681 said:
It's 1200 miles from Calais to the caravan storage location and another 170 from there to our winter campsite. We allow 4/5 days to drive from Calais to the caravan, two days to sort it out (pressure wash etc) and another day from there to the campsite. That's 8 days - and allowing for some slack on the return journey that's 18 days of our holiday gone - and we haven't struck a bat!

It also takes a couple of days to attach the awning and transfer kit from the van/caravan to it - and at least the same when packing everything up. Total so far is 23 days of "holiday". Hence our trying to maximise the 90 days.
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Surely you could make the journey into a holiday by visiting different stopping places. At 74, I am very nearly your age, I actually like having little jobs to do like cleaning and so on and, as every day is a holiday, it is a shame you feel it is a waste.
Enjoy every day ☀️

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