Hi everyone,

I have found this site very helpful planning my move to Spain. I have had trouble getting in touch with the Spanish Colsulate in New York to ask them one question about my Shengan visa. So, I thought I’d ask here. Does anyone know how long I have left on my visa? I know you can only stay in Spain for three months in a six month period. But I don’t know if this means three months consecutively. I spent a month with my fianc? and his family from August fourth to September fourth. I’d like to return for Christmas and to process the paperwork at the Registro Civil so we can be married. He will submit the papers by the end of this month, and hopefully they will give us a date for our cita previa. My question is how much time do I have remaining on my visa? I’m assuming if I understand the rules correctly it’s two more months. But what does this six month period mean? When do they start counting the six month period? Does it start from the month you arrived and they start counting the six months? Also what happens when the six month window expires? Any assistance you could provide would be much appreciated. I have tried to get in touch with the Consulate for two days straight and always either get a busy signal or no one answers the phone. Or they tell you to go to their website which does not have this question posted there. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,
Allison

hola allison,
i have encountered this problem and this forum is great if you can get someone to respond to your question. its a bit tricky so i think folks are reluctant to give you an answer as alot can ride on whether the info is correct or not. i advise you to google shengen visa and carefully read the requirements for stay.
my own understanding of it which is not 100 percent clear is that 90 days means 90 days in a 180 day period. if you stay in spain for 30 and leave for a non-shengen country like the u.s. and come back in that 180 day period to spain your day of arrival starts at 31. you will stamped out when you leave showing the authorities you have left the schengen zone and then stamped back in when you arrive again in spain. like i said i am still not that clear about the whole 180 day period thing but i think that it means you need to use your 90 days within that period from when it started on your first arrival.
i am sure folks here have a better idea than me. i could be way off so keep researching and cking back here for the really skinny on this.
good luck, i am trying get married myself in spain.
chinito

Hola Chinito,

Good luck on your marriage in Spain. I hope all goes well. I’m really excited about my wedding, but nervous about the cita pre via. I hope my Spanish is good enough. I can understand more than I can speak. I will call the Consulate and see if I can get any more info. What country are you from? Are you from the U.S. too? It’s easier for people from the u.K. I believe or if you have a relative that was of European descent etc. If I find any more info I will let you know. I have googled stays in the Shengan area and come up empty as to if you stay one month and go back the next month or two months later. I will post here if I find anything out. Hope I can get in touch with the consulate.

Allison
and

My understanding is similar to chinito - you have a 180 days window to use the maximum 90 days (180 days period starts from the first entry date). This is to stop people from flying to a non-schengan country and come straight back to renew the 90 days visa. So instead, they?ll have to wait until their 180 days period is up (if they?ve already stayed 90 days), before returning. In practice, they hardly check at the Spanish borders… though I have an Aussie passport so maybe with Americans they might act differently (in Madrid, there?s a different queue for Americans for some reason). Also if you have the marriage papers “in process”, it shouldn?t be a problem to explain that at the border. I always carried a photocopy of my husband?s DNI (fianc? at that time) and whatever papers I?ve got, just in case, but was never asked.

One thing I would suggest, if possible, try to marry in a pueblo. It?s much faster and less tedious and they?re usually much nicer.. The waiting list for the main cities is probably averaging 6-12 months for a civil ceremony.. and the attitudes there are not so sympathetic since they do this day in and day out.

Wishing you all the happiness and luck with the marriage!

Hi Gratina,

Thank you so much for your post. 6 to 12 month wait? Now I’m nervous uh oh! I’m also nervous my Spanish might not be up to par for the Cita. I can’t wait to be married. Do they tell you at the cita what the wait time is? I know there are people on this site who have posted very helpful guides to submitting all the paperwork for marriage in Madrid. Sorry for all the questions, I’m just nervous. Thank you for your help and well wishes. I can’t wait to be married 😊!

Allison

You should check the Madrid US Embassy website and try calling them too for information. I got a lot of help from the Australian Embassy in Madrid, they helped me with my documents and more or less went through the procedure with me. As for the Cita, I?m not sure if that?s something new this year, but when I did mine, I just rocked up with all my documents and did the interview on the spot. Get your fianc? to call the Registro Civil for information and maybe if he needs to book an appointment, they can more or less fix a date with him on the phone. If not, you?ll just have to make sure you have all the documents and show up.

If you are opting for the civil ceremony, you should call around for dates. The smaller towns are more likely to have a shorter (or no) waiting lists than Madrid or any other large cities. I did mine in a little town near Le?n, and they were really nice, it?s rare for them to ever see a non-Latino foreigner marry a Spanish there!!

Hi everyone,

I finally found out the answer to this question. After trying for two weeks straight, I was able to get in touch with the Spanish Consulate. They told me I have until February to use my six months. The gentleman also said if I don’t use up my 90 days they will carry over after February. I told him I’m marrying my fianc? and my fears of not being able to get back in to Spain. He said I should have no problem.  My fianc? Carlos, also asked a lawyer who specializes in immigration who said the same thing except that I have one more month in february because the month of August expires. It’s still confusing, but at least I now more than before. They count the time I stayed in August to Septebmer as a month, and then from September to October as another month. I hope this helps someone who might be searching for this information.

Allison

Hola to everyone,

I am in similar situation as people above, so I was hoping that someone could maybe help me with a practical advice.
I am a student with non-EU passport but studying in Czech Republic and therefore have a valid Schegen Czech viza utill end of June. I arrived to Spain in February, for Erasmus,  and have a return ticket and all the papers valid till June. When I got here in Febrauary, I was told that I must leave Spain after 3 months if planning to stay without spanish visa (which I didn’t want to apply for, because it sounded insane to me to have two Schengen visas valid in the same time). But now, I am kinda scared if I’ll get in trouble at the airport if they check my stamp after 3 months in here. On the other hand, can they know I stayed here for 4 months or I traveled to Prague and came back in Spain just for flight back home? Some people told me that they don’t check it at the airport, some said they got realy severe with this…
any advice?
Thanx,
Dunja