Brexit? No bother: How to spend longer in EU past 90 days

Experts are giving Brits top tips on how they can legally spend longer in EU countries now that Britain has officially left the EU.

The experts at StressFreeCarRental.com have put together top tips for staying in EU countries longer than the 90-day limit without a visa.

Brexit means Brits keen on travelling now face a time constraint on how long they can spend in European countries like Spain and Italy.

For those unaware, the departure of Britain from the EU means that Brits are only permitted to stay a maximum of 90 days for every 180 days under the visa-free regime as part of the Schengen Area rules.

The Schengen area is a list of countries that have a border-free agreement between each other that allows people to move across the borders without needing to show their passport each time.

The tips from StressFreeCarRental.com can also be read on its website, and will help Brits legally stay longer than the restricted period.

A spokesperson from StressFreeCarRental.com said: “For Brits who love to jet off and travel the 90/180 rule is frustrating but there are ways around this.

“Even if Brits don’t realise they are overstaying past the allowed period of time, it can result in deportations, fines and entry bans.

“We’ve conducted some research and have put together some top tips so that Brits can legally stay longer than 90 days and continue to enjoy their time away without worrying about overstaying their welcome.”

Legal ways to stay in the EU longer than 90 days:

Get a working holiday visa
A working holiday visa allows 25 to 31-year-olds to visit a country and take on jobs for around 12 months to cover living expenses.

Like most things on this list, working holiday visas may vary from country to country and once you have one, it is only valid in your country of choice, not anywhere else, so it’s worth taking some time and looking into where you want to stay and what work you want to take on.

Don’t worry, this doesn’t have to be a 9-5, it can be something as simple as teaching English a couple of days a week in a school.

Apply for a citizenship
This option is for those who are really focused on staying in another country.

Of course it’s not as easy as it sounds but getting a citizenship is one of the most obvious ways to stay in a country for longer and there are a few ways you can do this.

One way that cuts all of the faff and waiting in half is through ancestry. Take a little look through your family tree and if you can find and prove that you had ancestors who were citizens in EU countries then you’ll find that the process of applying for a citizenship will be a lot quicker!

Get a golden visa
For those wealthy enough to do so, a golden visa will allow individuals and their families to get a residence permit or citizenship in a country by either making a large donation or purchasing a home.

Part of the requirement for this is the individual’s ability to prove that the money is theirs, therefore you cannot take out a loan for this.

Golden visas can be applied for in the following places:

Spain
Malta
Greece
Italy
Switzerland
Austria
Belgium
Portugal

It should be noted that golden visas for Portugal change as of January 2022, the geographical area in which you can buy property will be restricted and investors will no longer be able to purchase a property in major cities like Porto or Lisbon.

The requirements for golden visas differ from country to country (e.g. the minimum investment changes) so it’s worth spending some time considering where you would like to invest and checking that you can comfortably meet the criteria.

Get a freelancer visa
Although this isn’t for the everyday tourist, if you are a freelancer of some sort you can apply for this visa which will allow you to stay in a country for three months.

For writers, artists and digital nomads, the idea of this visa is that these few months will then turn into residency which will allow you to stay in the country for around three years.