Hi,

I’m a US citizen hoping to move to Valencia for a year next year (fall 2009- summer 2010).  I have a lot of Spanish friends who live there and was hoping to live with them and work enough to cover my expenses.  I really don’t care what job I end up doing, and I speak fluent Spanish so it shouldnt be a problem.  I have been looking at visas, but obviously that seems like its not gonna be an option becuase its impossible—unless I could find a job in biology….  SO basically I was thinking about going illegal.  But the main problem is that I really love Spain and want to be able to come back!  So my question is: what happens if you overstay your visa?  Do they fine you?  Do they tell you you can never come back?  Do they not care?  Also, about the plane tickets: Can you buy a one-way ticket, or do they get curious as to why you have a ticket for a year later?

OK SO if you have any info it would be really helpful!!  Thanks!!

Marianne

Hey Marianne,

If you just want to come for a year, it shouldn’t be a big deal to just come and overstay your tourist visa. There are plenty of Americans doing that right now in Spain! It’s very unlikely they would catch you. The only real risk is if you take a trip out of Spain and try to come back in (after the 90-day legal period has ended). Then there’s a chance they could study your passport, but it’s VERY unlikely they would do this if you’re American. It’s important to note, though, that they COULD…

As for the one-way ticket thing, me and plenty of other Americans have come to Spain on one-way tickets. I only know of one person who was asked to show a return ticket, and that was a Brazilian guy. The worst that could happen if they *do* ask you for one, and you don’t have one, is that they could make you buy one right then and there. So far, I don’t know of anyone who’s had this happen, but you never know… Sometimes, anyways, it was actually cheaper for me to buy a round trip ticket than a one-way ticket, and I just didn’t use the return leg.

Supposedly they can fine you for overstaying, but, again, I don’t know of anyone who has had to pay a fine. I was actually caught once when leaving Spain. I had been in the country for almost two years, and the US Airways security representative was the one who noticed it on my passport. She brought over the police, they questioned me for a while, and I basically just said, “Yes, I know I stayed too long, but I’m leaving now…” And they let me go.

What else? Oh, whether it affects you in the future. It could affect you if at some point in the future you want to apply for a work visa. When you apply for a work permit, you submit a copy of every page of your passport, so among other things they can check to see if you were ever living in Spain illegally. I met with three different immigration lawyers in Spain before applying for my work permit, and they all told me that having an illegal spate on your passport could very easily ruin your chances. The solution? If you know you’re going to be applying for a work visa in the future, lose your passport sometime after you return from Spain after living here illegally. 😊

Throwing you out on the spot is what could happen, but I would expect that only a small number of travellers are actually caught and deported.
with the new travel laws in spain , it getting like Usa so will show up , Eu are gear up for bigger fines and with the usa make visa mantory again next year the Eu are gear up for it with uk and Ireland now asking for passager info off flights companys it tight up again spain start this last year

jurdy

Also, and this is the kicker, is that you now have the equivalent of an I94 card (I94 is for visitors to the US - not sure what they’re called here yet). That card shows your entry date and you must surrender it when you leave the country. So it will be a lot more obvious for those who have overstayed that they did so.

I’ll test this out in a few weeks actually (I’ll keep the card unless they ask for it).

Thanks EVERYONE!!!  This was super helpful.  Keep me updated on what happens with that card 😉  I have been in and out of Spain 4 or 5 times (legally!!) and usually they dont seem to notice those cards and papers from what I’ve noticed.  I was also thinking about entering by plane through another country, like France? i dunno.  And then taking a train or something.  Maybe they won’t stamp my passport in Spain then.  Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks again!!

I am planning on doing the same thing as you in the spring of 2009. I have a friend that lived and worked in Madrid illegally for over a year and never had a problem. I have done some research though. I was thinking about flying into a different country such as France and then taking a train or car into Spain. The problem with this is that there is a thing called the Schengen agreement that encompasses many of the countries in Europe. Here is some information and the countries included http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement   

This summer when I went to Spain I had a layover in Frankfurt. They stamped my passport there but not in Madrid or when I flew out of Madrid to Venice. Since Germany, Spain, and Italy are part of this agreement, my 90 days started at my point of entry in Frankfurt, so there was no need to stamp my passport when flying to and from countries included in the agreement.  So from my understanding, if I spent the entire 90 days within the countries in the agreement, I would then have to leave for 180 before I can come back. However I did notice that Switzerland is not part of the Schengen agreement. It might be possible to fly into Switzerland, then drive or take a train into Spain. Hopefully, your passport will not be stamped when you leave Switzerland.

Hi all,
Tomorrow my American girlfriend will hopefully re-enter Spain. She spent 6 months here on a tourist visa (yes, a clear over-stay of the Schengen visa) and went back to the US for Christmas. Now it?s time to put to the test all the reassuring messages that we have read on this forum 😉
If she makes it through without a problem, I will let you know. And if something not-so-fun happens, well, I will tell you too, so you know the risks. Fingers crossed!

Fingers crossed!  aswell here keep us posted

jurdy

Hello again,
My girlfriend made it without a problem. The immigration officer opened her passport, stamped it, closed it. All good! Life in Spain continues without a glitch.