Hannah In-Chan is global immigration counsel, a practising solicitor in England and Wales, at Newland Chase
It has been more than a year since the UK’s transition out of the European Union, and many UK nationals and businesses are still getting to grips with restrictions imposed on travelling into the EU and, more specifically, the 26 countries which comprise the Schengen Area.
With business travel now beginning to ramp up, many UK-based organisations now have an added complication to consider – keeping track of the amount of time UK citizens spend within the Schengen Area.
The Schengen Allowance permits a third-country national – such as UK citizens – to visit the Schengen Area for a maximum period of 90 days within a rolling 180-day period.
Thankfully, counting time spent in the Schengen Area is relatively straightforward. A traveller will need to count every day that they have spent in the Schengen Area, which also includes the first day they landed in it and the last date that they left it.
For example, a UK national arrives in Spain on 1 April, stays in Spain for five days and then travels directly to France on 5 April, where they stay for an additional five days until they leave France on 10 April to return to the UK. The traveller will have been in the Schengen Area from 1 April to 10 April and will have used ten days of the Schengen Allowance for this trip.
Getting personal
A question that is frequently asked is whether the Schengen Allowance includes travel for both business and personal leisure trips. The answer is yes. As such travellers will need to ensure that if they travel to the Schengen frequently for business, that this could impact on any intended personal visits or holidays in the Area – and vice versa. Both business trips and those for personal leisure counts towards the 90 in 180 allowance and all parties must be mindful of that.
Whilst it is the individual traveller’s personal responsibility to ensure they stay within their Schengen Allowance, breaching compliance can have a significant impact on their ability to travel.
As a result of this, many businesses are using various tools to help their travellers monitor their allowance. They include the European Commission’s online calculator and specially formulated excel spreadsheets, while many relocation or travel providers have their own online system.
Keeping track of the number of days spent in the Schengen Area is relatively straightforward. However, calculating whether a traveller has sufficient allowance for upcoming trips is more complicated due to the rolling nature of the 180-day period. One of the easiest ways to determine outstanding Schengen allowance is to view the 180-days as a moving block of time.
For example, a US national is required to travel to Portugal for business meetings from 1 June to 7 June, but has already spent time in the Schengen Area. The traveller will need to look at the number of days they will have spent in the Schengen Area between 10 December 2021 to 7 June 2022, as the 180-day period will have commenced on 10 December 2021.
Paying the penalty
It is essential that non-EU nationals ensure they adhere to the Schengen Allowance. Failure to stay within the limits can result in a number of penalties, including financial penalties, deportation or removal, and increased scrutiny of future entry.
Whilst staying within the Schengen Allowance is essential, when looking at compliance it is also important to remember that the activities the traveller will conduct whilst in the Schengen Area will determine whether travel as a business visitor to the Schengen Area is permitted.
Given the potential impact on individuals and companies, and the complex, fast-changing nature of immigration, it is essential to remain vigilant regarding immigration compliance.