How do i deal with this visa situation?
I am studying abroad in spain for over 90 days, I know i need to get a student visa for the schengen area to do this. however, after my program ends (end of april) i want to travel around europe for the next few months. i have 2 questions: can i apply for the student visa to be for 180 days even though my program is only about 120 days?
and also: what happens after my visa expires? can i leave the schengen area and go somewhere else such as the UK for a few days and then return to the schengen area? or will i be able to get a visa extension?
No, i’m from the u.s.
Usually long term Schengen visa type D are issued for the time required to accomplish a certain mission. Like a study program will have time-frames which the visa decision will be based on.
So if your student program is about 120 days you will get a visa of about 130 days.
You may however after your student visa for spain is going to expire try to regain official entry to the Schengen area as a regular visitor by using the visa-waiver for US passport holders.
I would not go to London, the costs of travel would be to high in case your re-entry to the Schengen area is denied.
However there is a small country between Spain and France called Andorra. Maybe a lot of people have never heard about its existence. But it does and furthermore it is not a Schengen nor an EU country, it has an own border protection and controls passports.
It has two borders, one on the Spanish site and another on the French site. For entering andorra you just need a passport as a US citizen. So when you enter Andorra you actually are leaving the Schengen area on your type D visa, have the exit stamped in your passport.
When entering France on the other side of the country have the immigration officer stamp your passport as entry on the visa-waiver for tourists for 90 days in a 180 day period and you are good to go for another 3 months in Europe.
Source(s):
http://www.andorra.ad/en-US/useful_information/Pages/customs_and_franchises.aspx
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Andorra+la+Vella,+Andorra&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=Fe6ciAIdizgXAA&ll=42.513614,1.521606&spn=0.381628,0.615234&t=h&z=11