Brexit: How to stay in the EU for longer than 90 out of 180 days under Schengen zone rules

Grant Shapps warns travellers to hold off on booking travel tests

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Under Schengen visa rules, UK citizens can visit the EU for 90 days out of every 180 days without needing a visa. This covers travel across the whole Schengen region, which includes Spain, France and Portugal.

But there are a few ways that Brits can legally extend their stay beyond the permitted 90 days.

Experts from StressFreeCarRental.com told Express.co.uk: “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.”

Get a working holiday visa

Young Brits looking to travel can extend their stay in the EU with a working holiday visa, available for 25-31 year olds.

With the visa, Brits can stay in a country for 12 months while taking on jobs to cover their living expenses.

Working holiday visas do vary between countries and once it’s granted it will only be valid in that country.

StressFreeCarRental recommends people look around before settling on their country to make sure they’ll be happy there.

Jobs covered with a working holiday visa don’t have to be 9-5 so Brits could even work in a school just two days a week to qualify.

Apply for citizenship

For anyone wanting to escape the UK on a longer term basis, applying for citizenship in an EU country is a good idea.

Citizenship applications aren’t simple and even some British expats living in Spain have been rejected for Spanish residency.

To get around some of the trickier rules, StressFreeCarRental recommends Brits take a look back through their ancestry.

If a British person has ancestry within an EU country, applying for citizenship will be quicker.

Get a golden visa

For wealthy Brits, a golden visa can offer a person and their family residency permits if they make a large donation or purchase a home.

A person will need to prove the money is theirs so taking out a loan is not an option for a golden visa.

Golden visa rules and criteria vary between countries but Spain, Malta, Greece and Portugal all have golden options.

Portugal is going to change its golden visa rules from January 2022 so the most popular regions including Lisbon and the central Algarve will be restricted.

Get a freelancer visa

For anyone doing freelance work, a freelancer visa will grant Brits the right to stay in a country for three months.

Digital nomads can then try to turn their freelancer visa into a residency permit which would give them the right to remain for three years.

After the pandemic changed attitudes on working from home, many more people have decided to become digital nomads.

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