No residents visa

[Ifeelfat]

Has anyone experience of living in the EU without a residence visa? Or effectively overstaying I suppose.
im wondering what happens when you want to leave?

a relative went over last august on a tourist visa for 3 months and hadn’t left.
they say they’ve emailed the relevant government department to apply for a residency visa but never heard back.

they want to come back to the uk this summer for good. What’s going to happen when they’re asked “when did you arrive in the country?”

Don't know about EU specifically but usually it's not leaving that's the issue, it's if they ever want to return to the place they overstayed.

They will most likely be able to leave, but won't get back in and potentially will have problems entering other Schengen countries in future. Their passports will have been stamped on entry so it is easy to see when they entered. If they are caught before the summer they can be deported as illegal immigrants.

https://www.connexionfrance.com/practical/i-have-overstayed-the-90-day-rule-in-france-what-is-going-to-happen/713348

Nothing will happen. They won’t stop them leaving. Depending on the country they may ask questions. If they’re coming back for good then there’s no issue.

No problem leaving but will have problems getting back in to the Schengen area again.

@Ifeelfat they also may be subject to a fine as well as ban on future entry

Thanks for your comments. I’m expecting a fine at least tbh, but we’ll see.
They have actually been working (in 2 jobs!) and neither employer have done anything about helping them get their visa, and I’m sure the HR depts should have paid some attention to this - so much for German efficiency.

@Ifeelfat seeing as they’ve been working illegally if they were on a tourist visa I don’t think the companies are going to have HR!

@Solacesolipse one definitely does - it’s a well known tech firm. She’s paid tax, had health insurance etc.

@Ifeelfat its unlikely that she was on a normal tourist visa then…she must have been on an opportunity card as you can work part time for a period of time which allows employers to test out a candidate before they offer permanent employment.

@Solacesolipse no it really was a normal 3 month tourist visa. She was offered the contract the day that expired and was told (don’t know by who though) it was ok to stay because she had applied for a residency visa and hadn’t yet had a response, ie, her application was in process.
she never got an interview or heard anything more though from the relevant govt department.

I would say take copies of the email saying her application was in process and make sure she tells border control that she is still waiting for an update. Many countries in the EU are very behind with visa applications, I live in Portugal and it is a big issue. It seems to depend on who you get on the day but if you can prove you have applied for a visa hopefully they will recognise that it's the shortcomings of their own Government departments.
Worst case is a temporary ban from the Schengen area.

I would definitely take a screenshot/copy of anything that proves the company told her it would be ok to stay as well as any paperwork related to the residency application. It could be really inconvenient in the future if she ended up with a travel ban.

Would she not be better following up the resident Visa and getting that?, Even if she has no intention to go back to live there.

Hello OP. I work in a related field. You don't say which EU country so it's hard to give specific advice but roughly, what can happen is that she can get fined, and she can get flagged as not allowed to return for up to five years.

I'm not surprised she got no response when asking about a residence permit. Each country have their own rules but in my country (and I think most of the EU) it's almost impossible to get a residence permit after entering as a tourist, she'd have to have entered with the correct long stay visa in the first place.