Britons who break the 90-day Schengen rule are given ’24 hours’ to return to the UK, causing Brexit chaos.a

Britons who break the Schengen 90-day rule are given ’24 hours’ to return to the UK, causing Brexit chaos. An expat legal expert told A-Choices magazine that Britons who break the Schengen Area’s 90-day rule can be ordered to return to the UK, with some being given only 24 hours. Following the UK’s exit from the EU last year and the end of the Brexit transition period, Brussels classified British citizens as third-country citizens. Within the 27-member trading bloc, Britons’ freedom of movement came to an end.

Travelers from the United Kingdom can still visit the Schengen Area without a visa, but they are limited to 90-day stays within a 180-day period. The Schengen Area’s 26 member states are expected to be free of passport and border controls. Schengen’s signatory countries differ from the EU’s 27 member states in a few ways.

Spain, which attracts millions of British tourists each year, is one of the Schengen countries where the 90-day rule now applies to Britons. Maura Hillen, a legal expert in the country, explained how the authorities were implementing the EU’s 90-day rule to this website.

The spokesperson for the property association ‘Abusos Urbansticos Andaluca No’ is an Irish expat who has lived in Spain for 14 years and has campaigned for the rights of British expats. Because of the EU’s 90-day stay rule, Britons without Spanish residency who overstay their welcome may now be given “marching orders” to return to the UK, and repeat offenders may be detained.

In Spain, overstaying is considered a serious breach of the law, which can result in fines of up to €10,000 (£8,462), a ban from the Schengen Area for six months to five years, and even expulsion from the country. Ms. Hillen said the punishments were “dependent on the circumstances” of where and when Britons are found to have broken the 90-day limit. She said: “It depends on if you’re in the airport or if they pick you up in a town where they know you can get a flight, they might give you 24 hours to get out of the country.“But otherwise, if they know you need to travel to actually reach a port, they might give you three or four days to leave the country or if there are extenuating circumstances, they can give you longer.“But if you’re a repeat offender or if you’re not very compliant, I believe they do have the power to put you in a detention centre.”

As well as holidaymakers, the 90-day rule also affects Britons travelling to Spain with the intention of settling permanently in the country and obtaining residency.

Earlier this year it was reported that some Britons who had residency applications rejected had been given just 15 days to leave the country.

The Local Spain spoke to Anne Hérnandez, the head of citizen help group Brexpats in Spain about the issue.

At the time she said had not heard of the 15-day deadline, but that British expats had been in touch about the issue.

She added that she knew of “several cases” in the Málaga area on the Costa del Sol, but did not know the exact numbers.

Author: Linda .R. Jones

London, UK

lindarj83@gmail.com