Matt A. Says:
I want to slow travel Europe to find an eventual retirement spot, but I don’t want the hassle of getting visas for every country. Is it possible to stay in Europe for a long period without a visa?
IL Executive Editor Jennifer Stevens Says:
Hi Matt,
Spending six months or a year slow traveling Europe is a lovely idea. Dining at French restaurants, sipping wine on Italian piazzas…all while keeping an eye out for your ideal retirement haven.
The good news is that it’s entirely possible. If just a little bit complicated.
Of course, something like having a second passport from an EU country would allow you to stay in Europe as long as you want. But that’s a somewhat long-term process, and I feel like you’re searching for something more immediate.
I think your best bet would be what we call the “Schengen Hop.”
Most of mainland Europe—26 countries, at present—belongs to the so-called Schengen Zone. The Schengen Zone has a uniform visa policy, and it has abolished passport controls and most other border controls within the Zone. Your passport will be checked—possibly quite carefully—when you first enter the Zone via a member country. But once you enter the Schengen Zone, your passport normally won’t be checked again until you leave the Zone. So, for most practical purposes, you’ll treat the Zone as though it were a single country.
Current member countries of the Schengen Zone are the following: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania are in the EU but not the Schengen Zone yet (they will eventually join it), and Ireland is an EU country that remains outside and has no plans to join (as yet).
So, how does this help you slow travel Europe without a visa?
If you’re from the U.S. or Canada, you don’t need a visa to enter the Schengen Zone for short stays. You simply show your passport on arrival in any Schengen country and are allowed entry for 90 days out of the next 180 days.
You can travel anywhere you want within Zone during that 90 days, but it is a total amount for the whole Schengen Zone. So, let’s say you want to visit France and Italy, both of which belong to the Schengen Zone. You can spend up to 90 days either in France or in Italy…or you can divide your 90 days between the two. But you don’t get 90 days in each. You can take your 90 days all at one time…or you can enter and leave the Zone at will, racking up your 90 days bit by bit.
After spending 90 days in the Schengen Zone, stay in a country outside the Zone for the remaining 90 days of the 180-day period. Any of those EU countries mentioned above that are not yet in the Schengen Zone would be good choices to visit.
You can then return to a Schengen-Zone country for a further 90 days. This is what’s known as the “Schengen Hop.”
Hopping in and out of the Schengen Zone for 90-day periods is certainly feasible for a year or so. After that, you may find it wearing. But it does let you “try out” Europe with no strings attached—you’re simply a tourist. In the long run, you may decide you want to be a part-time expat, spending part of the year in Europe and the rest of it back home. Alternatively, you may decide to seek residence in a European country.
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