Has anyone from CANADA or USA stayed in Europe without a visa?

Question

I know that the country I am going to (Italy) doesn't require me to have a visa for less than 90 days but I've also heard that if leave the country even for a weekend, I can come back and my 90 days starts over again.

I KNOW what it says online ; that this isn't true. But I have heard from people in Italy and who have traveled that it is.Has anyone actually done this?

Left a country after 3 mnths then come back after a few days without an issue?

I only need answers from people in Canada and USA pls, as rules in other countries would be different.

Answer 1

I am a UK Travel Agent.

Most of Western Europe (except UK) belongs to the Schengen Agreement.   If you travel to another member state (France, Germany, Spain, Holland etc etc) then you won't even see an immigration officer.

It follows that your 90 days would not restart if you went to another Schengen country.  If your hidden agenda is that you want to be in Europe or Italy for more than 90 days, then you will have to exit to a non - Schengen country so that your passport would be stamped.  

Come to Britain - we might not quite have the Italian food and weather, but we have lots of other interesting attractions and we even speak your language!  

Answer 2

Visiting rules for Schengen countries for US or Canadian visitors:

A visa is not required for semi-annual visits of up to three months for nationals of those countries for which the European Community has abolished the visa requirement.

Means that after a 90 day stay in one or totally any of the Schengen countries, you must leave for at least 90 days, before you may re-enter a Schengen country without a visa.

What you could do:

Stay 3 months in Italy, go to the United Kingdom for at least 3 months (they still allow stay of 6 months), go back to Italy for another 3 months.

Istead of choosing the United Kingdom, you also could visit other Non-Schengen countries for a visa-free total stay of 3 months like: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ireland, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro and Serbia.

Edit: Would advise you not to break the rules, you might be banned from visiting any schengen state, since the schengen agreement does not only facilitate travel but also consist of a criminal prevention network.

Why don't you just go ahead and obtain a long term visa for stay in Italy more than 90 days at the Italian embassy or consulate of your state.

http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Ministero/Se...

Answer 3

LaFeeFan has given you a perfect and correct answer with sources for you to verify it.  Read the links!  The one from the state dept says it all (ie if you stay more than 3months then you are legally considered a resident for work/study and thus must follow the requirements given

The simple answer to your additional comments is no, officially you cannot just go to another country for (e.g. the weekend) and then start afresh with the 90 days.

The Schengen visa and Visa Waiver Program (which as a US/Canadian resident you will be travelling under) states clearly that it is 90 days out of 180. This means you have to stay outside the Schengen zone for a further 90 days (and not just a weekend).  If you do not do this then techinicaly you are overstaying your visa which if caught (e.g. in a police check or passport control upon exit) is an offence and can result in you being denied travel in the future to Italy

If you want to be smart about it,then simply contact the Italian embassy and ask about the long-stay options of obtaining a visa.