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I work in the UK on a Tier 2 visa, and am an Indian citizen. I received a two-year French Schengen visa, which has a remark "COURT SEJ. CIRC." (short stay circulation) which I believe refers to the 90/180 rule.

On my first trip to France on this visa, I received a French entry stamp at St. Pancras on my way to Paris, but I did not receive an exit stamp when I travelled back to the UK on the Euroshuttle (via Coquelles). I did, however, receive a UK entry stamp at Coquelles.

The French border guard at Coquelles didn't even scan my passport. He just took a casual look at it and returned it to me. When I asked for a stamp, he said "Later" pointing further down to the customs area (Douane), and when I asked those officers, they said I'll receive exit stamp after "British immigration". I wasn't surprised to find no French officials after the UK border force check point.

Since my passport wasn't scanned or stamped, I believe that according to French records, I still haven't left France and after 90 days of my entry, would be in violation of the 90/180 rule. I tried contacting the French consulate in London by email but I haven't heard back from them.

What do I need to do to ensure that their records are updated and I don't face any undeserved consequences?

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  • I would think there is only a problem if you are trying to leave, or found to be physically in the country, after the validity date. The entry stamps show that you arrived legally.
    – Weather Vane
    Aug 10, 2019 at 13:18
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    @WeatherVane Schengen codes require the stamping of exiting travelers' passports precisely so it is possible to validate the traveler's compliance with the 90/180 rule. For example, if someone arrives on 10 April with an entry stamp from 1 January, the officer cannot know whether to admit the traveler unless it is possible to establish when the traveler left. Fortunately, the code contemplates the possibility to use alternative evidence to show the date of departure.
    – phoog
    Aug 10, 2019 at 14:36

3 Answers 3

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Currently, Schengen States do not have a central database in which entries/exits are recorded. The evaluation is soley done by physically checking the stamps in your passport.

Such a system is however in the process of being implementened: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32017R2226&from=DE

I would not worry too much about it. As long as you have other documents and UK stamps in our passport that clearly show you have not overstayed, you should be fine.

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The only record they keep is the stamps in your passport. You can use the UK entry stamp to prove that you left. There's nothing to worry about.

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    Whoever voted for this answer, please consider voting for markusju's answer which is at least as good as this one and has a reference as well.
    – phoog
    Aug 10, 2019 at 13:24
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No need to worry about this mishap. The Schengen Borders Code provides a mechanism with how to deal with this and what is acceptable evidence of having exited:

The travel documents of non-EU nationals are systematically stamped upon entry and exit. If a travel document does not bear an entry stamp, it may be presumed that the holder does not fulfil, or no longer fulfils, the conditions of duration of a short stay. However, the non-EU-country national may provide any credible evidence of having respected the conditions relating to the duration of a short stay, such as transport tickets or proof of his/her presence outside the territory of the EU countries.

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  • Pinging you here since you don't seem to be available in chat: I would like to encourage you to undelete your question What information is available through VIS?. It's a good question, and your answer could be improved with a bit of copy and paste (from the consolidated version of the legislation).
    – phoog
    Aug 22, 2019 at 17:59
  • @phoog it was a bit time consuming to correct it at the time, have done so with updated legislation and text (not image) quotes. As a new question and answer.
    – Ozzy
    Aug 23, 2019 at 0:01
  • @phoog also, how does one activate/access the chat? Would've been helpful in past situations
    – Ozzy
    Aug 23, 2019 at 0:09

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