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I’m American and recently bought a house in France. On July 17 I traveled from USA to France. On Oct 10 I returned to the USA (to make sure it was less than 90 days). Leaving France the border agent asked me when I last entered, and pointed out my last stamp was from February. I checked and this was true, but he believed I entered in July (which is true), and let me go. My question is, can I return to France before waiting three more months in the USA? Or is there electronic record I was there? We are waiting for my livret de famille but with COVID it might take months and I want to return to my husband and home.

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  • With an exit stamp from 2020-10-10 (not meantioned in the question, but assumed to exist) and no corresponding entry stamp, they will assume you entered 90 days before leaving. Oct 13, 2020 at 3:15
  • You should contact the French consulate and ask for a D-Visa to reenter. At present, US residents are not permitted to enter the Schengen Area for visiting purposes. Any D-Visa would override the 90 days rule. Oct 13, 2020 at 3:29
  • Thanks Mark! They didn’t give me an exit stamp, either. For now I was allowed to enter since I’m married to a french man, but can’t stay longer than 90 days until I get my new visa (for which we are still waiting for our livret de famille)
    – Mari Meade
    Oct 13, 2020 at 3:33

1 Answer 1

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There's no electronic record, so indeed, if you never got an entry or exit stamp for a specific stay, then that stay essentially "never happened".

As such, you can safely return to France without delay, even with the COVID-19 restrictions since you're the spouse of a French citizen.

However, if arriving directly from the US, one normally needs a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of entry. Not sure whether being the spouse of a French citizen exempts you from that.

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  • @phoog Ah, fairs. Thinking of how to edit the answer but am not sure atm
    – Crazydre
    Oct 13, 2020 at 17:54
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Willeke
    Oct 13, 2020 at 19:06

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