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My Schengen visa was approved for 9 days stay but I did not know it, I thought I could stay for entire visa duration which was 3 months. So unknowingly I overstayed for a day and while returning German officials gave me some documentation and charged criminal act against me and ask me to email them when I go back to my home country. What could happen now, would they penalize me, can I apply for Schengen tourist visa again in future?

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  • It would be helpful to upload the documentation you have here, with personal data masked.
    – svavil
    Commented Oct 9 at 7:22
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    Interesting that this so often seems to happen in Germany out of 20+ EU countries?
    – Jan
    Commented Oct 9 at 7:48
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    @GiacomoCatenazzi If you overstay in Germany, you will usually be reported to the police for staying in Germany illegally. Usually these proceedings are them closed by the prosecutor some months later.
    – Jan
    Commented Oct 9 at 7:54
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    @GiacomoCatenazzi This would a violation of the residence act (AufenthG) and not the criminal act (StGB). The police write the charges and sends that to the prosecutor who decides if it in the public interest to pursue. If yes, formal charges are made and goes to court, otherwise dropped. Since such an overystay leave a 'paper trail', the police (Bundespolizei) are required to write the charges.
    – Mark Johnson
    Commented Oct 9 at 9:33
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    @Jan The reason is probably that German police has very little leeway in evaluating the relevance of a criminal violation and is in most cases obligated to initiate a criminal investigation if they know of one. The case must go to a prosecutor or a judge before it can be potentially decided that the violation is so irrelevant, that the case can be dismissed and that can also only be done if the violated law does not foresee a minimum penalty. In many other countries, the police is entitled to make such decisions themself.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Oct 9 at 10:17

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Short answer re. penalty: From what I have heard from people with similar problems, criminal proceedings for short accidental overstays are usually closed without penalty because of lack of public interest. Not sure about future visa applications.

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    This is certainly consistent with what I've heard, but the answer would be more helpful if you could describe in a little more detail the source of your knowledge ("what I know"). Do you have personal experience or first-hand knowledge of people who have experienced this?
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 9 at 8:27
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    @phoog done (from people with a similar problem)
    – Jan
    Commented Oct 9 at 8:40
  • If there is no penalty, there is no basis to enter an alert in the SIS, which is until now the main mechanism to make sure an overstay has consequences on subsequent visa applications. The only thing left once the charges have been dropped are the stamps (and soon, the record in the EES).
    – Relaxed
    Commented Oct 9 at 17:22

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