Overstayed Schengen Visa, how long to wait before entering again?

Question

I have overstayed a Schengen tourist visa in Hungary by about 2 months, due to just incredible foolishness and not checking visa rules thoroughly. I was denied entry back in, not fined or banned, but my passport was marked. I'm lucky, I know, and Ill never make that mistake again.

My question is, how long do I have to wait before I can enter the area again? I am a bit confused, as some information I found said 90 days should be fine, but another told me I have to wait for the entire length that I was in Schengen area (so in this case, about 150 days).

I was going to apply for a work permit before discovering the overstay, which is why I want to return to Hungary as soon as I can.

Answer 1

You only need to wait at most 90 full days to avoid falling foul of the Schengen area rules on maximum stay (Whether you need to stay 90 days out of the Schengen area or less depends on how your previous stay was divided, if it was one block of 150 days, then you do need to wait exactly 90 days after the day you left the Schengen area.)

The reason cited to deny you entry is not based on the overstay but merely on the fact that it's not possible for you to reenter without violating these rules. Thus, you would also need to wait 90 days or risk being denied entry for the same motive (“˝has already stayed 90 days in the preceding 180 day period”) even if you left on the 90th day of your previous stay and hadn't overstayed at all.

After that, you could still be refused entry of course, but it would be for another motive, there is nothing special about these 150 days. On the other hand, waiting even longer could be prudent as border guards in other countries might be more suspicious of your intentions if you repeatedly try to enter the Schengen area for long periods of time.