9

My case is a little bit unique, so I haven't found any articles that are closely related to what I want to ask.

I'm currently in Germany with the working holiday visa.

My visa expires on Feb 7, so I booked a flight on that day, from Berlin to my home country via Rome and Abu Dhabi.

I didn't recognize that the flight from Rome to Abu Dhabi is on the day after Feb 7, meaning that the actual date of leaving the Schengen area will be Feb 8.

In this case, am I breaching the immigration law? Or should I tell the immigration officer that I left Germany not violating the visa expiry date, showing the flight ticket?

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14

The working holiday visa is national visa ("type D") and time spent under such a visa in the issuing country does not count towards the Schengen short-stay 90/180-day rule. As a South Korean citizen you don't need a short-stay visa, so you should be okay.

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  • This is the only answer with a clear and consice response to the question. As a South Korean citizen, the OP can stay visa free for a further 90 days immediately following the expiration of the German national visa. – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo Jan 21 '16 at 12:13
6

That is an incredibly interesting question! I will presume you land on Feb 7 well well before midnight which is when your visa expires.

Edit: I didn't realize what @phoog said that South Koreans don't need a visitor visa at all. This is written for those who need a short stay visa but not a transit visa. There are many.

My interpretation of the situation: Before you board the Abu Dhabi plane you go through a passport check in Rome (and after you went through that check if you wanted to get out of the airport, you'd need another passport check). So you are not inside Schengen any more but in transit. And if you don't need a transit visa then you are golden. Check wikipedia about exemptions. In short: make sure you are inside transit past the border check on the 7th and you will be fine.

Very strong disclaimer: this is my interpretation of the situation. It's logical but I am not a lawyer nor a PDS officer.

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  • You mean spend the night in the airport? This would be safer, but probably unnecessary. – phoog Jan 21 '16 at 4:45
  • @phoog I edited my answer. And yes, that's what I meant. – chx Jan 21 '16 at 4:46
2

I would say that depends on your home country. Leaving won't be a problem. But you might get into trouble applying for a new visa in the future. In the near future something this trivial will hardly be a problem. But if Europe tightens immigration laws down the road it can potentially be.

Schengen might also be completely abandoned. If it is, then it might only be Germany you will have problem getting a visa for again.

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  • Schengen might also be completely abandoned. speculation. – njzk2 Jan 21 '16 at 14:56
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    @njzk2 some people would have figured that out themselves from the word "might". – hobbs Jan 21 '16 at 15:44
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    @hobbs yes. but including that in this answer, considering that the OP is leaving germany in less than 3 weeks in not very useful. – njzk2 Jan 21 '16 at 16:08
  • @njzk2: The whole answer is about what might happen in the future. Leaving EU will never be a problem. Given the rise of extreme right wing parties all over Europe I think it is an appropriate one. – dan-klasson Jan 22 '16 at 2:36

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