Sailing the Med

[Sailing newbie selsey]

Hi can I draw on the knowledge of the group please, my wife and I plan to go long term crusing in the med from 2024. we have been looking at visa’s and the dreaded schengen 90 in 180 day rule.
my wife has an irish grandparent so could claim Irish citizenship via descent and then apply for an Irish passport, but under dual nationality and retain her British passport also.
I am not that lucky to have Irish descent so are stuck with my British passport and the problems Brexit has given us all.
i did hear that if my wife gets her Irish passport then I can also stay over the 90 day rule in the schengen area as long as I am accompanying her.
however looking at this i would have to apply for a residential visa if I stay over 90 days in any individual country.
but does this mean we could say spent 3 months in France, then 3 months in Spain, then 3 months in italy then 3 months in Greece, never leaving the schengen area in a 12 month period but moving from country to country every 3 months ?
is my wife applying for Irish citizenship the best option for our sailing plans to avoid schengen shuffle??
many thanks

 

[steve yates]

Regardless of anything else, get the irish passport anyway.

 

[Tranona]

Yes, with your wife's EU passport you can accompany her without restriction. Visa for greater than 90 days for you to travel independently are currently virtually non existent for sailing the Med except for France. understand that there is a long waiting list for Irish applications so best get this sorted first and then check exactly what you can do before committing yourself.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Hi can I draw on the knowledge of the group please, my wife and I plan to go long term crusing in the med from 2024. we have been looking at visa’s and the dreaded schengen 90 in 180 day rule.
my wife has an irish grandparent so could claim Irish citizenship via descent and then apply for an Irish passport, but under dual nationality and retain her British passport also.
I am not that lucky to have Irish descent so are stuck with my British passport and the problems Brexit has given us all.
i did hear that if my wife gets her Irish passport then I can also stay over the 90 day rule in the schengen area as long as I am accompanying her.
however looking at this i would have to apply for a residential visa if I stay over 90 days in any individual country.
but does this mean we could say spent 3 months in France, then 3 months in Spain, then 3 months in italy then 3 months in Greece, never leaving the schengen area in a 12 month period but moving from country to country every 3 months ?
is my wife applying for Irish citizenship the best option for our sailing plans to avoid schengen shuffle??
many thanks

Ireland is not in Schengen, due to the Free Movement arrangement that has existed between it and the UK since Independence in 1922.

 

[jlavery]

Regardless of anything else, get the irish passport anyway.

But start the application ASAP. Current processing time is 2 years!

 

[Travelling Westerly]

Hi can I draw on the knowledge of the group please, my wife and I plan to go long term crusing in the med from 2024. we have been looking at visa’s and the dreaded schengen 90 in 180 day rule.
my wife has an irish grandparent so could claim Irish citizenship via descent and then apply for an Irish passport, but under dual nationality and retain her British passport also.
I am not that lucky to have Irish descent so are stuck with my British passport and the problems Brexit has given us all.
i did hear that if my wife gets her Irish passport then I can also stay over the 90 day rule in the schengen area as long as I am accompanying her.
however looking at this i would have to apply for a residential visa if I stay over 90 days in any individual country.
but does this mean we could say spent 3 months in France, then 3 months in Spain, then 3 months in italy then 3 months in Greece, never leaving the schengen area in a 12 month period but moving from country to country every 3 months ?
is my wife applying for Irish citizenship the best option for our sailing plans to avoid schengen shuffle??
many thanks

Yes, as I understand the rules you can move country to country every 90 days and stay indefinitely in the EU but travelling with your wife (Irish passport holer).
I believe you have the same freedom of travel rights, as long as you stay with her, as any other EU citizen.

 

[syvictoria]

Ireland is not in Schengen, due to the Free Movement arrangement that has existed between it and the UK since Independence in 1922.

The common travel area that exists between the UK and Ireland is irrelevant here as the OP wishes to go to the med. Ireland is in the EU and so their citizens benefit from Freedom of Movement (as we UK residents also did previously). The OP is correct that he can travel with/accompany his EU citizen (once obtained) wife. Visas are not required if they don't stay for longer than 90 days in any one state continuously, and fortunately that particular 90 day clock can be reset by simply leaving said state and re-entering. We plan to do similar once I FINALLY receive my dual citizenship and second passport (not Irish - although eligible for that too, I opted for a 'supposedly' faster option elsewhere!).

 

[ithet]

I have Irish parent so I have looked into this also from the point of view of my wife accompanying me. This is what I understand, but I am happy to be proved wrong if others have found different.

From what I have found out the partner of an EU citizen where neither are resident in the EU cannot exceed the 90 day rule unless the EU citizen is/becomes resident in an EU country. In the latter case the partner has a right to obtain a resident document which will allow them to accompany their EU partner throughout the Schengen area. So yes, if you can obtain residents documents on the basis of accompanying your wife you can both travel freely within Schengen for an extended period.

But I do not know if we are able to class our yacht as a residence when cruising around (I understand some have done this when on long term mooring).

BTW, my children have just obtained their Irish Citizen certificates after just over two years, although that coincided with Covid when the Irish Foreign Births Registration was suspended.

Some info here:
Travel documents for non-EU family members - Your Europe

 

[syvictoria]

I have Irish parent so I have looked into this also from the point of view of my wife accompanying me. This is what I understand, but I am happy to be proved wrong if others have found different.

From what I have found out the partner of an EU citizen where neither are resident in the EU cannot exceed the 90 day rule unless the EU citizen is/becomes resident in an EU country. In the latter case the partner has a right to obtain a resident document which will allow them to accompany their EU partner throughout the Schengen area. So yes, if you can obtain residents documents on the basis of accompanying your wife you can both travel freely within Schengen for an extended period.

But I do not know if we are able to class our yacht as a residence when cruising around (I understand some have done this when on long term mooring).

BTW, my children have just obtained their Irish Citizen certificates after just over two years, although that coincided with Covid when the Irish Foreign Births Registration was suspended.

Some info here:
Travel documents for non-EU family members - Your Europe

Sorry, I confess to having not (re)read (assuming that I've read it previously!) your link yet, but I'm not aware of any residency requirements when accompanying a spouse. There is a requirement to present yourself to the authorities after 90 days (and thereafter perhaps commence a residency application depending upon the individual state's rules), but as I pointed out above, I believe that if you leave the state and then subsequently re-enter (perhaps the following day and with proof that you've been elsewhere, to be safe), you can then stay in the same state for a further 90 days (and repeat). This has certainly been my understanding to date and has previously been confirmed to me by Europe Direct in writing.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

But start the application ASAP. Current processing time is 2 years!

That may have become shorter, now that the post-lockdown surge in passport renewals has been brought under control.