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I am a Canadian Citizen, visiting Sweden for 90 days without a visa. Is it possible to extend by just 15 days? If so, please provide information as to where I can find out how much it would cost and how to do so if you can.

The reason being, all the flights before the 91 day mark are about 200+ dollars more than after that date.

JonathanReez
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Jake
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    where in Sweden? Have you considered a train from Malmo to Copenhagen in Denmark (a matter of minutes), and flying from there, or something similar? – Mark Mayo May 06 '14 at 06:36
  • If you hop into the [chat] and let us know the flight details, we may be able to help beat it. – Mark Mayo May 06 '14 at 06:36
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    You almost certainly don't have a Swedish tourist visa, as Canadians can visit the Schengen area without visa and therefore shouldn't get a visa for short stays. The only solution to extend your stay would be to get a Swedish long-stay visa, see http://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/26589/how-to-extend-my-stay-in-the-schengen-area-at-the-end-of-my-trip/26593#26593 – Relaxed May 06 '14 at 06:38
  • I am getting 90-days on arrival, because I am canadian, you are right. But the long-stay visa takes up to 6 months to get processed and I will be there in about 25 days.. so this doesn't help. – Jake May 06 '14 at 06:41
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    What about leaving the Schengen area for a few days? eg have a week in the UK or Ireland, so your 97 day trip stays under 90 days in the Schengen area – Gagravarr May 06 '14 at 07:39
  • I was about to make the same suggestion that Gagravarr. Not sure if it would save you money if the difference is really only 200 dollars but note that you can go for a week in the UK or, say, Croatia in the middle of you stay in Sweden and then return there to use the remainder of your 90 days. – Relaxed May 06 '14 at 07:46
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    Beware, if you aren't in Sweden yet, it's perfectly possible that the border guards ask about your plans on entry and if they notice you have booked a ticket that would cause you to stay longer than allowed, they might very well deny entry entirely. – Relaxed May 06 '14 at 10:00
  • @MarkMayo I'm just wondering if you can help find/beat a flight price. I went to that Travel Chat that you sent the link to, but can't figure out where to go. It just brings me to http://chat.stackexchange.com

    If you can add me on Facebook and talk to me there and try to help, that will help me solve this whole problem

     – Jake May 06 '14 at 10:52
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    You want the You Are Here chatroom - that's the Travel.SE one – Gagravarr May 06 '14 at 11:38
  • possible duplicate of What will happen if I overstay in Sweden by 1 day? – Michael Hampton May 09 '14 at 03:34
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    @MichaelHampton Actually it's not because a question about overstaying and a question about extending are two separate questions.

    To add to that as well, I had two of these questions in one, and someone told me to make them two separate ones.

     – Jake May 10 '14 at 02:35

1 Answers1

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As far as I can tell, there are no practical solution that would be much cheaper than USD 200. The two fully legal possibilities to stay longer than I know of are:

  • Applying for a Swedish long-stay visa. You could qualify for a visitor's permit or work-holiday visa (WHV). It's unlikely to be practical for 10 days because of visa fees and delays but the WHV could allow you to stay for an entire year relatively easily.
  • Getting an extension of the Schengen visa-free stay or “limited territorial validity” visa. Those do exist but most likely won't be available to you as they are restricted to force majeure or humanitarian reasons.

Other ways to plan this trip without paying for the more expensive flight could be:

  • Traveling out of the Schengen area. Going for a week to Croatia, the UK, Turkey or any other destination outside the area at some point during your stay in Sweden (not necessarily at the end of the trip) would reduce the day count and make sure you don't go over the 90-day limit. With low cost airlines and cheap accommodation it could come close to USD 200. You would not actually extend your stay in Sweden but it could fit in your trip, with a nice holiday somewhere else to boot.
  • Flying from somewhere else like Copenhagen (connecting by train) or even further afield like Frankfurt or Amsterdam (perhaps going there by bus) to find a cheap flight earlier.

See also What are the options for a non-EU national who wants to stay in Netherlands for more than 90 days? (about the Netherlands, not Sweden) and What are the options for a non-EU national who wants to stay in Germany for more than 90 days? (US citizen in Germany).

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Relaxed
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