tominrm

Hello to everyone. I am finally retired, and one of my pre-retirement dream was living in one or two countries for a year, but the reality is that it is very hard to get a visa for that length of time. I do not plan to buy a property. I think six months or less in one country is what I have in mind. I have made many trips to Schengen countries before, but they were all 11 weeks or less. I hear their visa rules are very strict and other than resident visa or student visa, it is very difficult to get one. I still have health insurance other than Medicare, and certainly not a candidate of public charge. Any ideas?

janisj

Well - the easiest way would be 6 months in the UK and 3 months in one of the Schengen countries.

Traveler_Nick

If your income is over the threshold a one year visa is possible. I think most think it's €30K a year. You'll also need local health insurance.

You don't need to buy property for a visa. You'll need a rental agreement but you wouldn't want to spend a year in a hotel.

kerouac

There is no such thing as a long term Schengen visa since each country sets its own rules. But if you get an extended visa for one Schengen country, it should make it easy to visit plenty of others for a limited time.

Heimdall

You might want to do some Googling for expat forums in countries where you would like to stay, as they would have valuable information on things you aren’t yet aware of and that ordinary tourists don’t need to worry about. Join the forum and you will be able to ask questions.

As janisj wrote, you can stay in the U.K. for a maximum of 6 months, although Border Force might limit you to less than that. As the U.K. isn’t a Schengen member, the 6 months doesn’t count against the 90 days in 180 Schengen imposes. If you stayed in Schengen for 90 days and then in the U.K. for six months, you could go back to Schengen for another 90 days, and that would give you your year in Europe. Use a Schengen 90 day calculator to insure you don’t overstay.

kanadajin

Your best source of information would be your closest consulate office for the country you wish to be considered for this visa. There are slight variations from one to the other as to actual requirements and of course related consular fees do vary significantly between administrations (these costs are often published on your own country's European consular web sites and are not hard to find).

On the positive side, I personally know of a few persons who have successfully obtained a 1 year visa for France, you just have to be prepared for the bureaucracy (regardless of country btw) and also to be patient. You may want to start looking at health insurance costs for expat coverage in Europe to give you an idea, you usually purchase this in your home country and it is normally one of the higher price tag item on the list. While processing of such visa applications is often suspended during these cover times, it is most certainly possible to obtain one and even more so for the financially independent.

Heimdall

Make sure your existing health insurance covers you for treatment outside the US, as some policies don’t. Medicare, of course, won’t cover you outside US and it’s territories either. Even if you are covered, normally you pay health costs up front and claim back from your US insurance company later.

kanadajin

"often suspended during these COVID times" - sorry about the auto-correct.

kanadajin

"Even if you are covered, normally you pay health costs up front and claim back from your US insurance company later."

This a good point made by Heimdall and one to clarify beforehand. It is not always necessarily the case and may vary between insurance companies I suppose. It most certainly was not for me as I did purchase such insurance in the past for extended foreign stays and I was not responsible for any upfront costs as they had a service centre accessible 24/7 for any pre-payment requirement or issues. At one point I sadly had a relatively minor issue that required immediate attention and did not have to personally incur any out-of-pocket expense for the care received (btw I am not in the USA, and do not know if this makes a difference or not).

Moral of the story, shop around!

Heimdall

Some hospitals in the U.K. will submit insurance claims for you, eg Royal Papworth and Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge, others won’t. Then you will get bills from the surgeon, anaesthesiologist, etc which all must be paid individually. Private doctors will usually expect you to pay upfront. In the past I have been insured through my employment overseas with the US companies Blue Cross-Blue Shield and Aetna Health Care, and that was the case for me.

lavandula

I recommend you read Expatica and Toytown Germany, which are resources for expats:

https://www.expatica.com

https://www.toytowngermany.com (obviously Germany only)

There is also a news portal in many European countries, The Local (I know TheLocal.de, which is the German version), which has English news for the relevant country.

It's not impossible to get a visa, but you might find an immigration agent helpful if you think things aren't going to be easy. I never had to do this, but I know of people who did here in Australia and it was successful for them. Good luck for your journey!

Lavandula

cheska15

I’m not sure why you think it is hard to get a long stay visa. It isn’t. We are Australian and the same rules apply to any Third Country National.
As mentioned earlier you must apply for one country. We had a long stay visa for France for 12 months as the requirements are simple, although time consuming to put it all together. Any long stay visa will only allow you to be out of the country for 90 days.

Traveler_Nick

The important bit is whatever insurance you have meet the minimum standard the consulate sets for visas. If it doesn't no matter how good it won't be good enough.

hetismij2

Your driving licence will only be valid for 1 year if you remain in one country (or are registered as resident in one country) for that long.
You do not want to attempt a European driving test.
Most EU countries and Schengen countries (not always the same thing) require you to register if you are staying in that country for more than 3 months, some even less time than that, regardless of your visa status. You need to check such rules as well.

tominrm

Thank you all for great tips and suggestions! I like the ideas of 3 month in Schengen, 6 Months in UK, and 3 months back in Schengen. Unless I am mistaken, Ireland is not a part of Schengen or UK system and can stay there, up to six months as a part of this plan. I looked at visa requirements for a couple of EU countries, and it looked very time consuming especially if I do not already have a definite purpose of visit or a specific place to stay.

With that scheme I do not have to worry about health insurance issues either. I have BC/BS insurance and Allianz annual travel insurance. I certainly don’t want to buy any more health insurance if I can help it.

tominrm

To Chesca15:
I thank you for your reply and suggestion. I think in my case I thought it would be hard because I do not have a definite plan- place, time, or purpose. I did not have a plan because I am not sure if I can get a visa. So it’s like chicken and egg thing.
The last sentence in your reply “allows be out of country for 90 days”…. How do they know if you are out of country if you travel within the Schengen countries?

tominrm

To Kanadajin:
あなたは日本語を話せますか?

Your nickname is telling.

kanadajin

はい、少し日本語が話せます。私は日本語と日本文化が本当に好きです。

hetismij2

Just because, in theory, you can stay for 6 months in the UK it really depends on the mood of the Border Force agent and your answers to their questions whether you actually can stay for 6 months.
Ireland is not Schengen and has a free travel area with the UK.
You will need health care insurance for the UK just as you will for EU. Check that any insurance you have will cover you for an extended period abroad.

tominrm

To: hetismij2
I really din't mean exactly 3 months or 6 months in one country. I always stay up to 11 weeks in Schengen countries. Likewise, I will probably stay in UK up to 5 and half months or whatever the time they allow me to stay. You said Ireland "has a free travel area with the UK.". Does it mean if I stay in UK six months I can't go to Ireland afterward? I have never stayed in UK longer than two weeks at a time, but never been asked about the health insurance. Maybe this time it might be different when the border agent asks me how long I plan to stay and the purpose.
Thank you for your many tips like driving license, and insurance. They are very helpful.