Coquelicot

When we can, we like to make one spring trip and one fall trip to France from the US. Those stays aren’t really long enough for me, so this year I’ve thought of applying for a visa so we could stay from May to October. My husband doesn’t want to spend the whole summer in France. He thought that he could come home for July and August and then rejoin me in September, and he came up with an idea.

We’d both buy round trip tickets, US to France in May, France to US in October, but he would buy a separate round trip ticket for himself leaving France sometime in June and returning to France sometime in August. He’s checked a few airlines and the round trip fares starting in Europe are lower than starting from the US, so this “inner” flight would cost a little less and he could travel more lightly since his clothes etc. would stay with me. It's not really about saving money, though.

Is this an idea of genius or big trouble? What could go wrong?

kerouac

I see nothing wrong with the idea. You would be the only person in need of a visa then, right?

AJPeabody

Makes sense, if covid rules don't change in the middle. Is that a big if?
Just use different airlines for the two round trips,

Coquelicot

kerouac, yes, theoretically it would be just me who needs a visa, but I'm still scheming and don't want to eliminate any possibilities until I have to.

I'll be working on persuading him to stay the whole time and since it's not that expensive to apply for a visa I would probably apply for both of us.

If I can't face spending such a long time by myself in France, one possibility is that we both return home for two months using the "inner" ticket.

4totravel

Great idea! We’ve done the same thing many times as well. Enjoy!

balthy

Why would there be an issue with buying a return ticket from France to the US? Why do you need to book 2 different airlines for the two round trips? No reason at all, just book what makes sense. They are separate trips, separate bookings, there is no issue (aside from potential COVID issues). There is no "inner" trip, its just a totally unconnected trip to the main one, if anything it is a separate "sidetrip."

kerouac

Yes, people can buy as many tickets as they want, in any direction they want. Some people (with no money problems) fly back and forth every week. I can't imagine why AJPeabody said to use different airlines.

janisj

Not crazy and no need that I can see to use different airlines. However -- you probably would both need visas. If you both show up with the same May to Oct RT tix, it will appear that you are both staying seven months. Your DH having the separate RT ticket in the middle would not change the possibility that he would be staying the full time. Plus even IF the embedded RT would solve that problem -- with the multiple stays he'd have to be really careful calculating the 90 days in 180.

annhig

Sounds wonderful Coquelicot. I'll be interested in how easy you find it to get the visa; it's something that we brits are now going to have to come to terms with now, not just in France but in the whole of the EU apart from RoI, where we can go without any limits at all.

joannyc

This is called nested ticketing. It is legal as long as you meet the ticketing requirements, e.g., minimum stay, Saturday night stay, etc.

cheska15

Hi Coquelicot While putting all the paperwork together for a visa process is tiresome the visa process is relatively straightforward. If you apply for a visa for both of you, the issue could be is that you would have to both do a medical ( usually after 3 months) and what would happen if your husband wasn’t there for the appointment.
Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

Coquelicot

Thanks for the advice and encouragement, everyone.