Does travelling with an EU/Swiss spouse affect the Schengen 90/180 days rule for British citizens?

Reader question: I am British and my wife is Swiss and we have a French holiday home. I think that, as long as I travel with my wife, I may be treated as a family member of an EU citizen for immigration purposes. I also understand that while I can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen Area, I can structure my visits as two separate stays (for example, eight weeks in May/June and eight weeks in September/October) in a given year.

I have two questions; firstly, when I leave France at the end of October, what will happen if the system determines that I have exceeded my permitted stay under the 90/180-day rule?  Secondly, when entering and exiting France with my wife, am I allowed to use the EU/EEA/Swiss passport lanes alongside her, or must I use the non-EU channel, even when travelling together?

If your partner is a Swiss or EU/EEA citizen with free movement rights, and you are travelling with them or joining them in an EU country other than their country of nationality, you may be treated as a family member under EU free movement rules.

It is worth noting, however, that (unlike in this case) where the family member is of a nationality that usually needs a visa to visit the EU (such as Russian or Chinese), this remains the case if they are entering from outside Schengen, however in this case it is a free family member visa with a simplified application.

Where this applies, you are registered in the Entry/Exit System (EES) as a family member rather than as a standard short-stay visitor, and the automated 90/180-day calculator does not apply to you. Reduced retention rules also apply to your data in the system.

However, this does not guarantee extended or unrestricted stays. If you remain in a single member state for more than three months, you must normally register your residency and formalise your right to stay under the applicable EU free movement rules. 

This can include applying for a residency card and providing proof of your family relationship and your EU/Swiss spouse’s residency rights.

When leaving France or the Schengen area, the system should therefore not process your travel in the same way as it does for standard short-stay visitors, but compliance with EU free movement rules and national residence requirements still applies.

Regarding your second question: when travelling with your Swiss spouse, you are generally allowed to use the EU/EEA/Swiss passport lanes.

It is advisable though to carry proof of your relationship, such as a marriage certificate, in case it is requested at border control.