90/180 days rule: Can visa-free days be used to enter France before start of visa?

Reader Question: Our six-month visa will not come into force until mid-May, but we wanted to arrive at the start of the month. Can we arrive on our visa-free days then let this blend into our visa, or will this cause issues when returning home?

The days spent on a visa and those used as part of your 90/180 day allocation are counted as two separate entities, and can indeed be used in conjunction with each other to extend your stay.

In some cases, people use some of their 90 days at the end of their visa to prolong a stay, however it is possible to also use them before. 

It does not require having to leave France/the EU and return on the date your visa begins, and you can remain within the bloc.

However, you will need to be aware that to border officials, when you leave after your visa has expired, it may look like you have long over-stayed your typical 90-day limit. 

To this effect, the Direction générale de la police nationale told The Connexion “At the end of these two stays, while leaving the territory, they must explain to the border control authorities that they have carried out a short stay followed by a long stay by presenting relevant proof to explain the totality of their stay in France.” 

You can, of course, show your passports which will include the visas used. It may also help to have travel tickets, boarding cards or other documents clarifying the dates and nature of your stay. 

Read more: I have overstayed the 90 day rule in France. What is going to happen?

Be careful of border changes and tax rules 

Although it is possible to do this, you should be careful about two things. 

The first is to be careful over where you are based for tax purposes. 

There are several ways tax authorities assess whether someone is a tax resident of their country, but time spent in a country is an important factor. 

Combining a visa and multiple short-stay visa free days could leave you spending most of the calendar year in France, potentially making you a French tax resident and liable to have to declare worldwide income to France. 

Secondly, incoming border changes under the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) may affect your plans. 

The EES will digitise border security for non-EU citizens travelling visa-free into or out of the bloc, and leaving the Schengen area after it has come into force may cause additional complications if you have been using a combination of visa-free days and staying on a visa. 

This should not be the case, however, if you leave within the visa validity period as you will not be entered into the EES.