schengen whv travel outside France duration

28/03/24, 10:27

Hi stobbes. This is not immigration advice and I am certainly not a lawyer, but here is what I think you should know, to make an informed decision:
1) You can spend as much time outside of France as you want, there is no minimum amount of time that you are required to live in France with a WHV.
2) Outside of France, in the Schengen Area, you are a simple tourist with no special status. Europe states that tourists in Schengen are allowed to spend up to 90 days in a 180 day period (without counting days spent in France on a WHV, because that is a long stay visa).
3) The France WHV authorizes you to live and work in France only. Everywhere else, you are a tourist.
4) Once you enter the Schengen Area, there are no border controls or passport/visa checks in travel between Schengen countries.

31/03/24, 01:54

Thanks. So if I am reading between the lines here you are saying that if I have a WHV to be in France, while outside of France in Schengen, I am simply a tourist, and tourists are only allowed to stay 90 days in 180 day period. However nobody will be checking my visa as there are not border controls between Schengen countries. So it WILL NOT be noted on my passport that I have already spent 90 days in Austria and then go to another non-France Schengen state. So while there is a rule, there is no way to enforce or keep track of these 90 days... right? I'm assuming here that I should plan to fly back to Canada from France to not cause any confusion.

31/03/24, 11:41

Message de stobbes

Thanks. So if I am reading between the lines here you are saying that if I have a WHV to be in France, while outside of France in Schengen, I am simply a tourist, and tourists are only allowed to stay 90 days in 180 day period. However nobody will be checking my visa as there are not border controls between Schengen countries. So it WILL NOT be noted on my passport that I have already spent 90 days in Austria and then go to another non-France Schengen state. So while there is a rule, there is no way to enforce or keep track of these 90 days... right? I'm assuming here that I should plan to fly back to Canada from France to not cause any confusion.

Hi again. I don’t know how/if Schengen authorities enforce anything, so I unfortunately I can’t answer that. But as far as I know, it is true that there are no passport stamps when travelling between Schengen countries.
As for your last question, there is no obligation to have France always be your point of entry and exit, so I don’t think that is necessary.