The coronavirus pandemic, aside from the illness itself, has created a whole raft of serious issues that have impacted on people throughout the world. Not the least is the quandary, that some individuals are experiencing, who were in a foreign country when the decision to lockdown was taken.

Many people through work or holiday have been caught by the relatively sudden lockdown across Europe and the fact that a number of airlines have grounded their fleets. Apart from the predicament some people may have of the cost of staying put the legality of their situation is a greater worry. Legal Law Limited’s lawyers in the immigration team have set out the following advice below for individuals who find themselves stranded in a foreign country that they were visiting at the time of the lockdown.

Foreign travelers are permitted to stay in Italy quite legally period covered by a Schengen visa, the most common visa utilized in Europe. A Schengen visa applies in the 26 countries that have abolished their internal borders, for the free and unrestricted movement of people; 22 European countries and four members of the European Free Trade Association through specific agreements. Provided an individual is a national of a country to which a visa waiver has been applied travellers may stay for 90 days within a six month period. Should there be an illegal overstay the consequences can be a fine, deportation or a ban from entering any part of the Schengen zone for a specific period of time.

Clearly the circumstances that have evolved due to the coronavirus pandemic are exceptional, and anyone who is now in an overstay position should contact the local immigration office immediately. There are alternative ways of managing an overstay situation arising through no fault of your own having been forced to remain longer than permitted in a foreign country due to cancelled flights and the travel restrictions imposed by border closures and other measures introduced to effectively implement the lockdown policy.

The most obvious answer is to simply extend the visa, however the length of time the restrictions are likely to apply is an unknown quantity and even if the restrictions are lifted an individual’s ability to leave a country is still dependent on the ability to travel. If borders remain closed and the aviation industry is under resourced due to the collapse of airlines it still may not be possible to leave the country and go home. Legal Law Limited’s immigration team suggest that an acceptable alternative may be to request a residency permit. This may offer a safer more reliable option as until governments across Europe and beyond can see a realistic time-frame for the staged withdrawal of the restrictions put in place to limit the infection rate and protect each country’s population from the coronavirus pandemic there is always the potential to find yourself in the same position if your estimate of the length of time you may need to extend your visa is inaccurate.

The EU Commission has recommended that legal consequences that would normally be applied to a foreigner who overstayed their visa should not be applied in the current circumstances and that nobody should be punished, providing the reason for the overstay is related to the coronavirus pandemic. Each country will decide on how to apply the recommendations but in Italy will abide by the EU Commission’s advice.

Regardless of the route you choose to avoid an overstay Legal Law Limited’s immigration team can assist you during this unprecedented time.