Time in Benidorm

[Mikeco]

We are taking a break from La Manga early January and have booked in to a hotel in Benidorm for 7 nights simply to meet up with the daughter, two granddaughters and one great granddaughter, at our expense I would add. Some how I don’t think that they would appreciate the nightlife in La Manga.

 

[bellabee]

@bellabee - any recommendations on where to stay in Altea?

Cheers

We stayed at Cap Blanche, ACSI site. It's not our favourite site. 'Dutch Retirement Village,' comes to mind. The pitches vary in size - some cramped, others massive.
The toilets/showers are dated but very clean. The best thing about it is its location - just across the road from the beautiful, white, rocky beach and brilliant blue sea.
It is also an easy walk to lots of bars and restaurants.

 

[bobandjanie]

We went to Beni on the bus, from Altea. We wanted to see for ourselves why so many people love it. Well, we soon saw it wasn't for us .
We didn't quite make @Northernraider's record of a 1 hour 17 minute stay. We were probably there for about 2 hours.
We were back in Altea in time for a late lunch .

I blame the bus driver, they are always running late. Bob.

 

[maison]

What conflicting reports, it's always been a max of 3 months in 6 in any EU country.

Wow!

I’m a criminal!

For the last 13 years we have been spending almost six continuous months in France each summer, together with several thousand other holiday home owners. Never had a problem, either entering or leaving U.K. or France.

After Br@@@t we will be limited to 90 days in any 180 so that will be a problem.

May have to sell up.

 

[Northernraider]

Wow!

I’m a criminal!

For the last 13 years we have been spending almost six continuous months in France each summer, together with several thousand other holiday home owners. Never had a problem, either entering or leaving U.K. or France.

After Br@@@t we will be limited to 90 days in any 180 so that will be a problem.

May have to sell up.

90 days in 180 is pretty much 3 months in any 6 so no change there

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[maison]

90 days in 180 is pretty much 3 months in any 6 so no change there

My point was that I am not aware of any limit on staying within an EU country at the moment. (Other than the tax implications).

If the 90 day in any 180 day period was currently in force we would have been picked up at sometime during the last 12 years.

My understanding, and I appreciate that I may be wrong, is that current rules allow up to a continuous c180 days in any EU country other than the U.K. Anything more than that requires you to pay tax in the predominant country.

That is not what is proposed post Brexit.

 

[Northernraider]

My point was that I am not aware of any limit on staying within an EU country at the moment. (Other than the tax implications).

If the 90 day in any 180 day period was currently in force we would have been picked up at sometime during the last 12 years.

My understanding, and I appreciate that I may be wrong, is that current rules allow up to a continuous c180 days in any EU country other than the U.K. Anything more than that requires you to pay tax in the predominant country.

That is not what is proposed post Brexit.

I believe that's incorrect
You need to leave after 90 days which resets the clock and you can have 183 days in total
That's what I was told by others on here.
I think @gus-lopez is quite clued up on this


Not sure how they know to be honest and I was in Spain from 13th January till mid July then went in to Portugal.

I did pop in to Gibraltar sometime in June though

 

[maison]

I believe that's incorrect
You need to leave after 90 days which resets the clock and you can have 183 days in total
That's what I was told by others on here.
I think @gus-lopez is quite clued up on this

In that case we have all been illegal for many years.

Our neighbours in Wales also have a holiday home in France and have not had any problems either.

If the rule is enforced, by border checks post Brexit, France, Spain et al, will lose a lot of spending power and there will be many holiday homes up for sale.

I can only presume that, up to now, it has been impossible to check how long you have stayed in any one country in the Schengen area. ie you could have spent 20 days in France, 29 days in Belgium etc.

It will not be possible post Brexit if border checks at point of entry to Schengen are introduced.

I repeat, there will be a great loss of income for local commerce in the countries concerned. The U.K. will benefit.

 

[Northernraider]

In that case we have all been illegal for many years.

Our neighbours in Wales also have a holiday home in France and have not had any problems either.

If the rule is enforced, by border checks post Brexit, France, Spain et al, will lose a lot of spending power and there will be many holiday homes up for sale.

I can only presume that, up to now, it has been impossible to check how long you have stayed in any one country in the Schengen area. ie you could have spent 20 days in France, 29 days in Belgium etc.

It will not be possible post Brexit if border checks at point of entry to Schengen are introduced.

I repeat, there will be a great loss of income for local commerce in the countries concerned. The U.K. will benefit.

Not entirely sure don't think anyone knows what will happen then yet.

 

[2657]

You need to leave after 90 days which resets the clock and you can have 183 days in total

That is the whole point, under the proposed proposals the clock is not reset until 180 days after the date of entry and when we are out of the EU the date of entry will presumably be stamped in your passport and the rules may even be enforced.... who knows?

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[maison]

Not entirely sure don't think anyone knows what will happen then yet.

I don’t think we can be sure of anything but it does appear that the 90 days in any 180 may well be enforced post Brexit according to the present “agreement “.

Oh, well. We have had a good run!

 

[Chris]

In that case we have all been illegal for many years.

Our neighbours in Wales also have a holiday home in France and have not had any problems either.

If the rule is enforced, by border checks post Brexit, France, Spain et al, will lose a lot of spending power and there will be many holiday homes up for sale.

I can only presume that, up to now, it has been impossible to check how long you have stayed in any one country in the Schengen area. ie you could have spent 20 days in France, 29 days in Belgium etc.

It will not be possible post Brexit if border checks at point of entry to Schengen are introduced.

I repeat, there will be a great loss of income for local commerce in the countries concerned. The U.K. will benefit.

You are absolutely correct.

Our only “ hard” border will be with the French and after that there cannot be any restrictions and the plonkers won’t know how many days you have spent in Spain , Portugal, Germany etc..

 

[Northernraider]

Yes but will it be 90 days in each country?

I mean I want to head back to Europe in January and I plan to do 9 or 10 countries over a year. I'll be constantly on the move.

 

[2657]

Yes but will it be 90 days in each country?

I mean I want to head back to Europe in January and I plan to do 9 or 10 countries over a year. I'll be constantly on the move.

That's the whole point, as far as can be guessed from the current proposals you will have 90 days in the Schengen/EU area once in they will not know where you are until you leave, no idea what happens then and nor does anyone else.

If you overstay will they arrest you, fine you, send you to the bastille, any bodies guess but if they enforce this you will certainly not be allowed back in to the EU for a while.

 

[maison]

Yes but will it be 90 days in each country?

I mean I want to head back to Europe in January and I plan to do 9 or 10 countries over a year. I'll be constantly on the move.

As I understand it.........

Post Brexit it is 90 days in any period of 180 in the Schengen area. ie it doesn’t matter how many countries you visit it is a consecutive total of 90 days in the Schengen area..

Bugger!

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[Northernraider]

That's the whole point, as far as can be guessed from the current proposals you will have 90 days in the Schengen/EU area once in they will not know where you are until you leave, no idea what happens then and nor does anyone else.

If you overstay will they arrest you, fine you, send you to the bastille, any bodies guess but if they enforce this you will certainly not be allowed back in to the EU for a while.

As I understand it.........

Post Brexit it is 90 days in any period of 180 in the Schengen area. ie it doesn’t matter how many countries you visit it is a consecutive total of 90 days in the Schengen area..

Bugger!

In that case I almost certainly need to head over in January as they won't stamp passport then lol they never have before
Then brexit will happen once I'm already there and if the Gestapo stop me on the way back I'll just plead ignorant

 

[bellabee]

Yes but will it be 90 days in each country?

I mean I want to head back to Europe in January and I plan to do 9 or 10 countries over a year. I'll be constantly on the move.

Along with everything else, it is still all up in the air, but the conditions which apply to 'third countries' at the moment allow stays of 90 days in the whole of the Schengen Area, not 90 days in each country. Under those rules, you start counting on the day you hit French soil in Calais on your way out, and stop counting when you leave Calais on your way back, having visited any number of Schengen countries in the interim.

Your whole stay would be limited to 90 days. It does not mean 90 days in each country. After the 90 days, you then wouldn't be allowed back into the Schengen area until the end of another 90 days.

If we leave with no deal, it is likely that those rules would apply after 29th March 2019. If there is a deal, it's possible that we may be able to carry on as normal during the transition period. Who knows?

Also impossible to know how they will police it, and what the penalties would be for breaching the rules.

They are proposing that UK citizens will not have to apply for a visa in order to visit the Schengen area, provided that the UK government agrees to reciprocate. However, 'starting January 2021, all UK citizens will have to obtain a travel authorization prior to their trip to the Schengen Area. This authorization, named European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), will cost them €7'
(Taken from here. https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/eu...-uk-citizens-traveling-to-eu-for-short-stays/)

I think the best advice is, 'enjoy it while you can.' If you set off before 29th March, the time you spend away while we're still EU members, won't count towards the 90 days. If you leave after 29th March, there's a good chance your total trip will be restricted to 90 days.

 

[2657]

In that case I almost certainly need to head over in January as they won't stamp passport then lol they never have before
Then brexit will happen once I'm already there and if the Gestapo stop me on the way back I'll just plead ignorant

Que sera sera

'Everything passes, everything changes, just do what you think you should do'.......To Ramona, Bob Dylan

 

[gus-lopez]

If the 90 day in any 180 day period was currently in force we would have been picked up at sometime during the last 12 years.

Not necessarily. & yes it has always been the law.
You will always be found out normally if involved in any sort of road accident involving injury. Certainly here , anyway.
Residency is obtained automatically after 90 consecutive days . Leave after 89 & the clock resets.Some states ask for registration on the foreigners list others do not.
183 cumulative day makes you a tax resident.
You can be a resident without being a tax resident & vice-versa
Whilst i n the EU you could have 89 days in any state & move on.

In that case we have all been illegal for many years.

Yes. as have 10's of 000's of others.

Yes but will it be 90 days in each country?

I mean I want to head back to Europe in January and I plan to do 9 or 10 countries over a year. I'll be constantly on the move.

No 90 in the Schengen area then back to the Uk theoretically.
To crack down they would actually have to keep track using the roadside cameras but I can't see they'd be doing too much of that.

In that case I almost certainly need to head over in January as they won't stamp passport then lol they never have before

I can't see them doing that & I won't certainly be allowing it as I don't live in the Uk so certainly don't want some stamp put in a passport when I'm resident elsewhere & it will create problems here.

 

[Nicepix]

Looks like I am in the $hit....

2007 and 2009 I was there for over 4 months.... and 2012 nearly 5 months...

Don't worry Mo. My Grandad was there from June 1944 until May 1945, he toured all over from Normandy across to Paris and nobody bothered him except a few Germans.

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[bigtree]

Re: hanging offence.

Best cut down that big tree, Mo.

Don’t you dare !

 

[bellabee]

they won't stamp passport then lol they never have before

Not likely to involve stamping of passports. They'll use electronic records. You already have to provide API when using the Tunnel.

 

[Chris]

I only get 6 weeks a year holidays so I don’t care.

Yet

 

[BILL 875]

If theres no deal on brexit dont forget your driving licence, you may need a international driving licence, two in fact.
Bill

 

[IandJ]

So what happens if you travel via the Ireland?

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[ukbill]

As long as you like, providing you don't die,of alcohol poisoning

 

[gus-lopez]

So what happens if you travel via the Ireland?

That's the loophole

 

[Hilewaychile]

"Residency is obtained automatically after 90 consecutive days" says Gus Lopez. No - Not obtained automatically. You do have to actually apply for residency. Loads of 'docamenti' and 'When were you born and why?' If you don't you are indeed not fullfilling a legal obligation but, up to the point at which we are no longer in the EU, you can't be thrown out of the [any EU] country. It's weird. You are entitled to be there even if you fail to reg as res after 90 days. But all that will be history after Brexit. Sadly.

Leave after 89 & the clock resets. True. 183 cumulative days makes you a tax resident. True.

Bellabee say "To crack down they would actually have to keep track using the roadside cameras but I can't see they'd be doing too much of that." Not so. Certainly in Spain the onus is on you to prove you have not overstayed, not on the police to prove you have.

Guilty unless you have proof that you are innocent. This is why Gus says you will be rumbled if involved in an incident that interests Plod.

No need for roadside cameras. If you use a toll road, they have you logged in and out. And at major borders - Le Perthus particularly.

But my theory, for what it's worth, is that MHs, campers and caravans are not what the cops are on the lookout for. I feel that has been the case till now, which is why so many have stayed way over the limit with no problems. But there may be a period after the new rules kick in - whatever they may be - when EU authorities instruct their police to zero in on GB plates on anything on wheels.

Gus [I presume] and I will be in the fortunate position of having vehicles with SP plates. We can be in SP as long as we like. Going elsewhere in the EU will not attract any attention. Gendarme Pierre in FR will say , "Regardez, Gaston mon brave! Un camping-car d'Espagne!... n'est-ce pas l'heure du déjeuner? Je pourrais tuer pour une bière!". And so, one hopes all over the EU.

That's going by what they see as we trundle by. How it works in detail, if one is a UK passport holder who is registered as resident in an EU country, I don't know. It'll be in the fine print of those 596 pages somewhere. Or not.

 

[bellabee]

Bellabee say "To crack down they would actually have to keep track using the roadside cameras but I can't see they'd be doing too much of that." Not so. Certainly in Spain the onus is on you to prove you have not overstayed, not on the police to prove you have.

I didn't say that!

 

[Northernraider]

I didn't say that!

Think it was @gus-lopez

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