Tourist visa duration for U.S. citizens in Germany

Okee dokee. Here is my situation.

- Arrived in Berlin Sep 19
- Left Berlin for America Oct 24
- Came back to Berlin Nov 9

So as far as I understand it the days that I was in America should not count toward my 90 day tourist visa, so I calculate that it should be officially up Jan 1:

Sep 19 - Oct 24 = 36 days
Nov 9 - Jan 1 = 54 days

First of all, am I correct?

Also, when we went to the Ausländerbehörde to get our residency permit today, they gave us an appointment for Jan 17 and, presumably to keep us legal while we were waiting for our appointment, they gave us a Fiktionsbescheinigung which is good through Jan 31.

If I were to travel Dec 27-30 to Czech Republic would that be a problem? Am I correct to assume that I would still be covered by my original 90 day tourist visa which covers the Schengen states (Czech is Schengen as of Dec 21, 2007)? I saw something about not traveling within Schengen states on a Fiktionsbescheinigung and that concerned me. Does the Fiktionsbescheinigung override the rest of my 90 day tourist visa?

Thanks for your help,
Ali

I think that you are correct in your calculations of the days especially since you have a multiple entry visa. I assume, if the Czech Rep is covered by a Schengen visa, that you would be okay to travel there on the dates you describe - I doubt it will be an open border though and I am not sure you will be allowed to enter Germany thereafter, as your visa expires on the 1st. As for your visa, you have three months from your original date of entry into the country to have it endorsed and get a residence permit so I have a sneaky feeling that this may be around November 19??? I am really not sure about the latter but it worth looking in to.

I meant, Dec 19

What do you mean "enter Germany thereafter"? I will be able to come back on Dec 30, yes?


Three months from Sep 19 is Dec 19 I think. But I am confused by you saying "three months from original date" and also saying that I was originally correct about Jan 1?

Hi Alika,

If your visa expires on Jan 1, all I am saying is that you may to produce a return ticket home in order to get back into Germany on the 30th. It seems that you may be treated a little sceptically if you enter with only two days left on your visa and no other docs.

Also, as far as I understand it, the German embassy in your country would have given you a visa to enter Germany with the intention to apply for the residence title, so you are given three months in which to apply for it. As far as I understood it, the three month period starts when you enter Germany for the first time on that particular 90-day visa. That visa is given expressly to allow you to come ehre and apply for the title as it were.

Not sure if this makes any sense.