Good Day - Denizens of the Englishforum!

I've been lurking on these forums for quite some time now, mostly for amusement and to get a picture of how Switzerland is viewed by non-natives and am now confronted with a problem that I thought could maybe be cleared up by some of you, as you went through similar processes and were confronted with similar obstacles.


1. The Case:
I'm seeking advice in a matter concerning a visa / 90-day-Schengen-overstay / marriage-visa.

1.1 The Situation:
My Russian girlfriend of 6 months (we lived together 5 of those) renewed her Schengen visa (with invitation) at the end of June (she already had a Schengen visa from a family trip and a work trip before). To our surprise, it was not a regular 180-day visa but just a 90-day visa.

Unknowing as we were, we thought the rule was "90 days within the period of the visa" (which in general would be 90 days in 6 months), and understood this as the best visa possible: 90 days within 90 days! We were surprised but didn't find any other explanation online.

1.2 Fast Forward to Today:
She just went on a business trip outside the Schengen area and was told by the customs officer that she probably stayed too long. She didn't count the days, though, and the visa was still valid, but she overstayed the 90 days rule by 2 months. She didn't get fined or reprimanded.

Now that we googled again, we realize that it was 90 days within any 180 consecutive days. We, of course, felt extremely stupid for not realizing that. She was planing to return on Saturday and then leaving again in October, before the visa expires. Accordingly, there are also still a lot of her things here: she only took with her what she needed on the trip.

2. My Questions:
2.1 No Return?
I presume we are correct in the assumption that there is no way for her to return this Saturday? (She already has the plane ticket for October.) What would happen if she tried to come back? (We wouldn't try this, of course, as we are a bunch of careful sissies.) Are there other repercussions?


2.2 Marriage Visa
From the beginning, it was clear that, at one point, we would have to get married, if we didn't want to have a long distance relationship. We already planned to do it, in case she didn't get another visa within 1 month after the current one. Since she overstayed the 90 days, we now wonder if it is even possible anymore to get a marriage visa? (As far as we know, the marriage visa is a national visa and thus hopefully has different rules?)

2.3 Options?
Is there another option that we haven't discovered, yet?

2.4 Working Remotely
Another, more general question: As she largely works remotely, she travels and works from the target countries a lot. Now my question regarding this: Since you cannot work with a tourist visa, are you also not allowed to do work for your normal job in your home country? Or is it as I assume, that only work within the Schengen area is forbidden?


We are happy for any information you can provide!

1. It's unlikely the airline would allow her to fly as iirc Switzerland recently put the onus on airlines to make sure passengers have the correct entry documents, otherwise the airline would be fined. Even if she is allowed to fly I doubt she would be let in as she's overstayed. If you google Schengen visa calculator you'll get this so you can work out when she can return again.

2. Having overstayed may make it more difficult to get a marriage visa. But I believe you would also need to be a fair way into your wedding plans, i.e. have a firm date in mind, etc, for a fiancee visa to be issued. Talk to your commune/gemeinde and the registry office for more info. However, be aware that the Swiss will be looking for a long term, committed relationship of several years' standing, not one that's only be in existence for a few months - which is what yours sounds like. Given that she's already overstayed, ignorance of the rules notwithstanding, they may very well see this as a sham marriage attempt simply to get her a resident's permit.

3. No.

4. If her company sends her to work in another country on a business trip for example then she's fine as she's simply doing her job. If, on the other hand, they wanted to send her somewhere for several months, then they would have to meet that country's employment rules. In Switzerland/Schengen that would probably mean proving that they couldn't find a Swiss/EU national who could do the job so that she could be issued with a resident's permit for that country which would then allow her to work.

Thanks a lot.

I will go and ask the commune about the marriage visa. We are not THAT advanced with the preparations but since it was clear from the beginning that we would have to marry early - after a year or so at the latest - we already talked about many parameters. (We originally planned to get married around Feb/Mar but now this has changed to as soon as possible.) I think there is almost no indication for a sham marriage in our case but of course I don't know what the less obvious "official" indicators are. I've heard of friends, however, that it is a very haphazard process with many real marriages being considered sham ones...

As for working remotely: She is employed in Russia as a consultant by an international company. Aside from short 2/3-day meetings, they do not send her into other countries to work. She however works from home or wherever she happens to be at the time. So to specify my question: are you forced to do "holiday-things" when you are here on a tourist visa, or can you also - in addition to traveling, sightseeing, etc. -, for example, work on your thesis for your Russian university or work on digital design projects for your Russian company?

I think you can guess the answer, a TOURIST visa is just that, no working is allowed.