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We applied for a student visa for my daughter to study in Italy. Among other things, we gave them copies of her tickets home. Her flight home is on 31st December 2022. We have only now looked carefully at the visa and see it expires on 16th of December. We have tickets to fly to visit her on 19th December. We plan to all fly home together on 31st of December. We are all US citizens and home is USA. If she leaves with us on 31st, two weeks after visa expires, will she have a big problem leaving? What if she wants to visit Italy again to travel or study? If in the future she applied for another student visa or even a work permit in Italy, would a two week overstay cause her a big problem? If she were to want to travel to Italy again, it would not be for nine months or more.

Would going to London for a couple of days then coming back to Italy help?

I've looked at a few other questions and answers and do not see exactly this situation.

Willeke
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JustWilliam
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Overstaying can never be recommended as a good idea. Your daughter could be fined upon exiting the Schengen Area, but fines for minor immigration-related offences are often waived (if the foreigner leaves voluntarily).

Would going to London for a couple of days then coming back to Italy help?

It would, especially if she manages to leave the Schengen Area before her visa expires. If she only gets to the UK after a few days' overstay, it's probably better to book her a flight to the US directly from the UK, instead of her having to return back to the Schengen Area first.

What if she wants to visit Italy again to travel or study?

Yes, an overstay might negatively affect her future visits or visa applications, but probably not permanently. Since the US is a low-risk country in terms of illegal immigration to the Schengen Area, it's not likely she'll be permanently banned from entering it. IMHO (not an expert opinion), I'd wait at least a year before attempting to enter the Schengen Area again, either as a tourist or as a student.

Johnnyjanko
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