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I'm from Brazil, and I've been working in Lithuania for around 4 months (I could stay in Lithuania without a visa for 90 days in a 180-day period).

For reasons that are not relevant, I didn't apply for a visa in Lithuania, and my 90-day period has passed. Now, I'm illegally in Lithuania, but I am planning to go to the United Kingdom for 2–3 weeks to apply for a national D visa in the Lithuanian Embassy in London. I've dealt with all of the paperwork in the migration office in Lithuania, they know I'm here illegally, and I'm leaving voluntarily.

My problem is that, from what I heard from some of the migration officers, I might be stopped in the UK and not be let into the country, even though it doesn't belong to the Schengen Zone, even though Brazilian citizens can be in the UK for 6 months.

My question is if the mentioned facts are true, and what I can do to have no problems going to UK from Lithuania, while not being allowed to travel in Schengen countries.

Nick Stauner
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Tom
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1 Answers1

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The thing is that UK border officers probably will notice that you have been staying illegally in the Schengen area for some time (either through the stamps in your passport or simply by asking you). At this point, they will examine your case much more closely and might deny you the right to enter the UK based on a concern that you would do the same there (namely stay illegally). There is nothing automatic about that either way (e.g. overstaying in the Schengen area does not entail a ban from the UK), it's not part of EU (or, to my knowledge, UK) law but a judgment left at the discretion of individual border officers.

Someone more familiar than myself with the UK Border Agency practices and internal procedures might be able to provide an educated guess on how likely that is but I don't think that anybody can offer any guarantee.

One thing that you could do is to get in touch with the UK consulate to get their opinion on this and perhaps apply for a UK visa beforehand (unlike the Schengen area, I believe it's possible even if you don't need one by default). This would give you the opportunity to explain your situation and provide guarantees that you do not intend to immigrate illegally in the UK. Beside the costs of a visa application, the big caveat is that if this application is denied you will be in a much worse position to enter the UK at any time in the future.

Other “solutions” include going back to Brazil instead of the UK or try to do the same from a country less concerned about illegal immigration.

Relaxed
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