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Recently I traveled to Norway for a job interview by company with valid Schengen visa, SINGLE ENTRY - TYPE C (business visa) valid for 9th to 27th September ( 19 DAYS VALIDITY )

I traveled to Norway on 10th of September and completed my job interview successfully during 11th and 12th September. Company offered me the job and I took it.

Originally I was planned to return on 12th September however on 12th Sept company and I mutually agreed that I will stay another week in order to complete familiarization etc.

So my original ticket was cancelled and new flights were booked to depart on 19th September as follows : Norway - Copenhagen - Munich - Mumbai Everything was going smooth until when I was questioned on 20th Sept by Immigration officer in Munich airport (before boarding flight to Mumbai) as why did I overstay when my visa was allowed to stay only for 4 DAYS

This was shocking to me. Obviously in the whole process, I had not realized that there is limitation for my stay ( Duration of stay 4 days ) in Norway and blunder had happened. I had missed to notice this and only remembered that visa is valid until 27th September. It was unintentional from my end, neither do company HR people checked this before postponing my flights etc. My stay was extended without knowledge of limitation of stay.

I explained the immigration officer all the truth and original plan etc. however he didn’t agree.

I was taken to the inquiry office by Immigration person (police). After few questions, and noting down my residence address (India home town address) and my job position details, company name, I was made sit for about 1/2 an hour. Later, I was shown and asked to sign a form and declaration which stated that overstaying and not having a valid Schengen visa is illegal and punishable act etc. Due to time constraint and nervousness I did not read every word of the form and signed as per instructions from Police.

I was told by police that my case will be presented to the judge who will decide next course of action. Also I was shown a name on the form who will act on my behalf to present my case etc. (I don’t remember exactly). As per Police , I will be informed if any action is needed.

I am obviously very scared that what will happen next. Just to let you know, my company is also preparing my work permit through a 3rd party agency in Norway. My plan is to re-enter Norway in next month and appear in front of Norway police to process the Norwegian work permit and then get residence card. I have planned to work and stay in Norway and company is processing the formalities for that.

I have informed above incident to Norway officer HR person, who mentioned that let’s see what happens next and she would help. I have not informed this to work permit agency thinking that it might be all okay, nothing will happen and to avoid unnecessary mix-up at this stage.

Frankly, I have many questions in mind and am afraid what will happen next. Will I be punished, fined or not allowed to enter Schengen region ? Will I be rejected the next visa which I am planning to re-apply in next month ? Will my new job proposal be withdrawn by company in case this issue escalates ?

Your kind and urgent reply will be highly appreciated.

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  • What does ‘complete familiarization etc’ actually mean? Sounds uncomfortably close to actually working.
    – Traveller
    Sep 23, 2019 at 7:17

1 Answer 1

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It will be impossible to say to what conclusion the judge will come to.

The Judge will make a judgment based on the facts laydown before him/her.

At present, I assume, they are collecting conformation from the firm in Norway.

From what you have written it looks very much as if the firm was also at fault

  • as a future employer they should have checked if you were allowed to stay
  • if they assisted in the rebooking of your flight, then they assisted in the overstay

Further questions will be asked of the firm

  • was a contract signed/agreed to?
  • was the process with the 3rd party agency started for the work permit?

With this information the judge will attempt to come to a conclusion what the motiv was

  • a deliberate attempt to deceive?
    • if yes ---> bad
  • was it goof up by not paying proper attention to the visa details?
    • if yes ---> good

If the judges final conclusion is that it was a goof up (negligence) then they may deside that a warning is sufficient

  • to you
    • it was your responsibility to know that your visa was only valid for a 4 day stay between the 9th and 27th of September
      • and should have informed the employer when asked to stay another week
  • to the employer
    • should have insured themselfs that their prospective employee was allowed to stay a further week

You will just have to wait and see what the final conclusion of the Judge is.

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  • 1
    There is an additional complication in that the exit check and procedure are in Germany while the long-term visa application and the company are in Norway. How does that play into the situation?
    – Relaxed
    Sep 22, 2019 at 17:32
  • @Relaxed Either the OP lawyer will contact the firm and request a statement or the Court will ask for assistance from Norway. I assume the first. The OP stated the the firm knows what happened.
    – Mark Johnson
    Sep 22, 2019 at 17:35
  • @Mark Johnson Is a ‘future employer’ obliged by law to check if a prospective employee could stay? I’d expect them to check the new employee had a valid work visa, but surely prior to actually starting employment the responsibility for understanding the visa rested with the OP?
    – Traveller
    Sep 23, 2019 at 7:16
  • @Traveller hard to say if by law. Since the goal of the extended stay was of to complete familiarization, so part of the job recruitment process. An Employer is required to insure that an Employee has the correct legal status and can be heavy fined for not doing so. If they paid for the costs of the extended stay they are at least partially responsible for the overstay since they didn't notice that the OP was required to leave by the 4th day. .
    – Mark Johnson
    Sep 23, 2019 at 8:02
  • @Traveller if the C-Visa was issued for the specific purpose of a job interview with this employer, then they should have checked the result. It is not clear if this is the case from what the OP has written. Also if the trip was financed by the employer, the OP will probably not be held soley responsible for the foul up.
    – Mark Johnson
    Sep 23, 2019 at 8:40

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