Saturday

The World Factbook


The "World Factbook" published under the Central Intelligence Agency moniker is a staple just like Wikipedia. It's a pretty good reference and it's where I go first when I want to know about such things as visa requirements and length of stay allowed.

This is where I first came across the term Schengen. There is a confederation of countries that allow outsider tourists in for only up to 3 months at a time. So, if I were to go to Portugal and stay up to three months there, I would have to leave not only Portugal, but I would have to leave the Schengen confederation entirely. I could travel anywhere within Schengen but after the 3 month mark I would have to leave. I imagine that if I wanted to stay I would have to leave and go to Switzerland (if not yet implemented) or Morocco or somw other place not too far away where I could continue to function and learn and grow.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I had to be in Portugal for four months I got a visa, so that I could be in Schengen countries for more than 3 months per year. It wasn't too hard. Just had to go through the embassy in Washington DC. Although it was a little confusing what the fee was- I overpaid but they gave me all the $$ back that I overpaid.

Okawa Ryuko said...

José Sócrates is not our President but our Prime-minister.