Our first project is to address issues faced by Euro-nomads seeking to extend their stay in Europe using their respective countries’ Bilateral Visa Waiver Treaty.
What is this about?
In the 1950s, the CANZUKUS countries signed bilateral visa waiver agreements with many European countries. The full list of current in-force treaties is listed here: BIlateral Visa Waiver Countries
Visa waiver agreements allow CANZUKUS passport holders to stay in these countries without impacting the 90 days visa waiver granted them under the Schengen Agreement.
But the Treaties are so old and visa rules have changed so much since they were signed that many Border Officials are either unaware or unwilling to recognize their ongoing validity. Euro-nomads are not in a position to argue their case and many Euro-nomads are not willing to risk refusal of entry, detainment or missed flights.
Who will benefit?
Euro-Nomads from Australia, Canada, NZ and the US. Sadly, all of the UK’s bilateral treaties were annulled when the UK joined the EU.
What will be produced?
This crowd funding project will fund the engagement of bilingual Italian and EU immigration law specialists to confirm and document formal advice from the Italian government.
When donations reach 500 euros I will draft a detailed brief for use in a Request for Quotation to three legal firms. I hope to gather a group of interested Contributors to form a working group. I expect the content of the brief and the RFQ selection criteria to be developed collaboratively by the Working Group. The three RFQ shortlistees will be selected by the Working Group, and the successful bidder similarly chosen on review of their proposals.
The successful firm will be engaged only after the available donations meet their proposed pricing. Should the proposals exceed the proposed funding cap, the scope of work will be tailored by negotiation to meet the funding cap of 5000 euros. Any excess funds remaining from this project will be rolled over to the next project as agreed by the working group, or refunded pro-rata to the Contributors.
Subject to further development of the project, I envisage that the project will: a) produce authoritative legal advice to be documented and made available to all Schengen-Shuffle subscribers; b) Gold and Platinum Contributors will receive a personalized letter from the law firm documenting the formal advice with appropriate references for border officials to confirm the validity independently; and c) for Platinum contributors the letter will offer a contact telephone number for further elaboration in Italian if necessary should the Border Official dispute the letter’s contents. Accompanying their letter will be notes in Italian and English documenting the procedural requirements that border officials must obey should they seek to penalize you for alleged overstaying unjustly.
