Traveller reader Kay Lethbridge, of Summer Hill in NSW, has a problem. “My husband and I are thinking of retirement in 2026 and want to spend a year in Europe. The more I read of visa requirements, the less confident I feel that this is possible. Our original plan was a year in Denmark. Visa requirements limit stays to 90 days in any 180 days. So then I thought maybe we could do four lots of three months.

“But I am now reading about the Schengen area, and it seems that you can stay only 90 days in 180 days in the Schengen area, which covers those countries that appeal to us. Is that right? What happened to ‘A Year in Provence’?”

The Schengen area rules create a problem for many Aussies who want to spend several months travelling around Europe. Most of continental Europe falls under the Schengen area, and under its rules, Australian passport holders can remain within its boundaries only for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. After those 90 days are up, they must leave the area and not return for another 90 days.

One way around this problem is to spend those 90 days in another European country outside the Schengen area. Britain, Ireland, Serbia, Turkey and Albania are some of the possibilities – but there’s another option.

Is it possible to stay in Schengen area countries continuously for longer than 90 days?Starting in the 1950s, Australia signed visa waiver agreements with several European countries, allowing Australian citizens to stay in their country for up to 90 days. Despite the subsequent restrictions of the Schengen Agreement, many of those agreements are still in force. That means Aussies could potentially spend up to 90 days in a Schengen area country, then spend the next 90 days in another European country covered by the visa waiver agreements.

Which Schengen countries signed visa waiver agreements with Australia?Since the 1950s, the list has included Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Some of those countries have since walked back on those agreements, but many are still in place.

How can I use these agreements to extend my stay in Europe?A letter from a representative of Germany’s consulate-general in Sydney provides clarification.

“The German-Australian Agreement on the Exemption of Visa Requirements, dated 22.12.1952, allows Australian citizens to travel to Germany and to stay in Germany for up to 90 days without having to apply for a visa, as long as their passport is valid for the entire duration of the stay and as long as they do not engage in any kind of employment in Germany. You can spend your first 90 days anywhere in the Schengen States and enter and leave the different states as often as you like. On day 90, at the latest, you have to leave the Schengen States (you could go to the UK).