Bypassing the 90-day Schengen limit
 

It seems like the shared visa in the Schengen zone has been a common problem for people looking to backpack Europe for an extended time.

People have had various solutions from arranging their itinerary to exit the zone long enough to get a second visa, or just overstaying.

I was in France a few weeks back, and a friend was there a few weeks after me. We both flew into Charles de Gaul and neither of us had our passport stamped, scanned, or otherwise recorded by passport control. They just looked at the bio-data page and waved both of us through.

Obviously this could change at any time but for now, you have a shot at getting entry in at CDG with no stamp. If anyone else doesn't get stamped at some airport keep us updated!

yeah when I went a couple years ago I didn't get stamped either. They just looked to see that I HAD a passport (didn't even freaking open it up) then let me on my way....very odd

yeah, a lot of european airports don't stamp..

So does this mean I should bother to apply for the longer visa? Planning 6 months in Europe, mostly in Schengen areas.

It still might be worth applying as it is the law but don't be surprised if people don't bother checking.