EU Spouse - Extended stay in the Schengen Region

[Cthompson]

Hi,
I am looking for guidance on some questions we have on our upcoming travels that have not been able to be answered by various government agencies and don’t appear to be covered by previous forum topics. Apologies for the lengthy post.

Wife
• UK Passport holder
• Australian passport holder
• Australian resident
• 36 yrs

Myself
• Australian passport holder
• Australian resident
• 36 yrs

Both
• Evidence of sufficient funds to be self-supportive for duration of holiday
• Comprehensive Health Insurance

We are planning an extended holiday together to Europe (Schengen + Non Schengen) in 2016/2017. Whilst we are fully aware of our requirements and restrictions under the Schengen Convention (No Visa required) we are hoping to utilise our rights to free movement under the Directive 2004/38/EC to increase the duration of our stay in the Schengen region.

We seek clarification on the following points

1. Under Article 6 both the Union Citizen and Family Member are entitled to right of residence for up to three months on the territory of another Member State. Can these conditions be applied to multiple member states?
Example: Enter France for up to 3 months then travel to Italy for up to 3 months then travel to Spain for up to 3 months return to France for up to 3 months?

2. When travel between member states is via borders with no border control, should documented evidence such as accommodation/fuel receipts be sufficient as proof of not overstaying the 3 months limit.

3. Under Article 23 both of us should also be entitled to work without a visa/work permit.

4. Under Article 7, we will be entitled to reside in a Member state for longer than 3 months, subject to the conditions of that Member State. Are the individual embassies of each Member State the correct place to find additional information on these specific requirements? As I note that in France, the carte de sejour is issued by the local prefecture.

5. Where we may wish to stay longer than 3 months, and an application is to be made prior to the end of 3 months, is the 3 months calculated from the first time the country is entered, or from the most recent time the country is entered?

Example: Enter France from UK (Passport stamped) 1st May and immediately travel to Italy for 2 months. Return to France 1st July with the intention of staying for 4 months. Would we be required to apply for Residence before the end of July (3 Month from 1st May) or before the end of September (3 months from 1st July)?

Thanks for any advice you might be able to provide.

[noajthan]

Start here:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizen/doc ... 013_en.pdf