overstayer

Not turning in your form results in the system registering you as an overstayer.

"A student visa overstayer is not going to be a high priority for pro bono assistance."

A further difficulty was the interpretation of the law by the courts which held that an overstayer had to be detected within three years and proof had to be offered that the person knew that they had overstayed.

OTOH, several others have reported that they did get caught; some of them got away with only a warning, while others were fined (some up to €1000) and/or received a stamp in their passport marking them as an illegal overstayer and banning them from Schengen for a few years.