Ancestry Visa and Working in the UK & EU

I have an Ancestry visa and have just had it renewed for a further 5 years, which will allow me to get on the road to citizenship (we hope!).

A lot of contracting roles I get approached on are in the EU and what I suggest to some recruiters is that I'd love to apply for them except my visa doesn't allow me (technically) to work in the EU.

I have suggested as long as the contract is established in the UK, then this solves the problem in some respects. However, i know to be eligble for citizenship you typically have to have been in the country for XX days each year in order to qualify.

Has anyone else experienced something similar and been able to pursue EU contracts without affecting their visa status ?

I'd welcome any thoughts or advice.

[NotAllThere]

Even if the contract is drafted in the UK, you cannot work in schengen area without a schengen visa. If you try it and are caught you'll be in a world of pain.

In many countries if you spend too much time out of the country, the counter is set to zero. In others, if you ask permission, then the counter is stopped, and restarted when you return.