Schengen 90/180 rule, explained, with a calculator

If you don't need a visa for a short stay in Europe, or you travel on a Schengen visa, one rule decides how long you can stay: no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, across all the Schengen countries together. The calculator below counts it for you. The rest of this guide explains how it works, so the answer makes sense.

The rule, in the EU's words

Under the Schengen Borders Code, the maximum short stay is "no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay". It applies to short stays whether or not you need a visa.

How the rolling 180-day window works

There's no fixed 180-day block that starts on your first entry and resets later. Instead, the window moves with you:

1. Pick any day you are (or plan to be) in the Schengen Area.
2. Look back at that day and the 179 days before it: 180 days in all.
3. Count the days you were in the Schengen Area during those 180 days.
4. If the count is 90 or less, that day is fine. If it's 91 or more, you've overstayed.

The check applies to every day of your stay, not just the day you arrive. Old days drop out of the window one by one as time moves on, which is why your "days left" can go up again after you leave. The European Commission's guidance adds that an uninterrupted absence of 90 days allows a new stay of up to 90 days.

Arrival and departure days both count

"The date of entry shall be considered as the first day of stay … and the date of exit shall be considered as the last day of stay." Land at 11pm and it counts as a full day; leave on a morning flight and that day counts too. For nomads who move often, these partial days add up quickly.

A worked example

This is the European Commission's own example. A traveller who doesn't need a visa spends one day in the Schengen Area on 1 January 2024, then enters again on 1 June 2024.

• On 14 June 2024, the window runs from 18 December 2023 to 14 June 2024. It holds the 1 January day and 1 to 14 June: 15 days used, so 75 left.
• Staying on continuously, 29 August 2024 is the last day allowed: the window ending that day (3 March to 29 August) holds exactly 90 days. The 1 January day has already dropped out.
• Staying until 20 September would mean 112 days in the window ending that day: 22 days over.

To try it in the calculator above, enter those two stays (1 January 2024, and 1 June to 20 September 2024) and set the check date to 14 June 2024: you'll get the same answers.

Which countries count

The Schengen Area is 29 countries: 25 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Bulgaria and Romania were the last to join, on 1 January 2025. Days anywhere in the area add up to one total, so moving from Portugal to Greece to Norway doesn't start a new count.

The 29 are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Not counted: days in Cyprus and Ireland, which are in the EU but not (yet) in the Schengen Area, and days in the United Kingdom. Nearby countries outside Schengen, such as Albania, Montenegro, Georgia and Türkiye, have their own rules, so a stretch there is time outside the Schengen window. Check each one's own limit before you go. Visa365 counts days in Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City with the Schengen Area.

Visa-free travellers and visa holders

The 90/180 rule covers both: it applies "irrespective of being visa required or exempt". If you have a Schengen visa, the days it allows still sit inside the 90/180 limit. Days spent under a residence permit or a long-stay visa are not counted, which is why nomads who want longer in one country look at a national digital nomad or residence visa instead. See digital nomad visas.

One exception worth knowing: the Commission notes that for holders of ordinary Brazilian passports, the EU–Brazil visa waiver agreement keeps an older definition ("3 months during a 6 months period following the date of first entry"), so the standard calculation doesn't apply to them.

Mistakes that catch nomads out

• Treating it as 90 days per visit. The count carries across every visit in the last 180 days, not just the current one.
• Counting from the first entry. There's no fixed 180-day period; the window moves every day.
• A quick "visa run". Popping out to a non-Schengen country for a weekend doesn't reset anything.
• Forgetting partial days. An evening arrival and a morning departure are two full days.
• Planning the next trip with today's number. What matters is the count on each day of the planned stay, which is why the calculator checks every day of every stay.
• Relying on passport stamps. Stamps are being replaced by the EU's Entry/Exit System, which records entries and exits digitally (see below), so a gap in your own records is harder to reconstruct.

EES now does the counting at the border

Fully operational since 10 April 2026, the Entry/Exit System registers non-EU short-stay travellers digitally at Schengen borders instead of stamping passports, and allows "automatic detection of overstayers". In practice, the border now knows your count, so it pays to know it too. Read EES explained for digital nomads.

Keeping count without the maths

The calculator is good for checking a plan. If you're on the road for months, Visa365 logs each day you're in the Schengen Area automatically and keeps the 90/180 count running, next to every other limit you have: days per visit in Thailand, days per year for tax, or your own rolling window. It shows your days left and your leave-by date, charts how your days free up, and alerts you at the days-left counts you choose, such as 30, 14, 7 and 1. Before you book, the trip planner checks how long you could stay.

Frequently asked questions

Does the 180-day period reset when I leave the Schengen Area?

No. There is no fixed period that starts and resets. On every day you are in the Schengen Area, the rule looks back at that day and the 179 days before it, and you must not have been there on more than 90 of them. Days only stop counting when they fall out of that window.

Do the days I arrive and leave both count?

Yes. The day you enter counts as the first day of your stay and the day you leave counts as the last, even if you are only there for part of those days.

Can I stay 90 days, leave for a few days and come back for another 90?

No. A short trip out does not reset anything, because the days you spent inside are still in the rolling 180-day window. After using all 90 days, you need to be away long enough for enough of those days to drop out of the window. An uninterrupted absence of 90 days allows a new stay of up to 90 days.

Do days in Cyprus, Ireland or the United Kingdom count towards the 90?

No. Cyprus and Ireland are in the EU but not part of the Schengen Area, and the United Kingdom is outside it, so days there do not count towards the 90/180 rule. Days in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland do count, because they are Schengen members.

Does the 90/180 rule apply if I have a Schengen visa?

Yes. The 90 days in any 180 applies to short stays whether or not you need a visa. Days spent on a residence permit or a long-stay (national) visa are not counted.

Sources

• European Commission: User manual for the short-stay Schengen calculator (the rule's wording, entry and exit days, the rolling window, Cyprus and Ireland, residence permits, the Brazil agreement, the worked example)
• European Commission: Schengen Area (the 29 member countries)
• European Commission: Entry/Exit System (digital registration and overstayer detection)

More guides

• How to track the days you spend in each country
• The 183-day rule for digital nomads
• EES explained for digital nomads
• How long can you stay? Stay limits by country
• Digital nomad visas