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How the 90/180 rule works

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If you visit Europe without a visa, or on a short-stay Schengen visa, you can spend at most 90 days in any 180-day period across all 29 Schengen countries together. Here is how that is counted. To skip the maths, use the free Schengen calculator.

The rule in plain words

  • Look back 180 days from today. Count every day you were in any Schengen country in that window. That number must never go above 90.
  • Entry and exit days both count. Arriving at 11 pm still uses a full day. So does leaving at 6 am.
  • All Schengen countries share one count. 30 days in France plus 30 in Spain is 60 days, not 30 and 30. See the list of Schengen countries.
  • The window moves every day. Each morning the oldest day drops out, so days come back one at a time, 180 days after you used them.
  • There is no reset. Leaving for a weekend does not restart the count.

Example 1: one long stay

You arrive on January 1 and leave on March 31, 2026. That is 90 days (31 + 28 + 31), so you have used everything. January 1 only leaves your window on June 30, 2026, which is the first day you can come back. If you enter on June 30, you can stay up to 90 days again, because each new day is matched by an old one dropping off.

Example 2: several short trips

You spend 26 days in France in May, 34 days in Portugal and Spain in August, and you have been in Germany for 22 days now. That is 82 days in the last 180, so 8 days are left. But your May days start dropping out in late October, one a day, so if you stay in Germany your count holds steady for a few weeks from the end of October before it reaches 90. A calculator does this day-by-day maths for you.

What does not count

  • Days in non-Schengen countries such as the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Albania, Serbia or Turkey.
  • Days covered by a long-stay national visa (type D) or a residence permit for that country.
  • EU and Schengen citizens, who are not limited at all.

Common mistakes

  • "90 days in, 90 days out, then reset." Only true for one long stay. With several trips, days come back gradually.
  • Counting by calendar months or by year. The window is always the 180 days ending on the day you check.
  • Forgetting the travel days. Each arrival and departure day counts, which adds up quickly on many short trips.

Since April 10, 2026 the EU Entry/Exit System records every entry and exit digitally, so overstays are detected automatically. Read what happens if you overstay. The official source is the European Commission's short-stay calculator page.

Questions people ask

Does the day I arrive count?

Yes. The day you enter and the day you leave both count as full days in the Schengen Area.

When do my days come back?

Each day you spent comes back exactly 180 days later, one at a time, as it leaves the rolling window.

Does leaving Schengen for a few days reset the 90 days?

No. There is no reset. Days only come back as they drop out of the 180-day window.

Do days in the UK or Ireland count?

No. The UK and Ireland are not in the Schengen Area, so days there do not count toward your 90.

  • Which countries are in Schengen?: All 29 Schengen countries in 2026, plus the European countries that are not in Schengen, like Ireland, the UK and Cyprus, and how they affect your 90 days.
  • What happens if you overstay in Schengen: What happens if you overstay the Schengen 90/180 limit: how EES detects it, return decisions, entry bans, future visas, and what to do.

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