The Schengen 90/180 Rule Explained (with the New EES)

Updated Fri, 16 October 2026

Count your own days with the 90/180 calculator →

If you visit Europe without a visa, or on a short-stay Schengen visa, you can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area. It sounds simple, but it is the rule that catches out more long-term travellers than any other, because the 180 days are not a fixed half-year.

The window moves with you

The rule comes from Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code. For every day you are in Schengen, look back at the 180 days that end on that day. If you were in Schengen on more than 90 of those days, you are over the limit.

So the window does not start on your first entry, it does not reset on 1 January, and leaving for a week does not give you a fresh 90 days. Old days simply drop out of the window once they are more than 180 days in the past.

Three counting details matter:

The day you arrive and the day you leave both count, whatever the time. A day trip counts as 1 day.
All 29 Schengen countries share one count. Thirty days in Spain and sixty in Greece use up the full 90.
Days on a residence permit or national long-stay (D) visa do not count.

Worked examples

One long trip. You arrive on 1 January and leave on 31 March. That is exactly 90 days. You must now stay out until enough of those days have dropped out of the window: on 30 June the window starts on 2 January, so 1 January is gone and you have 1 day free. From then on, each day you stay out frees another one.

Two shorter trips. You spend 30 days in March. If you come back on 1 May, those March days are still inside your window for the whole summer, so you can stay only 60 more days before you hit 90.

An old trip that fades out. You spent 30 days in January and come back on 1 May. As your new stay continues, the January days drop out one by one, so you can stay a full 90 days without going over.

The last two examples look similar but give different answers. That is why counting by hand goes wrong, and why it is worth putting your dates into the 90/180 calculator.

Which countries count

The Schengen area in 2026 has 29 countries: 25 EU members plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Bulgaria and Romania became full members on 1 January 2025.

Two EU countries are not in Schengen: Cyprus, which is still waiting to join and keeps its own 90-day count, and Ireland, which opted out. Days in either do not use up your Schengen days. Neither do days in the UK or in non-EU Balkan countries such as Albania, Montenegro and Serbia, which is why many travellers spend time there between Schengen stays.

Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican have open borders, so time there counts in practice. Andorra has border controls and does not count. The country checker covers each case.

What the Entry/Exit System changed

Until 2026, border guards counted your days by reading the stamps in your passport, and mistakes on both sides were common. Since 10 April 2026, the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully running at every Schengen external border. It records your face, fingerprints and the date of each entry and exit electronically, and works out your remaining days automatically.

Two things follow. First, the system’s count is now the one that matters, so your own count should match it. Second, an overstay is flagged to every Schengen country straight away, even a short one. The EES checker explains what is recorded and who is exempt.

Can you stay longer?

A handful of old bilateral agreements let some nationalities stay longer in one particular country. Denmark has agreements with several countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the US, and Switzerland has one with New Zealand. They come with conditions, such as counting only time in that country or leaving Schengen from its border. Since the EES flags anyone over 90 days automatically, carry proof of where you were and confirm with that country before you rely on one.

For most people, staying longer means applying for a national long-stay visa, such as a retirement or digital nomad visa. Time on that visa does not count toward the 90 days. Compare the income you need with the retirement visa checker or the digital nomad visa checker.

If you overstay

Overstaying can lead to a fine, an order to leave and an entry ban that applies across the whole Schengen area, normally for up to 5 years. Fines vary a lot by country. Portugal, for example, sets fines by the number of days over. See the overstay checker for what is known about each country.