The Schengen 90/180 rule, explained
If you visit Europe without a long-stay visa or residence permit, one rule decides how long you can stay: 90 days in any 180-day period. It sounds simple. The rolling window is what catches people out.
What the rule says
Non-EU visitors on a short stay — whether visa-free or on a Schengen short-stay visa — can spend at most 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen area. The 90 days are shared: a week in France and a week in Spain use the same allowance.
The window rolls
There is no fixed start date and nothing resets on 1 January. On any given day, look back over the last 180 days, including today, and count every day you were in the Schengen area. If that number is 90 or less, you're within the rule.
That's why the answer changes daily: each morning the oldest day drops out of the window and today is added. Days only become available again 180 days after you spent them.
Which days count
- Entry and exit days both count as full days, even if you land at 23:50 or leave at 06:00.
- Days in any of the 29 Schengen countries count toward the same 90.
- Days in EU countries outside Schengen — Ireland and Cyprus — don't count.
- Days spent on a national long-stay visa or residence permit in a Schengen country generally don't count toward the 90 for that country.
The 29 Schengen countries
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
A worked example
You spent 30 days in Italy in March and 40 days in Spain in May and June. On 1 July you want to know how long you can stay in Portugal. Looking back 180 days from 1 July, you've used 70 days, so you have up to 20 left — but only if none of those March days drop out of the window during your stay. As March days age out, extra days free up, which is why a longer trip can sometimes be possible than the simple subtraction suggests.
Common mistakes
- “It resets after 180 days.” It doesn't reset; it rolls. You need 90 days outside to fully refill, and only if those are the right days.
- “A trip to the UK resets the clock.” Leaving pauses the count; it doesn't clear it.
- Forgetting travel days. Two partial days are two full days.
Why it matters more now
The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records entries and exits electronically, replacing passport stamps. Overstays are easier than ever for border officers to see, and penalties can include fines, removal and entry bans, depending on the country.
The European Commission publishes an official short-stay calculator you can use to double-check a date.
