Schengen rules for UK citizens after Brexit
Since 1 January 2021, British citizens visiting the EU are treated like any other non-EU visitor. That means the Schengen 90/180 rule applies to every trip — including the weekends at your place in Spain.
The rule in one sentence
With a British passport and no EU visa or residence permit, you can spend at most 90 days in any 180-day period across all 29 Schengen countries combined. The window rolls: on any day, look back 180 days and count every day you were in Schengen, with entry and exit days counted in full.
Which days count, and which don't
- Count: every day in any Schengen country — Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Switzerland, Norway and the rest. A week in France and a week in Spain use the same 90.
- Don't count: days in the UK, Ireland and Cyprus. Ireland is in the Common Travel Area with the UK; Cyprus is in the EU but not in Schengen.
- Don't count: days in a Schengen country where you hold a national long-stay visa or residence permit — but days in other Schengen countries still do.
Your passport has to qualify
To enter Schengen, a UK passport must be:
- issued less than 10 years before the day you enter, and
- valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave.
Older passports issued with extra months carried over from a previous one can fail the 10-year test even when the expiry date looks fine.
The Entry/Exit System (EES)
Passport stamps are being replaced by the EU's Entry/Exit System, which records your fingerprints, a photo and every entry and exit electronically. Your 90/180 count is now calculated automatically at the border — an overstay of even a day is visible straight away. Penalties depend on the country and can include fines, removal and an entry ban.
ETIAS
The EU plans to require British visitors to get an ETIAS travel authorisation online before travelling, once the system launches after EES. It doesn't change the 90/180 rule — it's an extra step before the trip. Check the official ETIAS website for the start date before you book.
Second-home owners
Owning property in Spain, France or Italy gives you no extra days. Many British owners now split the year in two blocks of up to 90 days — for example January to March and July to September — with time in the UK in between. Plan the blocks against the rolling window, not the calendar: a block that starts too soon after the last one can run out early.
Ways to stay longer
- National long-stay visas — such as Spain's non-lucrative visa or digital nomad visa, or France's long-stay visitor visa — let you stay in that country beyond 90 days.
- Residence under the Withdrawal Agreement applies to British people who were living in an EU country before 2021 and hold the resulting residence document.
- An EU passport. If you also hold Irish or another EU citizenship, travel on that passport and the 90/180 rule doesn't apply.
A worked example
Sarah spends 1 May to 15 June in Portugal (46 days) and wants to return on 1 August. On 1 August the window looks back to 3 February, so all 46 days still count: she has 44 days left. Those May days only start dropping out of the window on 28 October, so if she goes back on 1 August, she has to leave by 13 September.
Frequently asked questions
Do days in the UK count toward the Schengen 90 days?
No. The UK, Ireland and Cyprus are outside Schengen. Time there doesn't use your 90 days, but it doesn't reset the count either — earlier days only drop out once they're more than 180 days old.
Does the 90/180 rule reset on 1 January?
No. There's no fixed reset date. On any day you look back over the previous 180 days, so the count rolls forward every day.
Can I stay 90 days in Spain and then 90 days in France?
No. The 90 days are shared across all Schengen countries. Moving from Spain to France doesn't give you a new allowance.
