How the Schengen 90/180-Day Rule Works

If you are visiting Europe, the Schengen 90/180-day rule limits how long you can stay in the Schengen area, a group of European countries whose shared borders have no passport checks. The rule allows you to spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period across all those countries combined. Time in Germany, France, or Portugal counts toward the same total.

The count does not reset on January 1, and it is not a calendar-year allowance. On each day you are in the area, look back 180 days and check whether you were there for more than 90 of them. Entry and exit days both count, and the check applies every day of your trip, not only at the border.

How the 180-day look-back works

The European Commission’s short-stay calculator describes the rule as a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period, and it tells you to count back 180 days from each day of the stay to confirm the total stays at or below 90. The Commission’s user manual for the calculator calls this a moving reference period, applied backward from each day, whether at entry or at a check by officials.

The German Foreign Office adds that the rule must be satisfied at every point during a stay. Staying within the limit on the day you arrive does not protect you on day 60 if the count has changed. Each day of your trip gets its own check.

The calculator’s own wording says visitors are "usually" allowed 90 days in 180. That word signals that exceptions exist, and the calculator does not list them. If your situation falls outside a standard trip, such as a long-term family arrangement or a stay tied to a national visa, confirm the rule with the consulate of the country you plan to enter before you book.

The legal basis is Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code, Regulation (EU) 2016/399. The Czech foreign ministry links the backward counting method to a 2013 amendment, and the German Foreign Office gives 18 October 2013 as the date the current method took effect. Read the amendment on EUR-Lex if you need the exact legal text.

Counting your days

The counting method is simple once you apply it to a calendar. The window for any day is that day plus the 179 days before it, which makes 180 days including both endpoints. Count each day you were in the area, including the day you arrived and the day you left.

Take a stay from March 1 to May 29, 2025. Count each day you spend in the area during that stay. The total is exactly 90 days, so you are at the limit on May 29. You cannot add any more days in the next 180 days until enough of this stay drops out of the window.

The table below shows how the window moves for a return trip. Each row uses the same inclusive counting.

The table shows that a return on August 28 works because the first day of the earlier stay, March 1, drops out of the window. The day before, August 27, the window still holds all 90 days, so entering that day would bring the total to 91.

Entry and exit days each count as a full day, which catches many travelers off guard. If you arrive on a Monday and leave the following Sunday, you have been in the area for 7 calendar days, even though you slept there for 6 nights. Count days, not nights.

The German Foreign Office describes a simplification for family visits. When two consecutive Schengen stays together exceed 90 days, the traveler must spend 90 calendar days outside the area between them. The German government presents this as a frequent case rather than the general rule, so use it only when your stays fit that pattern.

A long break is the only way to reset the count. The Commission manual says that an uninterrupted absence of 90 days allows a new stay of up to 90 days. Several shorter trips do not reset the count, and you need to track each day of time in the area together.

The calculator has two modes. Check mode tests your previous and ongoing stays on a specific day. Planning mode shows the longest stay allowed from a future entry date. The Commission describes the calculator as a helper that covers only the 90/180 rule, and it is not a legal determination. For binding answers in Germany, the German Foreign Office directs travelers to the Bundespolizei, the German federal police.

Which countries count

The Council of the European Union reports that the Schengen area has 29 member countries. Twenty-five of them are European Union member states, and the other four are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The Council’s Schengen page gives the count and the split.

The 25 EU members are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Check the Council page before you plan a route through any country on this list, because membership can change.

Ireland and Cyprus are EU members that are not in Schengen. Stays in those two countries do not count toward the 90 days. The Commission manual states this, and it is consistent with the Council’s position that neither is a full Schengen member. The manual predates the changes for Bulgaria and Romania, which have been fully part of Schengen since January 1, 2025, after the Council decided on December 12, 2024, to remove checks at their internal land borders. Stays in both countries count toward the 90 days. Do not use the older manual to determine their status.

The 90 days are shared across the full area. Spending part of the allowance in Spain and then the rest in Italy uses the same 90-day total. Non-EU microstates such as Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City fall outside the list above, so check the Council page before planning a stop in any of them.

The Commission manual also flags Brazil as a special case. It says the EU-Brazil visa-waiver agreement keeps an older "3 months during a 6 months" rule. Confirm the current treatment with the consulate or the Commission calculator before you rely on the older rule.

Who the rule covers

The rule applies to short-stay visitors who do not hold an EU residence permit or a long-stay visa. Holders of a long-stay visa or an EU residence permit are not covered by the 90/180 limit. Short-stay visitors include people who enter visa-free and people with a short-stay Schengen visa, usually called a type C visa.

The reason for the trip never affects the count. Holidays, business trips, family visits and second homes all count toward the 90 days. Stays under earlier national visas or residence permits do not count, because those follow separate rules.

The number of visas or passports you hold does not change the limit. A Schengen visa valid for one to five years still allows up to 90 days in any 180-day period. The German Foreign Office also notes that Ukrainian nationals with biometric passports may enter visa-free for up to 90 days in 180.

The sticker in your passport is the most common source of confusion. The Commission says to check the authorized period printed on a short-stay visa, and if that period is shorter than 90 days, the calculator should not be used to plan the stay. Plan from the printed period as well as the 90/180 limit, and use whichever gives the shorter stay. Stays longer than 90 days follow each country’s national procedures, according to the Commission’s visa policy page.

Common mistakes

The most frequent error is treating the limit as a calendar-year allowance. The rule is rolling, so a stay in late December and another in early January count together if they fall within the same 180 days. Travelers who believe the count resets each January often plan trips that break the rule.

The second common error is counting nights instead of days. Because entry and exit days both count, a short trip counts for more days than the number of nights you spent. Add one day for your arrival and one for your departure, then compare the total with the window.

Many travelers check the rule only at the border. The rule applies on every day of the stay, and the Commission manual says the window applies at the time of an actual check. The count must stay within the limit whenever an official checks it.

Some travelers rely on the visa sticker and skip the 90/180 count. The printed period on a visa is not the 90/180 limit, and a shorter period on the sticker limits the stay further. Travelers with visa-free status also make the mistake of assuming the rule does not apply to them. The calculator covers visa-exempt visitors, and the Commission’s visa policy page wording "need a visa" should not be read as an exemption.

Other travelers assume that all EU countries belong to Schengen. Ireland and Cyprus do not, while Bulgaria and Romania now do. Assuming a short break resets the count is another mistake, because only an uninterrupted absence of 90 days resets the count under the Commission manual. Finally, do not assume that all trips in the area count the same way. Every day in any Schengen country adds to a single shared total.

The EES and ETIAS border systems

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is a digital system that records the entry and exit of non-EU nationals on short stays. The Commission set the launch date for October 12, 2025, and it reports that the system became fully operational across all Schengen countries on April 10, 2026. Passport stamps have been replaced by these digital records.

The EES records entries and exits. It does not calculate the 90/180 limit or show travelers their remaining days. Plan your own count from your entry and exit dates, and keep a record of your trips. The Commission says the EES helps identify people who overstay, so accurate records matter.

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is a planned pre-travel authorization for visitors who do not need a visa. The official Travel to Europe page says ETIAS is not in operation and that no applications are being collected. The EU will announce the start date several months before launch. A July 2025 Commission release expected operation at the end of 2026. The Travel to Europe page now gives the current status, which replaces that date.

The Commission’s July 2025 announcement set the fee at EUR 20, and the Travel to Europe page repeats that figure. The Commission names applicants under 18 and over 70 among those who are exempt, using the word "including," so the list may not be complete. Check the Travel to Europe page for the current fee and exemptions before you apply.

What happens if you overstay

Penalties for overstaying are set by national law and vary by country and circumstance. Overstaying can lead to fines, entry bans or criminal prosecution, depending on the country and the circumstances. Ask the consulate or border agency of the country you plan to enter for the current rules.

Travelers also ask whether an overstay cancels the visa. The German Foreign Office says the 90/180 rule must be met at all times. Whether an overstay affects a visa depends on the authorities of the country involved. Do not plan around that question. Keep your count below 90 on every day of the trip.

Key rules to check before you travel

• Count back 180 days from each day you are in the area: Your total in that window must stay at or below 90. The rule applies every day of the stay.
• Count entry and exit days as full days: A Monday-to-Sunday trip uses 7 days, even though you spend only 6 nights in the area.
• Track every Schengen country in one total: Time in Spain, Italy and Germany adds to the same 90 days.
• Check Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania against current official sources: Ireland and Cyprus are not full Schengen members. Bulgaria and Romania have been full members since January 1, 2025. The Commission manual predates that change.
• Confirm your plans on the Commission calculator and the official ETIAS page: The calculator’s planning mode shows the longest stay from a given entry date, and the Travel to Europe page reports the current ETIAS status and the EUR 20 fee.