The short version
- You can spend 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area.
- The 180 days roll. Each day, you look back 180 days and count.
- The day you arrive and the day you leave both count.
- Leaving does not reset your days. Old days drop off after 180 days.
What does the 90/180 rule say?
If you visit the Schengen area without a visa, or on a short-stay visa, you can stay 90 days in any 180-day period. That is the whole rule. The hard part is the word "any".
The rule applies to all 29 Schengen countries as one area. A week in France and a week in Spain is two weeks of your 90.
How do the 180 days roll?
The 180 days are not a fixed block, like January to June. They move with you. On any day, look back at the 180 days that end on that day. Count every day you were in Schengen. The total must be 90 or less.
So the question is never "how many days have I used this year?" It is "how many days have I used in the last 180 days, counting today?"
What counts as a day?
- Your arrival day counts. Even if you land at 11 pm.
- Your exit day counts. Even if you leave at 6 am.
- Every Schengen country adds to the same count. Moving from Italy to Greece does not start a new 90.
- Leaving does not reset anything. A day trip out and back changes nothing. Days only free up when they are more than 180 days old.
A worked example
You arrive in Portugal on 1 March 2027 and stay. Your 90th day is 29 May 2027, so that is the last day you can stay.
Now you are out. When can you come back? Your first day, 1 March, drops out of the 180-day window on 28 August 2027. That is the first day you can come back.
Where does the count not apply?
Some places are close to Schengen but run their own count. Days there do not use your 90.
- Cyprus is in the EU but not a full Schengen member yet (as of 7 Oct 2026). It runs its own 90-day count.
- Ireland and the UK are not in Schengen. Ireland runs its own visa and border rules.
- Most of the Balkans is outside: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania are in.
If you hold a residence permit or a long-stay visa for one Schengen country, your days in that country do not count. Trips to the other countries still follow the 90/180 rule.
Does the EU track your days?
Yes. The Entry/Exit System (EES) records each time you enter and leave Schengen. It counts your days for the border guard and flags you if you stay too long. It keeps each record for 3 years after you leave. If you stay past your 90 days and no exit is recorded, it keeps your data for 5 years.
Staying too long can mean a fine or a ban on coming back. With EES, it is also much harder to miss.
Can some passports stay longer?
Some can. A few Schengen countries have old deals with certain countries. With one of these deals, you may be able to stay longer in that one country. You have to ask for the extra time by the last working day of your 90 days. The extra time only counts in that country, and you leave Schengen from there. Each deal has its own rules, so check with that country before you rely on it.
How do you check your days before you book?
Counting a rolling window by hand is easy to get wrong. Our free Schengen calculator does it for you. Add your trips and see the days you have used, the last day you can stay and when you can come back. It also shows the extra-time deals for your passport.