ProofstayGuide · Travelling in Europe
The Schengen 90/180 rule
Quick answer
Visitors from outside the EU, including British, American, Canadian and Australian travellers, can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the 29 Schengen countries combined. On any day you are there, look back 180 days: no more than 90 of them can have been inside. Entry and exit days both count, and there is no reset date. Use the Schengen calculator to check your own trips.
The rolling window
Look back 180 days from every day
The window isn't a calendar half-year. It moves forward one day at a time, and the check applies to every day of your stay, including the day you leave. Each day you spent inside drops out of the count exactly 180 days later.[1,2]
What counts as a day
- Any part of a day inside the area is a full day. Arriving at 23:50 counts; leaving at 06:00 counts.[2]
- All 29 countries share one count: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.[3]
- Days in Ireland, Cyprus, the UK and non-EU countries such as Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey or Morocco don't count.[2,3] See which countries are in Schengen.
Who the rule applies to
Visa-free visitors and holders of short-stay (Schengen "C") visas. It doesn't apply to EU, Icelandic, Liechtenstein, Norwegian or Swiss citizens, and days in a country where you hold a residence permit or national long-stay visa don't count towards it.[2]
Worked examples
Three common patterns
All three are counted with the same tested rule code as the calculator and the Proofstay app.
Three months in, three months out
You spend 1 January to 31 March 2026 at your place in the Algarve: 31 + 28 + 31 = 90 days, the full allowance. The earliest you can come back is 30 June 2026. On that day the window starts on 2 January, so it holds 89 of your winter days plus 30 June itself: 90. From then on, one winter day drops out for each new day you add, so you can stay another 90 days, to 27 September.
Two trips that add up
You spend 1 February to 17 March 2026 in Spain (45 days) and plan to return on 1 May. On 1 May all 45 February and March days are still inside the window, so you have 45 left: your latest exit is 14 June. Stay a day longer and you overstay, even though you were away for six weeks in between.
Short trips every month
You work in Paris for the first 10 days of every month. Any 180-day window holds at most six of those trips: 60 days. You never go over, and could add a 30-day holiday on top.
Overstays and staying longer
When 90 days isn't enough
If you overstay
Each country sets its own penalties: a fine, removal, an entry ban recorded in the Schengen Information System, and problems with future visas.[4] Since the Entry/Exit System began, your passport is no longer stamped and your days are counted from a digital record, so an overstay of even one day shows up when you leave.
Owning a home doesn't add days
Many British owners of homes in Spain, France and Portugal assumed property came with a right to stay. It doesn't. On visa-free entry you get 90 days in 180, like any visitor.[5]
Ways to stay longer, legally
- A national long-stay visa or residence permit from the country where you want to spend the time: for example Spain's non-lucrative visa, France's long-stay visitor visa, Portugal's D7, or a digital nomad visa. Days in that country then don't count towards your 90.[2]
- Splitting time with non-Schengen places: the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, the Balkans, Turkey or Morocco.
- Bilateral agreements: a few countries have older agreements with some nationalities that allow extra time in that one country. They are applied unevenly; get written confirmation from that country's embassy before relying on one.[2]
Sources
- EUR-Lex, Schengen Borders Code, Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Article 6. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- European Commission, User manual for the short-stay Schengen calculator. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- European Commission, Schengen area. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- European Commission, Data held by the EES (retention, overstays). Checked 25 Oct 2026.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Spain entry requirements. Checked 25 Oct 2026.
When a calculator isn't enough
Count every day, without typing every trip.
Proofstay records the country you are in every day on your iPhone, counts your Schengen days the way the EU does, warns you at 14, 7 and 3 days before the limit, and shows a border officer your entries, exits and days used on one screen. Free to record.
See how Proofstay works →FAQ
90/180 rule questions
Can I spend 3 months in Europe, leave for 3 months and come back?
Yes, if the 3 months in are no more than 90 days. For example, 1 January to 31 March 2026 is exactly 90 days; you can come back on 30 June 2026 and stay another 90 days.
Does the 90/180 rule apply per country?
No. It applies to the Schengen area as a whole. Days in France, Spain and Italy all add up to the same 90. Days in Ireland, Cyprus and non-Schengen countries such as the UK, Albania or Turkey don't count.
What happens if I overstay?
Each country sets its own penalties. They can include a fine, removal, an entry ban recorded in the Schengen Information System, and trouble with future visas. Since the Entry/Exit System began, an overstay is flagged automatically when you leave.
I own a home in Spain. Can I stay longer than 90 days?
Not on visa-free entry. Owning property gives no right to stay. To spend more than 90 days in 180 you need a national long-stay visa or residence permit, such as Spain's non-lucrative visa.
Do days with a residence permit count?
Days in the country that issued your residence permit or long-stay visa don't count towards the 90. Days you spend in other Schengen countries as a visitor do, under the 90/180 rule.