Days Allowed

Schengen rules

The 90/180 rule, explained

You can spend up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen area. On every day of your stay, count your days in the area over the 180 days up to and including that day. The total must never go over 90.

Last checked 3 Nov 2026 against the official sources below.

How to count

  1. Pick a day, for example a day you plan to be in the area.
  2. Go back 179 days. That date and the day you picked are the two ends of a 180-day window.
  3. Count every day in that window you were in the area. Entry and exit days both count, even if you arrived late at night.
  4. If the count is 90 or less, that day is fine. It has to be fine on every day of your stay.

The calculator does this for every day and shows you the result.

A worked example

You spend 1 January to 31 March 2026 in Spain. That is 31 + 28 + 31 = 90 days, so 31 March is your last allowed day.

Each day then drops out of the window 180 days after it. 1 January drops out on 30 June. If you stay away from 1 April to 29 June (90 days), you can come back on 30 June and stay up to 90 days, until 27 September: every new day replaces an old one that drops out.

Come back a day earlier, on 29 June, and the window still holds all 90 earlier days. That day would be day 91.

There is no reset date

The window is a “moving” 180-day period, looking back from each day. Your days come back one at a time, 180 days after each one. As the EU border guard handbook puts it, an absence of 90 days in a row allows a new stay of up to 90 days.

One count for the whole area

  • Days in all Schengen countries add up together. The EU calls it a single period for all countries using the EES. There is no separate limit for Spain, France, Portugal, Italy or Greece.
  • Cyprus has its own separate 90 days in any 180-day period. Cyprus days don’t use up your Schengen days.
  • Ireland is not in the Schengen area, and days there don’t count.
  • Gibraltar: from 15 July 2026, UK travel advice for British nationals says time in Gibraltar counts alongside time in the Schengen area.

Days that don’t count

Time covered by a residence permit or a long-stay visa is not counted toward the 90 days. When the permit or visa ends, a new short stay can start. More: residence permit days and staying longer than 90 days.

Who the rule is for

The 90/180 limit is for short stays by non-EU nationals: people who are not citizens of an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.

Some nationalities, Brazil among them, have a different rule under an EU visa-waiver agreement (“3 months during a 6 months period following the date of first entry”). Some Schengen countries also have older bilateral agreements that can allow a longer stay in that one country. We don’t apply either. Check with the embassy of the country you plan to visit. The rules by passport: UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand.

Questions

When does the 180-day period reset?

It never resets on a fixed date. The 180-day window moves forward one day at a time, so each day you spent in the area drops out of the count 180 days later. After 90 days in a row outside the area, you have a full 90 days again.

Is it 90 days per country?

No. Days in all Schengen countries add up to one count. Cyprus is the exception: it has its own separate 90 days.

Does a day trip count as a day?

Yes. Entry and exit days both count, so a day trip in and out on the same date counts as one day.

Is 180 days the same as six months?

No. The rule uses 180 days. Six calendar months can be 181 to 184 days, so counting in months can give the wrong answer.

Can I stay 90 days, leave for a day and come back for another 90?

No. When you come back, the days you just spent are still inside the 180-day window. You need 90 days in a row outside the area to get a full 90 days again.

More guides

Sources

Last checked 3 Nov 2026.

A planning tool. Border officials decide.