SchengenMap Blog
Schengen 90/180 Rule Explained (With Real Examples + Official Calculator)
If you are visa-free for short stays, the Schengen Area is basically one big shared "day bank". You do not get 90 days per country. You get up to 90 days total in the Schengen Area within any rolling 180-day period. The European Commission describes this as the standard short-stay rule across Schengen countries under the common visa policy (European Commission: Visa policy).
The rule in one sentence
On any day you are in Schengen, you must be able to look back 180 days and prove you were in Schengen for 90 days or fewer in that window (UK GOV: Travel to EU and Schengen area).
What countries are "Schengen" for this rule?
As of now, the Schengen Area covers 29 countries (Ireland and Cyprus are not in Schengen). See the full list from the European Commission and the UK government (European Commission: Schengen area, UK GOV list).
The two details that wreck most people
1) It is a rolling window (not "Jan-Jun")
There is no clean "reset" unless you truly spend enough time outside the zone for earlier days to slide out of the 180-day lookback.
2) Entry and exit days count
If you enter on Monday and leave on Friday, that is 5 days, not 4. Switzerland's official short-stay calculator guidance states the day of entry counts as the first day and the day of departure counts as the last day (Swiss SEM: Rules for calculating length of stay).
The fastest way to check your days (official)
The European Commission hosts the official Short-stay calculator. If SchengenMap ever disagrees with it, believe the official one (EU Short-stay calculator).
Real examples (so your brain stops lying to you)
Example A: One long trip
- Trip: Jan 1 to Mar 31
- That is 90 days (inclusive counting depends on exact dates, but the principle stands).
- You are "out of days" until enough time passes outside Schengen so earlier days drop out of the 180-day lookback.
Example B: Two trips that feel fine but are not
- Trip 1: Jan 1 to Feb 15 (46 days)
- Trip 2: Apr 1 to May 20 (50 days)
- Total inside the relevant rolling window can become 96 days, meaning you are over, even though you "took a break."
Your feelings are not a legal framework. The rolling window is.
Common "digital nomad" traps
- Bouncing between Schengen countries thinking the counter resets per country (it does not). UK GOV
- Counting nights instead of days (border authorities count days). Swiss SEM
- Assuming stamps are the source of truth.
Heads up: borders are tracking stays more digitally now
The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) started operating on 12 October 2025, rolling out gradually, and is intended to replace passport stamping with electronic entry and exit records as it becomes fully operational (EU Travel to Europe: EES, European Commission: EES policy page).
And ETIAS (travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers to 30 European countries) is planned to start operations in the last quarter of 2026 (EU Travel to Europe: ETIAS, EU revised timeline note).