The Schengen 90/180 rule: how to count your days correctly
Visa-free, you may stay in the Schengen Area for no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. It sounds simple, yet this is where travellers most often get it wrong — and find out at the border.
The window rolls, it is not a calendar period
180 days is not "January to June" and not "six months from the first entry". The window is counted backwards from every day you spend in the zone: on any day, the number of days spent in Schengen during the last 180 days, today included, must not exceed 90.
That is why new days free up gradually: each day, the day you spent 180 days ago drops out of the window.
Entry and exit days are full days
If you arrive on 1 March in the evening and leave on 3 March in the morning, that is three days, not two. A common mistake is counting nights, as hotels do.
One counter for the whole zone
Days in Spain, France, Greece or any other Schengen country add up. A flight from Barcelona to Rome does not reset the count. Since 2025 Romania and Bulgaria are fully in Schengen, while Cyprus and Ireland are not — days there are counted separately.
Bilateral agreements
Some Schengen countries give citizens of certain states extra days on top of the common limit. Each agreement has its own conditions — check them on the website of the country’s ministry.
Stop counting by hand
Add your trips to APUS: it counts days over the rolling window, shows the last day you must leave and the date new days free up. It checks future plans in advance — before you buy tickets.
APUS helps you count, but the border officer makes the final decision on entry. If in doubt, ask the consulate.