Those of you who travel frequently in and out of Europe have likely had the same confounded expression many European immigration officials do when trying to figure out how many days you legally have left in the Schengen Area. It would seem Europeans also realized the confusion caused by vague wording of the previous rules because the European Commission (EC) decided in October 2013 to simplify the calculation.
This change might give you more (or less) days in Europe than you initially thought but in any case makes it much easier to ensure you don’t overstay.
Know The Schengen Before You Travel To Europe
Simply put, if you’re going anywhere in Europe for more than a few weeks during a given calendar year, familiarize yourself with the Schengen Area.
One of the great things for most European Union (EU) citizens – plus a few others like Norway and Switzerland who aren’t EU but are Schengen – is the agreement eliminates borders between the 26 member countries. For incoming tourists from 41 other countries who can enter visa free however, it means you have 90 days within 180 days in the entire Schengen.
Counting Using The Simplified Rules
So, you enter France for 45 days, that means you’ve got 45 total days left to travel around Spain, Finland, Denmark, [whatever random Schengen country]. Seems easy enough until you realize the 180 window could slide depending on how you counted it. (Here was one way I wrote about in 2012 to give an example.)
To clarify, the 180 days begins on the date (stamped in your passport) you first entered a Schengen country. That is day 1 (not day 0). From there, count out 180 days (a free online tool like dateandtime makes it quick) – now you know the window in which you have 90 days in the Schengen Area.
Remember, it’s not 3 months in every 6, although approximately accurate, you need to count the days. For example, if you entered the Schengen Area on February 15th, 2014 your 180 days would end on August 14th, 2014; regardless of how many days less than 90 you were actually there.
EC Calculate Your Hectic Travel Schedule
Although it looks like it was designed in a 1998 high school web design class, the EC’s official Schengen Calculator is actually useful, especially if you have a number of entries and exits in a short span.
- Use The Right Format – Inputting dates properly can be quite maddening because this tool is about as flexible as concrete. For clarity September 05, 2014 should be entered 050914. If you attempt to use a forward slash, full year, or logic, you’ll get cryptic popups shaking your laptop screen won’t resolve.
It’s worth noting that the 90 out of every 180 day Schengen rule also applies to Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania independently. Since they aren’t Schengen members, any time you spend in those countries doesn’t add up against days in any other country.
Have The Embassy Check Your Math
Remember that the EC Schengen Calculator is only a tool to give you an idea on the number of days you’ve spent in the Schengen Area, it’s not legally worth squat. Use Embassy World to find contact information for the relevant office to confirm how many days are allotted for your nationality. You don’t want to overstay a tourist visa as doing so can result in fines or bans and if you’re a dual citizen be sure not to mix up your passports. Finally, all of the above pertains to only those of you who have visa-free or 90 days out of 180 travel rights – everyone else, the details are in your visa lines.
Have any Schengen calculation questions? Feel free to ask them in the comments below.
Nice post. We wish we didn’t have to do these kinds of calculations but unfortunately we do. We just set up a simple Excel spreadsheet to calculate our days. If you have Excel it’s simple enough to do something like we did. Or even easier, just enter your arrival date in a cell (say A1) and in the next cell over enter the formula =A1+90 and that will tell you when you need to leave Schengen.
How nice it would be, imagine a world without visas 🙂
Hallo to everyone,
I’ve got confused on my Schengen visa and couldn’t calculate properly.
The first time i have entered to EU Shenghen Zone on 5th November 2014 and left EU on 11 November 2014….then i’ve enetered again to EU on 10 April 2015 and planning to leave EU on 8-9 July…am I overstayed?how many days and what is expecting me on passport control?I really dont understand the way i have to calculate my stay in Shenghen Zone.
Did you try the calculator linked to above in the post?
Unfortunately, Brian’s formula is incorrect. You must count the day you enter and the day you leave. The exit day must therefore be calculated as =A1+89. For example, if you enter on June 1, you must leave before the end of August 29th, but Brian’s formula returns August 30th. The formula also works only if you haven’t been in the Schengen area in the preceding 90 days, because of the rolling 180-day window. If you have, you need to reduce your allowance accordingly.
180 rolling window is what most of frequent visitors ignore. that was the case for myself yesterday in Basel. I was surprised to be told that I overstayed 26 days by the swiss officers at the airport. I was lucky to be freed without paying a fine.
So if you are traveling Eurail through Schengen and non Schengen countries how do they keep track? Do you get stamps at every border crossing on the train?
They’ll stamp you when crossing borders.
Hey guys I came here on the 19/03/15 and left on the 19/04/15. Now I’m back here 23/07/15 and up to 29/09/15. My 180 days resets on the 14/09/15 based on the calculations I made. But I was wondering do I have to leave and get a new stamp before my new 90 days and 180 days starts?
The 90 days can’t renew if you’re already in the Schengen.
But they cant renew if you are over 90 days.But If you are not ?
Thanks for the clarification.
I also found this site which is a bit more in depth and easier to use schengen calculator tool.
http://www.schengen-calculator.com/
Dead link.
I finally managed to work the calculator. I was in Germany for 26 days from Aug-Sep 2015 (entered those dates) and I leave again for Germany Feb 12. Apparently I am good until May 16 as long as I leave the non-Schengen area for 6 days.
I wasn’t sure if you had to leave after the 180 days, so it seems that the calculations are based on 90 days WITHIN any given 180 days. Therefore, I don’t need to leave Germany for a few days to restart the 180, only the 90 days.
My other comments is the Control Entry Date seems to be the date you LEAVE the Schengen country. Otherwise, I was not able to make the calculator work. Let me know if I am incorrect here.
Hi,
I have an Indian Passport
I’ll be holding a Multiple Entry Schengen Visa valid from 21st May to 19th June with duration showing 15 days. Here’s my itinerary.
Czech Republic : 21st-24th May
Poland: 24th-26th May
Italy: 26th- 30th May
Slovenia: 30th May – 2nd June
Croatia :2nd June – 12th June
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 12th June – 16th June
First of all, since the duration is only 15 days, will I be able to enter Croatia and Bosnia considering I spent the 13 days in Schengen Area ? Is this itinerary possible considering the visa restrictions imposed?
Also, can I exit back to my country from Bosnia itself or do I need to exit from a Schengen country?
You’ll have to do the yourself calculations yourself (there’s a link in the article above) but you can exit back home from any country. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are not in the Schengen.
So if I leave the Schengen area, for example spending four days in London, can I then add those four days to the end of my trip? So I would be in the EU for a total of 94 days but still spend only 90 in schengen?
Exactly.
If i enter france june 25 ,2016 and exit france on Aug 26,2016 . I plan to go back france this sept 17, how many days will be left on my 90 days visa
Thank you for getting in touch. I can only give you general advice but if you’re looking for specifics, please feel free to send me your questions or set up a call through Plansify: https://www.plansify.com/anilpolat/
I was in Schengen for 83 days this summer (counting the first and last days). I want to return as soon as possible. I entered Amsterdam on 5.16.16, so by my calculations 180 days from then would be 11.11.16. My question is that since I only spent 83 days in Schengen and technically have 7 left, could I go back 7 days before 11.11.16 and use my last 7 days of the first 180, and then stay there while I roll into 90 more in the next 180?
Thank you for getting in touch. I can only give you general advice but if you’re looking for specifics, please feel free to send me your questions or set up a call through Plansify: https://www.plansify.com/anilpolat/
The same problem .. I have 15 days left from my 90 days which i have to use till 28 -12-2016.
May I go in an schengen cuntry on the 15-12-2016 and stay there till end of January ?
Normally my days left are enough till 28-12-16.. and then after this date it starts the second 90 days ?
I got to schegen region on April 19th left on may 11th. I returned on September 21st and left November 4th. My 180 days was marked on the 16th of October. I overlapped at the end of my 180 days being there less the than 90 days in that time period.
How does this work out? Do I get a restart of 180 days after the 16th of October or does it continue my original 90 of 180?
Thank you for getting in touch. I can only give you general advice but if you’re looking for specifics, please feel free to send me your questions or set up a call through Plansify: https://www.plansify.com/anilpolat/
I spent 90 days in romania,so before march next year,i don t have any days left. Somebody told me that i can travel other eu countries,because romania still didnt implement the schengen agreement. Is this info true and how can i check it?
That’s correct, Romania is not a part of the Schengen Area.
We entered Amsterdam on 3rd October and entered uk on 10th October where our passports were stamped we Re entered France on 27th October and travelled through the Chunnel , nobody checked our passports or scanned then, how would the dads work with that??
So if I stay 85 days in Germany then go 5 days to London I can still go back to Germany for 5 days?
Within a 180 period, yes.
So if you spent 85 days in a Schengen state and leave to the UK for 5 days and return after. Does that mean you have a new set of 90 days available?
No, please read the article carefully.
Hi
I was 81 days in Europe
And now I bought a ticket for Europe again
But I was 89 days out of europe
Can I go back or no? Or must stay 90 days out of Europe ?
And then after 9 days going out of Europe again and going back after 20 days in for 46 days ?
Is it ok ?
Please if u can help me
Im not sure exactly am I right or not?
90 days out of every 180.
Hi! I came into Germany on October 28, 2016 and have come and gone between Germany and USA ever since. My 180 days will be up on April 27 and I currently have 9 days left to be in the Schengen area out of my 90 days – IF I travel back to Germany April 15 and stay until the 23nd and than I leave to the UK for a few days until April 27 when my 180 days are up, can I re-enter Germany on April 28?
Did you try using the calculator above?
I did, but for some reason it doesn’t do the math correctly :/
How so?
The 90 days doesn’t reset after the 180 days from your first entry. It is a “rolling 180 days”. So if you want to know if you can re enter on april the 28th, you need to look at the the previous 180 from that date and count how many days of those 180 days you were in the schengen area. If it is 90 days or more, you can not re enter. Based on what you’ve said, no you won’t be able to re enter on April the 28th…
This does not seem correct according to the EU’s truly idiotic Schengen online short-stay visa calculator.
Previous stay May 10 – Jun 6 it calculates as 28 days.
Prospective entry, Sep 11, calculator spits out:
Start of 90 days period: 14/06/17
Start of 180 days period: 16/03/17
The stay may be authorised for up to: 90 day(s)
Clearly there were 28 days out of the “rolling 180 days” as you have described it. Yet for some reason it says a stay of 90 days may be authorized.
Same example but change the prospective entry to Sept 4th from Sept 11:
Start of 90 days period: 07/06/17
Start of 180 days period: 09/03/17
The stay may be authorised for up to: 62 day(s)
Please advise. Either the official Schengen calculator is wrong or I am misunderstanding something.
To emphasize the point:
Had I arrived one day later (Sept 5th rather than the 4th) I would have been eligible for 28 more days!!
How can this be?!
Still no reply? Are my posts not even worthy of a reply?
Hi there, thank you for your post. I have a quick question regarding returning to the Schengen area and when the 180 days resets .
I travelled to Shengen area on the 16th September 2016 and departed shengen on the 5th January 2017. (But did not stay for more than 90 days in shengen area).
Please advise when I can return to shengen area ?
I have contacted a variety of consulates here but no one will tell me.
Thanks in advance.
Tim.
The 180 days begins on your first entry in to the Schengen; count out beginning from there.
Helloo…Days in Romania are counted together with the days in Switzerland??? I have 80 in Romania and I want to travel to Switzerland 90days.
Romania is not a part of the Schengen Area.
Hi .. this article is just what I was looking for, We are planning to take trains and buses in and out of Schengen countries for about 100 days. A few non schengen countries like Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia allow visa free entries into their countries. I also read in a few forums and blogs that some of these countries don’t stamp the passport in which case the schengen calculation goes for a toss if there are no exit and re-entry stamps. Have you heard of such situations ? I am not sure if we insist on stamps , they would oblige.
Assume they’ll stamp and don’t overstay 🙂
Hi Devan,
Did you get your question answered? I am on a 100 days trip now and I am doing this assuming my days in Croatia, Albania and Montenegro will not be counted as part of 90 days in Schengen. But if we do not get a stamp on exit and re entry the calculation goes for a toss as you mentioned. Did you get some clarity on this?
Regards,
Muthu
Hey thank you for your post, I did all the maths and still confused about something and I would really appreciate the help. So I entered Italy on the 24th dec to 1 Jan 2017, and now want to visit Germany and other shengen countries for about 3 months starting June. According to the calculation my 180 days ends in in 21st of June and ideally I would like to be in Germany 1s of June. So what happens on the 21st? should I leave the shengen area and renter again, and if so for how long should I stay away? or I can stay for less than 3 months startin 1st of June? would it be much better if I don’ enter the shengen area at all before he 21st to not disturb my travel? Sorry so many Questions I’m usually good in math but can’t find my way around this. thank you again for he help.
I’m assuming you’re using a passport subject to the 90 out of every 180 days rule? If so, once you’re in the area for 3 months, you have to leave for 3 months again before reentering. Use the calculator linked in the post above to get the exacts dates.
Thank you for asnswering. My question was probably unclear. I already did the calculation but my questions is if I need to leave the Shengen area after 180 days from entering the first even if I’ve spent only 29 days out of the 90. And yes the rule applies to my passport. Thank you!
No, it’s a rolling calendar, the calculator linked in the post above will let you put in multiple entries and exits.
Oh okay. Last question! What do I need to enter as date of entry/control, and also should I choose planning or control. The dates I will enter one already happend, and another in the future. Thank you again!
No problem! Date of entry should be the date of the stamp in your passport.
Hi!
I hope someone could help me with this. My girlfriend (thai citizen) has a multiple entry schengen visa valid for 25 days
with 180 day period. I live in Finland, but we’re planning to visit Croatia for one week. So my question is: can she stay in finland for 25 days + 7 days in croatia or total 25 days combined to these 2 countries?
Croatia is not a part of the Schengen Area.
Hi. I entered Germany on 26th December 2016 and left on February 20th 2017 than i got back in Germany on April 6th again and got back on 6th May … that’s around 88 days all together . Anyone knows when can i go back to visit Germany again legal ?? Thanks in advance!
One correction: that’s NOT how the visa works in Bulgaria. I just got an overstay warning when I left on Saturday. After several calls to both the Bulgarian and American embassies, I got this response:
You can determine your eligibility to reenter Bulgaria by calculating the amount of time from the date you intend to enter Bulgaria. You may determine the length of stay you are eligible for by calculating the six month period from your intended departure date from Bulgaria on your next trip.
If your stay will not exceed 90 days within 6 months then you will not need a visa to enter; the number of entries and exits is irrelevant.
For example, if a person wanted to enter Bulgaria on September 8 and stay until October 12, they would calculate their total prior stay in Bulgaria for the six months before September 8 to ensure their eligibility to reenter the country without a visa. To determine how long they may stay without a visa they should look at the six months prior (starting from October 12) to ensure the total length of stay from their intended departure would not total more than 90 days within a 6 month period.
Thanks for the additional information! Yes, this may be the case for Bulgaria, but keep in mind it’s not a Schengen member.
if i go to europe on the schengen visa, but for 2 of my longer stays in countries such as sweden and germany, i obtain a working visa, do these days still detract from my 90 days?? ir are the separate because i used a separate visa, thereby allowing me to stay longer? 🙂
I’m not certain but I’m guessing those stays don’t overlap. You would be under your working visa.
Hi, the EU calculator doesnt works for future travelings. I tried to check for my trip in October, but it doesnt calculate for date later than today.
Do you know if there is any other online calculator where i can check this ?
I want to travel on 10th of OCtober, and im on my limit with my Schengen days.
Does it means that if i want to travel in this date, my calculation for 180 days should be starting from April 11th ?
Because i also have previous travelings in January, Feb, March ..
Thanks.
I don’t know of another calculator – when was the date of last entry? If it is April, you definitely have 3 months again if your citizenship is one of the visa free (3 months out of every 6 type).
Hi. Does the day you leave count as a Schengen day AND the day you leave a Schengen country as well…or just when you enter?
Yes.
Hello Anil,
Thank you very much for all those informations, they are very helpful even if I am still kind of lost about my problem 🙂
If the person has a one year schengen visa, she will count 180 days after her first entry for 90 days of stay, and at the end of these 180 days, her new 90 days will start over until the end of her visa, right?
Cheers,
So you have a 1 year visa, then want to return again on a tourist visa? Which countries?
Nope, it’s a one year tourist visa for 90-day max. And it’ll be for visiting France, Germany and Belgium.
Thank you 🙂
Assuming you’re from one of the countries that is visa-free, you would have to leave again before returning on a regular Schengen visa exemption.
Actually, it’s for my mom and she’s from Turkey.
So she has a one year schengen visa for 90-days. I tried the calculator following your explanations and I came up with a result that she still has another 90 days for the second 180 days of her visa, even if she spent 65 days in schengen area during the first 180 days of her visa.
I could see that 90-days doesn’t mean 90-days for the whole year, but only for the 180 days… Do you agree?
Turks don’t have a Schengen visa-exemption, so after the 1 year visa she would have to re-apply. The calculator only applies for countries that are visa-exempt.
Ah okay, she still has it until the end of March 2018.
Thank you very much 🙂
Glad I was able to help!
Thank you for your post and a very clear explanation. I have a Schengen visa expiry Nov 30th 2017. Is it possible that I can fly to Portugal transiting switzerland on 30th Nov. Is the visa still valid for entry on 30th Nov 2017. We will be departing from Portugal by the 08th Dec 2017.
An Android app, seems to work on early inspection, though poorly documented and a bit sloppy: “Schengen calculator free” in Play Store.
Damn! Gives the same results as the EU online calculator for my example above . Clearly I am missing something …
Question for my son who is interning in Italy (US citizen)….his first entry to Italy was 8/24/17 so his 180 days ends on 2/19/18. I understand that he can only spend 90 days out that 180 days in Italy (in 3 trips total) and must exit before 2/19/18 and get an entry stamp back to the US. But then when can the next 180 days start? Immediately or he has to wait?
Thank you in advance for your help!
It’s a rolling 180, so easiest way is to count 90 days from and after the last entry on the calendar.
Hello Anil! Thank you for such energy and attention to support us travellers like this. In your reply above, you say “The 180 days begins on your first entry in to the Schengen; count out beginning from there.” and then in the follow up reply, you say ” It’s a rolling 180, so easiest way is to count 90 days from and after the last entry on the calendar.”. Can you help distinguish for me the difference? I can’t quite get my head around it. I entered Schengen Aug 23, 2017 and exited Nov 29, 2017 (with stays outside Schengen in between, and am at 86 days inside). If I apply the 180 days from entry, I should be able to re-enter on Feb 19, 2018, but if I use the 90 days from last entry, it would be Feb 28. Which one do I go by? Big thanks to you and the community!
You’re welcome – it can be confusing. I would recommend using the calculator linked above – but easiest is to count back 90 days from today, and subtract the number of Schengen days from 90. That’s how many days you can stay in the Schengen over the next 90 days. Does that make sense?
Hello, pls guys help me. I had a 21 validity but 6 days schengeh visa from sierra Leone to Germany, I arrive on the 25th January and my return flight was set for 31st January, am I allow to travel on the 7th day when in was given 6 days right? I have ask my airline but they said this is the only date they fly.
An overstay of a day is still an overstay – hopefully being such a short overstay it won’t cause you problems.
Hello Anil,
Great website Anil. Thanks for the help. I tried the calculators; however, i would like to confirm that i understood correctly.
u calculate the 180 days from the last day of your planned trip & go backwards 180 days to make sure that u have not exceeded the 90 day limit. correct?
Hi Rasha, thanks –
It’s easier to count forward from the date of first entry and make sure you don’t exceed 90 days out of the next 180.
“It’s worth noting that the 90 out of every 180 day Schengen rule also applies to Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania independently. Since they aren’t Schengen members, any time you spend in those countries doesn’t add up against days in any other country.”
My Apologies in advance; are you saying these countries will not count as Schengen days & should be excluded?
Those countries, although they’re in the EU, are not in the Schengen Area. So the Schengen area rules do not apply here: https://www.etiaseurope.eu/schengen-countries/