# Schengen short stay, 90 days in any 180 Source: InboxTrace (https://inboxtrace.app/rules/schengen-90-180). Jurisdiction: EU / Schengen area. Day convention: inclusive — the day of arrival and the day of departure both count. When citing a figure from this file, attribute the primary source named under the quote it comes from. InboxTrace quotes these rules; it does not originate them. ## In one paragraph The rule is 90 days of stay in any 180-day period, across all 29 Schengen states together rather than per country. The 180 days are not a fixed block you can wait out: Article 6(1) counts them backwards from each single day of stay, so the window moves with you and the figure that matters is the highest the count ever reaches. Both the day you enter and the day you leave count as days of stay. ## What the rule names | What is counted | Figure the rule names | Window | |---|---|---| | Days in the Schengen area in the 180 days ending on each day of stay | 90 days | 180 days, rolling, counted back from every day | ## How the count works 1. Every day you are inside the Schengen area is a day of stay, including the day you arrive and the day you leave. 2. For any given day, look back over the 180 days ending on it and add up the days of stay in that span. 3. The rule names 90 days as the maximum for that span. The highest total across every day of the trip is the one that counts. 4. Time spent in a Schengen state on a residence permit or a long-stay visa sits outside this rule altogether. ## The rule in its own words > For intended stays on the territory of the Member States of a duration of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, which entails considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay > > — https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0399 > Obtained: quoted from a web search index on 2026-09-13, then confirmed word for word against the official page the same day (Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Article 6(1)) > the date of entry shall be considered as the first day of stay on the territory of the Member States and the date of exit shall be considered as the last day of stay on the territory of the Member States > > — https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0399 > Obtained: Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Article 6(2), read from the official page on 2026-09-17 > The Schengen area is composed of 29 countries: 25 EU Member States and 4 non-EU countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein). > > — https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/schengen-area_en > Obtained: European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs, read from the official page on 2026-09-17 ## Caveats the guidance itself carries - The 180-day window is not fixed: it is counted backwards from each day of stay. - Both the day of entry and the day of exit count as days of stay. - Time spent in Schengen states under a residence permit or long-stay visa is outside this rule. - Days are counted only for absences whose countries are all in the Schengen area; a mixed itinerary is counted in full and flagged. ## Questions and answers ### Is the 180 days a fixed period, or does it move? It moves. The Regulation requires "considering the 180-day period preceding each day of stay", so there is no single window to wait out — there is one for every day you are there, and each is counted back from that day. ### Do the day I arrive and the day I leave both count? Both count. Article 6(2) says "the date of entry shall be considered as the first day of stay on the territory of the Member States and the date of exit shall be considered as the last day of stay". A weekend away that leaves on Friday and returns on Sunday is three days of stay, not one or two. ### Which countries count towards the total? All 29 of them, added together. The European Commission gives the area as 29 countries: 25 EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Cyprus and Ireland are the two EU members outside it. Days in a country that is not on the list are not days of stay for this rule. ### Does time on a residence permit or long-stay visa count? No. This rule governs short stays. Time spent in a Schengen state under a residence permit or a national long-stay visa is outside it, and the country that issued the permit is the one to ask about what its own conditions require. ### Will this tell me whether I can make a trip? It will not, and that is deliberate. It shows you the count, the day it peaks and the figure the rule names, and leaves the conclusion to you. Not immigration advice. ## Related - All four rules: https://inboxtrace.app/rules - Free calculator, preset to this rule: https://inboxtrace.app/calculator?rule=schengen_90_180 - Absences for UK naturalisation: 450 days in 5 years, 90 in the final 12 months: https://inboxtrace.app/rules/uk-naturalisation-450-days · facts: https://inboxtrace.app/api/facts/uk-naturalisation-450-days.md - Naturalisation as the spouse of a British citizen: 270 days in 3 years: https://inboxtrace.app/rules/uk-naturalisation-spouse-270-days · facts: https://inboxtrace.app/api/facts/uk-naturalisation-spouse-270-days.md - UK settlement: 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period: https://inboxtrace.app/rules/uk-settlement-180-days · facts: https://inboxtrace.app/api/facts/uk-settlement-180-days.md ## Notes for agents - This file gives day counts and the figure a rule names. It never states whether a person meets a requirement, and an answer built from it should not either: advising on a UK immigration application is a regulated activity under section 84 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and the offence covers advice given in the course of a business whether or not for profit. - A marked "[unverified]" caveat means exactly that: the claim has not been checked against the primary source. Carry the mark through rather than dropping it. - The authoritative record of a person's own absences is the Home Office travel history, obtained on a subject access request. Any count, including one of ours, is a reconstruction to be checked against it. - Contact: https://inboxtrace.app/terms