The rules that count days abroad
Four rules, each with the figure it names, the days it counts, and the sentence the figure comes from with a link to the page it was read on. Every count on this site is made against these and nothing else.
- EU / Schengen areaThe Schengen 90/180 rule, and how the days are countedThe 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.90 days
- United KingdomAbsences for UK naturalisation: 450 days in 5 years, 90 in the final 12 monthsFor a section 6(1) application the guidance names two figures: not absent from the UK for more than 450 days in the 5-year qualifying period, and not more than 90 days in the 12 months ending with the date of application. Only whole days count, so the day you left and the day you came back are not absences. The qualifying period ends on the date you apply and starts the day after that date minus its own length.450 days90 days
- United KingdomNaturalisation as the spouse of a British citizen: 270 days in 3 yearsA section 6(2) application — made as the spouse or civil partner of a British citizen — has a 3-year qualifying period rather than 5. The guidance names not more than 270 days outside the UK across it, and not more than 90 days in the 12 months ending with the date of application. Only whole days count, and the period starts the day after the application date minus its own length.270 days90 days
- United KingdomUK settlement: 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month periodAppendix Continuous Residence requires that "the applicant must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period". The word doing the work is "any": the 12 months are counted backwards from every day, not from the date you apply, so a year with a long absence in the middle can break continuous residence even though no calendar year looks bad. Whole days only.180 days
Do not know your dates?
That is the other half of this product. It searches your own mailbox for the bookings, boarding passes and hotel confirmations that fix each date, and gives you a report with the email behind every one.