The rule
If you visit the Schengen area on a US, UK, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand passport, you can stay for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. It covers all 29 Schengen countries together, so a week in France and a week in Spain count as 14 days, not 7 and 7.
Irish citizens aren't affected. As EU citizens, they can stay as long as they like.
How to count your days
- Pick a day, for example the last day of your trip.
- Look back over the 180 days ending on that day, including the day itself.
- Add up every day you were in a Schengen country in that time. The day you arrive and the day you leave both count as full days.
- If the total is 90 or less, you're within the rule on that day. It has to be true on every day of your trip.
Because the 180 days roll forward one day at a time, your old days drop out gradually. Going home for a month doesn't give you a fresh 90.
A worked example
You travel on a US passport. You spend 1 Jul to 14 Aug 2026 in France (45 days), go home, then spend 15 Nov to 20 Dec 2026 in Spain (36 days).
| Day | Days used | What's happening |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 2026 | 81 | All your France days are still within the last 180 days, plus 36 in Spain. |
| 27 Dec 2026 | 88 | If you stayed a week longer in Spain. |
| 12 Feb 2027 | 90 | If you stayed on, this would be your last legal day. Your July days have dropped out by now. |
| 13 Feb 2027 | 91 | One more day would be an overstay. |
Your days start to drop out on 28 December 2026, 180 days after your first day in France. By the end of February 2027, with no more travel, you'd be down to 36.
You can check your own dates with our checker, which works this out for every day of your trip and shows your last legal day.
Which countries count
The Schengen area is Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Bulgaria and Romania have been full members since 1 January 2025. Cyprus and Ireland are in the EU but not the Schengen area, so days there don't count. Neither do days in Albania, Montenegro, Serbia and the other Balkan countries outside the EU, or in the UK.
What happens if you overstay
Since 10 April 2026, the EU's Entry/Exit System logs every entry and exit, so border officers can see exactly how many days you've used. If you stay more than 90 days in 180, you can be fined, removed or banned from coming back, and you'll be refused entry if you've already used your 90 days.
Check it yourself
The European Commission has an officialshort-stay calculator. It's a good way to double-check any count, including ours. Our checker also checks your passport and any permits you need.
Checked 26 October 2026 against European Commission, European Union, GOV.UK, SafeTravel and US Department of State.
See the 7 official sources
- Short-stay calculator (European Commission (Migration and Home Affairs))
- User manual for the short-stay Schengen calculator (European Commission)
- Travel documents for non-EU nationals (European Union (Your Europe))
- FAQs about EES (European Union (Travel to Europe))
- Travelling to the EU and Schengen area (GOV.UK)
- Europe and the Schengen area (SafeTravel (New Zealand Government))
- U.S. Travelers in Europe (US Department of State)