Schengen 90/180 Rule: How to Count Days, EES and ETIAS

You're planning a long trip to Europe, maybe a summer of hopping between cities or a few months' remote working from Lisbon. The rule that trips most people up isn't a visa. It's a simple-sounding limit with a rolling calculation behind it.

This guide explains the Schengen 90/180 rule with a worked example, then covers what's changed at the border: the Entry/Exit System (EES), the upcoming ETIAS and what happens if you overstay. Facts are as of September 2026.

Which countries are in the Schengen Area?

The Schengen Area has 29 countries: 25 EU member states and four non-EU countries. The 90-day limit applies to all of them combined, not to each one separately.

EU members in Schengen: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden, plus Cyprus (see below).

Non-EU members: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Bulgaria and Romania became full members on 1 January 2025. Ireland has opted out of Schengen and runs its own border rules, so days there don't count. Cyprus takes part in Schengen cooperation, but its internal border controls haven't yet been lifted, so check the current position before counting days there.

How the Schengen 90/180 rule works

If you're visa-exempt, for example a UK, US, Canadian or Australian citizen, or you hold a short-stay Schengen visa, you can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

The key word is rolling. There's no fixed calendar block. On every day you're in Schengen, look back over the last 180 days, counting that day, and add up the days you were inside. The total must never go above 90.

A few rules make the maths work:

• The day you arrive and the day you leave both count as full days.
• Days in different Schengen countries all go into the same total.
• Time spent on a national long-stay visa or residence permit doesn't count towards the 90 days.

A worked example

Say you're a Canadian who spends 1 March to 29 April in Italy and France. That's 31 days in March plus 29 in April, so 60 days used.

You go home, then fly back to Spain on 15 June. How long can you stay?

1. Find your remaining allowance. 90 minus 60 leaves 30 days.
2. Check whether any old days drop out. On 15 June, the 180-day window reaches back to mid-December. All 60 days from March and April are still inside it.
3. Count forward. From 15 June, your 30 days run out on 14 July. That's 16 days in June (15th to 30th) plus 14 in July.
4. Leave by 14 July. On 15 July you'd have 91 days in the window, which is an overstay.
5. See when days come back. Your March days start dropping out of the window from 28 August, one day at a time, which frees up new days for a later trip.

The Entry/Exit System (EES): what's changed at the border

EES is the EU's digital border register for non-EU nationals on short stays. It started on a phased basis on 12 October 2025 and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026 across the 29 Schengen countries.

When you cross an external Schengen border, EES records your name, passport details, fingerprints and facial image, plus the date and place of each entry and exit. It replaces passport stamping. It also calculates your stay automatically, so border guards can see at a glance if you've gone over 90 days.

Your first crossing takes longer because your data has to be registered. After that, many airports use self-service kiosks. EES doesn't apply to people holding a long-stay visa or residence permit from a Schengen country, among other exemptions.

ETIAS: launch date and fee as currently announced

ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) is a pre-travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers. It will cover 30 countries: the Schengen Area plus Cyprus.

As of September 2026, the official position is:

• Launch: scheduled for the last quarter of 2026. ETIAS isn't running yet, and the EU says it will announce the exact date several months beforehand.
• Fee: €20. Applicants under 18 or over 70 are exempt, as are some family members of EU citizens.
• Validity: three years, or until your passport expires if sooner.

ETIAS doesn't change the 90/180 rule. It's permission to travel, not extra days.

Overstaying and long-stay visas

Overstaying. Because EES logs every entry and exit, overstays are now detected automatically rather than depending on a guard reading stamps. Penalties are set by each country and can include fines, removal and an entry ban. An overstay on record could also make future trips harder. If illness or a cancelled flight means you can't leave on time, contact the local immigration authorities before your 90 days are up.

Long-stay national visas. If you want to stay longer than 90 days, live, study or work in one country, you need that country's national visa (usually called a D visa) or residence permit. These are issued under national rules, not Schengen rules. For example, see our guide to Germany work visas. A long stay in one country doesn't give you extra visitor days, so plan trips elsewhere carefully.

Schengen visa travel insurance: the €30,000 rule

If your nationality needs a short-stay Schengen visa, travel medical insurance is compulsory. As of September 2026, the policy must:

• cover at least €30,000
• include emergency medical treatment, hospital care and repatriation for medical reasons or in the event of death
• be valid across all Schengen countries for your entire stay

The visa fee itself is €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to 12, with some nationality-based exceptions. You can apply up to six months before travel and no later than 15 days before. Standard processing takes 15 days but can extend to 45.

Visa-exempt travellers don't have to show insurance, but a hospital stay in Europe can be expensive. A policy that includes medical cover and repatriation is still sensible.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Counting per country. The 90 days cover the whole Schengen Area.
• Thinking a trip outside Schengen resets the clock. Only time passing does that.
• Forgetting arrival and departure days. Both count in full.
• Buying a Schengen visa policy with lower cover. Anything under €30,000 can lead to a refusal.
• Mixing up European schemes. The UK isn't in Schengen and has its own UK ETA.

Before you book

List every Schengen day from the last six months and run your plans through the official short-stay calculator. If you're visa-exempt, keep an eye on the official ETIAS website for the launch date. If you need a visa, buy compliant insurance before your appointment. If you want to stay longer than 90 days, apply for the right national visa before you travel.