What the rule says
Under Article 6 of the Schengen Borders Code (Regulation (EU) 2016/399), non-EU nationals may stay in the Schengen area for no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. The limit is the same whether you need a visa, as Turkish citizens do, or travel visa-free.
Three points matter most:
- The allowance is shared across all Schengen countries: 40 days in Germany plus 50 days in Italy uses up all 90 days.
- The 180-day period is not fixed; it is recalculated backwards from every day you are in the area.
- A multiple-entry visa does not reset the count; each entry looks at the total of the previous 180 days.
Count your days step by step
- 1
Pick the day you want to check
Usually your planned exit day, or the last day of a new trip.
- 2
Count back 180 days from it
Build a 180-day window that ends on, and includes, the day you picked.
- 3
Add up the Schengen days in that window
Count every day you spent in the Schengen area in that period, including entry and exit days.
- 4
Check the total is 90 or less
If it exceeds 90, being in the Schengen area on that day is an overstay. Shorten or move your trip.
- 5
Confirm with the official calculator
Enter your entry and exit dates in the European Commission's short-stay calculator to double-check the result.
A worked example
Say you enter the Schengen area on 1 March and leave on 30 March. Counting both entry and exit days, that is 30 days.
You then enter again on 1 May and leave on 29 June: the second trip lasts 60 days. The 180 days ending on 29 June still include the whole March trip, so the total is 30 + 60 = 90 days, exactly the limit.
You could not re-enter on 30 June. As the March days drop out of the 180-day window, from late August onwards, one day becomes available again each day.
Which days count and which do not
- Counts: the day you enter and the day you leave the Schengen area (full days, whatever the time)
- Counts: every day spent in any of the 29 Schengen countries
- Counts: days from separate trips made on the same visa
- Does not count: days in non-Schengen countries such as the UK or Ireland
- Different rules: time spent in a Schengen country on its residence permit or national (type D) visa
Visa validity and length of stay are different
A Schengen visa has two separate limits: the dates it is valid and the number of days you may stay within them. A one-year multiple-entry visa, for example, still does not allow more than 90 days in any 180. If the number of days printed on the visa is lower than 90, that lower number applies.
Your trip must end within the visa's validity dates and stay within its number of days.
EES now counts your days automatically
The Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully operational since 10 April 2026 and replaces passport stamps. At the Schengen border it records your name, passport details, fingerprints, facial image and your dates of entry and exit, so overstayers are detected automatically.
Exact records now replace estimates based on old stamps, which makes it more important than ever to note your own travel dates and plan around them.
Overstaying is serious. Depending on the country, it can lead to fines, an entry ban and a negative assessment of future visa applications. If you are unsure about your dates, check them with the official calculator before you travel.
Official sources
We checked the information on this page against the official sources below. Always confirm the current rules there before you apply.