Schengen visa-free short stay (90/180 rule) guide

The basics

The European Commission states that if you are visiting any country in the Schengen Area, you are usually allowed to stay for a maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period, known as a short stay. You count back 180 days from each day of your stay, and the total must not exceed 90.

Stay per entry

A maximum of 90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the Schengen Area, per the Commission short-stay calculator page.

Where you apply

No application is described for visa-exempt nationals in the sources reviewed.

Fee

Sources reviewed do not state a fee for visa-free short stays.

Validity

Not applicable as a separate term. The permitted stay is counted day by day.

Who it's for

The Commission's visa policy page refers to Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 for the list of countries whose nationals are visa-exempt. Individual Schengen countries can also grant visa-free access to certain categories of people, for example diplomatic staff, armed forces, refugees and school pupils on an excursion. Check the list for your own passport.

• If you hold a short-stay visa, check the period of authorised stay printed on the visa sticker. If it is shorter than 90 days, the Commission says not to use its calculator.
• If you hold an EU residence permit or long-stay visa, the Commission says you are not subject to the 90/180-day rule, as these documents allow you to stay longer than 90 days.

How to apply

Visa-free short stays do not involve an application in the sources reviewed. The Commission provides an official short-stay calculator to check a past or ongoing stay, or to plan the maximum stay allowed on a future date.

• Choose check mode to test whether previous and ongoing stays comply with the rule, or planning mode to see the maximum stay allowed on a future entry date.
• Enter previous stays in the Schengen Area by entry and exit date, in dd/mm/yy format.
• Read the result. For a compliant stay the calculator shows the last day the rule would still be valid. For a non-compliant stay it shows the days spent in the 180-day period and the possible overstay.

Documents

Sources reviewed do not list a document checklist for visa-free entry.

An IATA page describes two EU border systems. The Entry/Exit System (EES) registers non-EU nationals entering for a short stay and, per that page, replaces passport stamping with electronic recordings of entries, exits and refusals of entry, while passports continue to be stamped manually in Cyprus and Ireland. The Commission's visa policy page says visa-exempt travellers will need to fill out an online ETIAS form and pay a fee, six months after full implementation of EES. An IATA page states ETIAS will start operations in the last quarter of 2026. See the ETIAS guide for what the official ETIAS site states.

Stay and extensions

The Commission Q&A states that periods of stay authorised under a residence permit or a long-stay visa are not taken into account in the 90/180-day calculation, and that the 180-day reference period moves backwards from each day.

Sources reviewed do not state extension terms for the 90-day short stay, or penalties for overstaying.

Things to confirm

• Whether your nationality is visa-exempt, using Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806.
• Whether ETIAS is in force on your travel dates, on the official EU travel site.
• Passport validity and any other entry conditions at the border. Sources reviewed do not list them.
• Rules of the specific Schengen country if you plan a stay over 90 days, which follow national long-stay procedures.
• Entry is decided by the border officer.

Sources

Every claim above comes from these pages. Higher tiers carry more authority. How we tier sources.