Rulebook / Visas & entry / Schengen Area
Schengen Tourist Visa
- Day threshold
- 90 days
- Window
- Rolling 180 days
- Direction
- Ceiling — stay at or below
- Counts
- Days in Schengen Area; arrival and departure days both count
- Authority
- European Union
Schengen Tourist Visa caps your time in Schengen Area at 90 days in any rolling 180-day period. The statute attaches its consequence at 91 days or more, so 90 is the last safe count. Day of entry and day of exit both count. Days on a long-stay visa or residence permit of a member state do not count — add that country to the exclusions.
Who it applies to
This matters most if you are:
- A visitor on a short-stay visa or visa waiver making several trips a year.
- A long-term traveller stitching stays together and losing track of the cumulative count.
- Anyone booking a return trip who needs to know the last day they may legally stay.
The rule — and why it exists
Schengen 90/180. At most 90 days in Schengen Area in any rolling 180-day period — written as <=90 / 180.
Schengen per visit. At most 90 days in Schengen Area per visit — written as <=90 / VISIT.
Both limits must hold at the same time; the calculator checks each.
Why it exists: a short-stay allowance is a promise to leave. The cap, and the way it is counted, is what lets a state admit visitors without treating every visit as immigration.
Counting the days
- On any given day, look back over the 180 days ending on that day (that day included).
- Count every day you were physically in Schengen Area in that span. Partial days count as full days.
- The total must stay at or below 90. Repeat for every day — there is no reset date.
- A day only stops counting once it is more than 180 days old. Leaving and returning changes nothing.
The free calculator below counts this rule with the same engine the Dwelltime app ships.
Check it with the free tool
Examples
Example 1 — 59 days inside, checked at the end of the window
Stays: Austria 2026-03-01 → 2026-04-28. Checked on 2026-04-28.
Result: Schengen 90/180: 31 of 90 days left (59 used in Schengen Area).
Example 2 — 90 days used, then trying to return
Stays: Austria 2026-01-01 → 2026-03-31. Checked on 2026-05-01.
Result: Schengen 90/180: 0 of 90 days left (90 used in Schengen Area).
Example 3 — Two separate stays that add up past 90
Stays: Austria 2026-01-01 → 2026-02-23; Austria 2026-04-01 → 2026-05-24. Checked on 2026-05-24.
Result: Schengen 90/180: over the limit — 108 of 90 days, first exceeded 2026-05-07.
Exceptions & edge cases
- National visas and residence permits. Days spent under a long-stay visa of that country are usually not short-stay days.
- Transit. Airside transit generally does not count; a day on which you cross the border does.
- Overstays. Even a single day over can mean a ban or refused entry; the engine reports the first breaching day.
Common misconceptions
- "Under 90 days means I'm safe." False — other tests can apply, and the count is only one input.
- "It resets when I leave." No. Days age out one at a time, 180 days after they happened.
- "Arrival day doesn't count." Any part of a day inside is a day inside.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 90-day count per calendar year or rolling?
Rolling 180 days. The window rolls forward one day at a time.
Do arrival and departure days count?
Yes — any part of a day counts as a day.
Where does this rule come from?
European Union: Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Schengen Borders Code, Art. 6(1). The link is verified on every build; if it stops resolving the build fails.
This rule is tracked in 
Dwelltime
- Counts your days for this rule from the trips you record
- Shows the last safe day, or the days still needed, before you book
- Explains every counted day and every uncounted one
- Runs alongside your other visa, tax and residency rules
Sources
For information only. This page is a plain-English summary of publicly available rules, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change and depend on your personal circumstances — always confirm with the official source above and a qualified professional before acting.