The Schengen 90/180 rule lets visa-free visitors, and holders of short-stay Schengen visas, spend up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period across all 29 Schengen countries combined. The count is backward-looking: on any given day, add up every day you spent in the area during the previous 180 days, and the total must never pass 90.
Last checked: October 2026
In short:
- The Entry/Exit System (EES) started on 12 October 2025 and became fully operational on 10 April 2026, replacing passport stamps with digital records of your entries, exits, fingerprints and facial image.
- ETIAS is not yet running: the EU raised the planned fee from €7 to €20 (free under 18 and over 70), but by September 2026 the official late-2026 launch window had been dropped and no start date had been set.
- Time spent on a national long-stay visa or residence permit, such as a digital nomad visa, does not count towards your 90 days.
How the rolling 180-day window works
Under the Schengen Borders Code, your entry day and exit day both count as days of stay. The 180-day period is the one “preceding each day of stay”, so it slides forward daily. There’s no reset date: days drop out only once they’re more than 180 days old.
Worked example (2027, not a leap year):
| Trip | Dates | Days used |
|---|---|---|
| First stay | 1 January to 1 March | 60 |
| Outside Schengen | 2 March to 14 May | 0 |
| Second stay | 15 May to 13 June | 30 |
On 13 June, the 180-day window runs back to 16 December 2026, so both stays sit inside it: 60 + 30 = 90. Staying on 14 June would make it 91, an overstay. The January days only start falling out of the window from 30 June, when you’d regain one day at a time.
The easy way to check this is the European Commission’s short-stay calculator. Its “check” mode tests past and current trips and gives your last legal day; “planning” mode shows how long you can stay from a future entry date.
Which countries are in Schengen
Per the Commission, Schengen has 29 members: 25 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Bulgaria and Romania were the last to join, becoming full members on 1 January 2025, so time in both now counts against your 90 days.
Two EU countries sit outside. Cyprus applies some Schengen rules, but the Council hasn’t lifted its internal border controls, so it’s not yet part of the area; on 10 October 2026 its deputy migration minister said Cyprus now expects to join in full during 2027, per the Cyprus Mail. Ireland has an opt-out and runs its own visa and border policy. Days in either don’t use up your Schengen allowance.
EES: what’s recorded and why overstays now get caught
EES applies at the external borders of 29 European countries. It records your name, travel document data, fingerprints and a facial image, plus the date and place of each entry and exit and any refusal of entry. Since 10 April 2026, the Commission says, it has replaced passport stamping and automatically detects overstayers. By the time it was fully running in April 2026, it had logged over 52 million entries and exits.
Per Iceland’s police, entry and exit records are kept for three years; if no exit is recorded, data is kept for five years after your permitted stay ended, and overstayers go on a list available to national authorities. Per Newland Chase, a derogation letting countries scale back biometric registration during severe queues expired on 6 September 2026, so expect full registration on your first crossing.
ETIAS: €20 fee, no start date yet
ETIAS is a pre-travel authorisation for visa-free visitors to 30 European countries for short stays. The Commission set the fee at €20, up from €7, with under-18s and over-70s exempt. The EU’s diplomatic service says it will be valid for up to three years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
On timing, the Commission’s ETIAS page says the EU will announce the start date “several months prior to its launch”. In July 2026 eu-LISA told Business Travel News Europe the target “remains Q4 2026”, but per Newland Chase (9 September 2026) the official portal has since removed the “last quarter of 2026” window, and the launch now looks likely to move into 2027. Until the EU names a date, don’t pay any website offering one.
What doesn’t count towards the 90 days
National long-stay visas and residence permits. The Commission says long-stay visas and residence permits are governed by national rules, not the 90/180 regime, and days spent under one are excluded from the calculation. That’s why a digital nomad visa, such as Spain’s (Spain digital nomad visa: requirements, income and Beckham Law), changes the picture: time in Spain on that visa doesn’t count. Germany’s Foreign Office says a residence permit holder from another Schengen state can visit Germany visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180, so the 90/180 rule still applies to your travel in other member states.
Bilateral visa waivers. A few older agreements give extra time in one country. Two we verified on official pages:
| Country | Who | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark | USA, New Zealand; also Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Chile, South Korea | Up to 3 months (90 days for Chile and South Korea) in Denmark regardless of other Schengen stays, with earlier Danish or Nordic time deducted |
| Switzerland | New Zealand | Up to 90 days in Switzerland after using your Schengen days; you need evidence of your time there and must leave Schengen directly from a Swiss external border |
Border staff may not know these rules, so carry the official page and proof of where you’ve been.
Overstay penalties
Penalties are set nationally. Per Fragomen, fines are the most common outcome, amounts vary by country, and you can face removal and an entry ban of three years or more, depending on the length of overstay and where you are caught. With EES flagging overstays automatically, even a few days over now leaves a record.
Related guides: Digital nomad visa countries: which countries have one (2026 list) · Portugal D7 visa vs D8 digital nomad visa: which one you need (2026) · Spain digital nomad visa: requirements, income and Beckham Law · Visa-free countries for US citizens (2026): where you can go and new e-permits · Cyprus now expects to join Schengen in 2027, a year later than planned
Quick answers
Q: How does the Schengen 90/180 rule work?
On any day you’re in the Schengen area, count every day you spent there in the preceding 180 days, including entry and exit days. The total can’t exceed 90. There’s no fixed reset: days drop off individually once they’re more than 180 days old.
Q: When does ETIAS start and how much does it cost?
No start date has been set. The EU dropped its late-2026 launch window in 2026, and the launch now looks likely to move into 2027. The fee will be €20, free for under-18s and over-70s, and the authorisation will last up to three years or until your passport expires.
Q: Does a digital nomad visa count towards the 90 days?
No. Days spent on a national long-stay visa or residence permit are excluded from the 90/180 calculation in that country. When you visit other Schengen countries as a permit holder, you’re generally limited to 90 days in any 180 there.
Sources
- European Commission: Schengen area
- European Commission: Border crossing, 90/180 rule
- European Commission: Short-stay calculator
- Belgian Immigration Office: Entry conditions for the Schengen area
- European Commission: Entry/Exit System
- European Commission: EES fully operational (10 April 2026)
- Icelandic Police: EES and data privacy
- European Commission: ETIAS
- European Commission: ETIAS will cost €20
- EEAS: Coming from a visa-free country and travelling to Europe
- Business Travel News Europe: EU likely to postpone ETIAS introduction to 2027
- Newland Chase: EES flexibility lapses as ETIAS launch appears likely to move to 2027
- German Federal Foreign Office: Residence permit holders visiting Germany
- Danish Immigration Service: Visa-free visits
- Embassy of Denmark in Australia: Visa-free travel and bilateral agreements
- Embassy of Switzerland in New Zealand: Entry formalities for New Zealand passport holders
- Fragomen: What happens if I overstay my Schengen visa?
- Cyprus Mail: Cyprus to be fully integrated into Schengen area by next year
This is general information from the Nomad Forums team, not immigration, tax or legal advice. Rules change; check the official source or a qualified adviser before applying.
Over to you: Have you been through an EES registration yet, and how long did the first crossing take at your airport or land border? If you’ve used the Danish or Swiss bilateral agreement, what evidence did border staff ask for when you left?