Are arrival and departure days counted in the 90-days rule?
Your 90-day allocation begins as soon as you enter the Schengen area
I want to make the most of my 90 days maximum in France – is the day of entry and departure counted in this?
British, American and certain other non-EU citizens can stay in the Schengen zone without obtaining a visa for a period of 90 days within every 180 days.
The 180 days is a rolling period and so should be calculated looking back rather than forward.
For example, if you want to travel to France on July 1 but have already spent 85 days in Italy in the last six months – from March 1, for example – you will only have five days left until the time spent in Italy ‘drops off’ the end of the last 180 days.
This short-stay calculator tool can help you determine how many visa-free travel days you have left in the current 180-day period click here.
Your 90-day allocation begins as soon as you enter the Schengen area and your passport is stamped, so yes, the day of entry is counted. The date stated on the stamp counts as day one of your allowance and the eventual exit stamp will count as the last day.
Even if – for whatever reason – your passport is not stamped, it will normally have been scanned.
A new EU-wide Entry/Exit System (EES) is set to come into force gradually from late 2025 to develop the gathering of information of people travelling in and out of the EU.
As well as noting a person’s name and biometric data (this will be taken the first time a non-EU traveller enters the bloc after the EES launches), it will also further digitise the recording of duration that they stay, automatically calculating the number of days that the person has left.
The need for passport stamps at EU borders is thus expected to end once EES is fully in place from spring 2026.
It should also be noted that the 90-day rule applies to the Schengen zone which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, even though they are not in the EU.
However, non-EU citizens of nationalities benefiting from visa-free short-term travel in the EU are allowed to stay in Cyprus and Romania for up to 90 days separately from their Schengen-wide allocation.
Visiting these countries will not impact the amount of time the visitors are allowed to stay in France or Germany, for example.