Since Brexit, there has been so much confusion with the the 90/180 day rule in the Schengen Zone. I have been getting a lot of questions lately on this, so I have done some deep diving – and actually realised I didn’t know as much as I should have BUT during this deep dive research I found an amazing website that makes the “in zone” calculations so simple.
*We work hard to make this the best motorhome travel blog and road trip website possible, full of helpful content for you. The website is supported by our readers, so if you buy through links on this site we may earn a commission- at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain our own.
If you find this post useful, you can also treat us to a coffee – we promise to enjoy it while creating more useful content like this- we might even indulge in a biscuit (or two!)
The Basics of the Schengen Zone
So the Schengen zone is a collection of countries across Europe where you can only spend a certain amount of time in them as a collective. And this is the first thing that a lot of people have got wrong, or got confused with – it’s not 90 days in France and then 90 days in Germany and then 90 days in Spain, it’s 90 days in all the countries in the Schengen zone, in every rolling 180 day period.
Do you include Ireland in your calculations?
It does not include Ireland and obviously it doesn’t include the UK. So if you have a british passport, you can spend as long as you like in Ireland and vice versa. So for example, when I spent time in Ireland last year, those days don’t count towards days in the Schengen zone – those days worked out to outside of my rolling 180 days!
I have a Visa – I hear you say?
It’s got nothing to do with the ETIAS Visa that’s coming in 2025 (apparently), even when that comes in, the Schengen zone will still exist as will the 90/180 rule – I believe.
Even if you have a visa, you’ll still have to comply with the 90/180 day rule. And obviously, it doesn’t apply to everybody who’s got rights to live in a country in the Schengen zone. It does apply if you have a second home there, if you don’t have a residency permit. So, for example, perhaps you own a second home in France or in Spain and you don’t have a residency permit, you still have to comply with the 90 day rule.
Calculation Time!
I have found a website – ninety180.com that I love and I’m sure you could find a way of using this on your phone, so you wont have to have a laptop. The website’s got nothing to do with me, not affiliated and it’s totally free to use. It works out days you have used from your 90 day allowance and the best thing is, it does it in a calendar format with the number of days used displayed on each of the calendar days – You’ll see what I mean later.
So your 180 day period will start on the day that you enter the Schengen zone. So, as an example – let’s call that the 01 June 2023. If you haven’t got an app or don’t want to use one, you can literally just type it into your choice of internet search engine – “what is 180 days before the 1 June 2023” = 03 December 2022.
Important Tip – Working backwards is safer to ensure you wont get caught out by forgetting to include any previous days in the Schengen Zone – which happens! Remember that the 180 days is rolling, so your previous 180 days date will be continuously be moving forward.
So let’s look at this literally and use the website ninety180.com
Calculations if you HAVEN’T been to the Schengen Zone within the 180 days
Lets say, for example, you’ve got a trip where you’re going from the UK into France on the 01 June 2023 for 3 weeks, and land in France on the 01 June 2023:
So you can see from the calculations above, that 3 weeks in the France from the 01 June 2023 (with no prior days in the zone from the 03 DEC 2022) is showing that you have the used 22 days from your 90 day allowance – easy right!
For the purpose of clarity let’s give an example for extending the above said trip – Let’s say you plan to do the trip in France from 01 JUN 2023 for the full 90 days:
You can now see the how it’s calculating your time – based on the calculations, your 90 days will come to end on the 29 AUG 2023, which means you need to leave the Schengen Zone on the 29 AUG 2023.
Calculations if you HAVE been to the Schengen Zone within the 180 days
Using the first example – you are planning 3 weeks in France arriving on the 01 JUN 2023 BUT you had spent 3 weeks in, let’s say Germany from the 01 FEB 2023. Here is how your calculations will look:
So you can see from the calculations above, that 3 weeks in France from the 01 June 2023 and a previous trip to Germany for 3 weeks, is showing that you have the used 44 days from your 90 day allowance – easy right! This is why working out your rolling 180 days before your planned trip is essential – this will also confirm if any previous trips fall within your 180 days.
Let’s give another example – so your current trip you’ll be arriving in France on the 01 JUN 2023 for 3 weeks and you previously spent 3 weeks in Germany from the 01 FEB 2023 AND you also remember you spent 3 weeks in, let’s say Germany from the 01 NOV 2022 (for the Christmas Markets) – how does this look for calculations?
So you can see that your used days still remains as 44 from your 90 day allowance. That is because we did the 180 days prior to the current trip to France (JUN 2023), we know that the 180 days started from the 03 DEC 2022. So any days in the Schengen Zone before 03 DEC 2023 doesn’t get counted as part of your 90 days!!
What if you overstay?
I’ve actually heard of people saying that borders/customs have been stamping passports as being “overstayed”, even if it’s been one or two days, when you leave the Schengen zone, which means the next time you enter the Schengen Zone, the borders will look at your passport a lot more carefully.
But also, if you ever wanted to get visas – which I think we’re all going to have to do in the next year or two (with the ETIAS Visa – planning to come in 2025) or if you ever want to do a residency permit, they can use your “overstay status” stamp as a reason to refuse you access.
And if you do it repeatedly, then they’ll start banning you. And I know some people were fined, like, €200 each for overstaying for two days. Now, I don’t know whether that’s €100 a day or whether that was just the fine, but it’s well worth knowing that there are consequences of overstaying your welcome.
Still confused?
If you struggled following all the above – which I understand, as it can be info overload and not everyone gets it, I didn’t at first so don’t worry. Here is the video I did on the topic which may help you better understand.
Conclusion
So using this method clearly shows you how many days you have used, when you’re going to overstay and what date to leave.
I hope that has made sense and clarifies the calculations for you. It makes it a little bit easier to understand that rolling 180 day period. If you do have any more questions, feel free to get in touch.
And if you are visiting Europe for the first time, whether that’s in a motorhome, campervan, caravan or a car, and you want a list of all the things that you need to take with you and all the paperwork that you need as well, then you can it here, along with the free checklist.
New to motorhome or camper travel in Europe? You might find these posts helpful:
See all our Europe motorhoming posts here
NEED GEAR? If you need any kit or essentials for motorhoming in Europe, here’s what we recommend and where to find it
