As a third-country national, you may in principle enter the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days within a 180-day period.
If you require a visa, the duration of your stay is determined by the visa.
The day of entry counts as the first day in the Schengen area, and the day of departure counts as the last. A “rolling” period of 180 days applies for the calculation. This means that on any given day, a retrospective check is made to determine how many days you have spent in the Schengen area in the previous 180 days. You may have stayed in the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days within this period. If you have not stayed in the Schengen area for the last 90 days, you may enter for up to 90 days.
The stay calculator helps you calculate the permissible length of stay:
Stay calculator
Graphical representation (also applies to the stays of third-state nationals who are not subject to a visa obligation):
Examples for calculating the length of stay:
Example 1 – 90 consecutive days:
- Entry: March 1 (Day 1)
- Stay: March 1 to May 29 → 90 days in the Schengen area
- Exit: May 29 (Day 90)
After that, you must stay 90 days outside the Schengen area, i.e. from May 29 to August 27.
- Earliest re-entry: August 28
- From then on, a new period begins in which you may again stay up to 90 days.
Important:
If you do not stay continuously, but for example enter several times for short visits, each stay day counts towards the 90 days maximum within the 180 days period.
You must therefore constantly check how many days have already been used within this period (see example 2).
Example 2 – Entry too early:
Stays so far:
- March 1 – May 29, 2025 → 90 days fully used
New planned entry:
- June 15, 2025
→ Looking back from June 15, 2025, counting 180 days backwards:- Period from December 18, 2024 to June 15, 2025 (180 days)
- Within this period: already 90 days of stay (from March 1 to May 29, 2025)
No entry possible on June 15, as the full 90 days have already been used.
Earliest permitted re-entry: August 28, 2025, when the earliest stay days (from March 1) fall outside the 180-day period.
Example 3 – Multiple entries:
Stay 1:
- Entry: January 1
- Exit: January 15
→ 15 days in the Schengen area
Stay 2:
- Entry: March 1
- Exit: March 20
→ 20 days in the Schengen area
Stay 3:
- Entry: May 1
- Planned stay: May 1 to June 15
→ 45 days planned
May I stay another 45 days starting May 1?
- Looking back from May 1:
- 15 days (January)
- 20 days (March)
→ So far 35 days in the Schengen area within the last 180 days
- Planned 45 days from May 1 → 35 + 45 = 80 days
→ ✅ Allowed, since under 90 days
Last modification 12.10.2025
