How the 90/180 rule is calculated

Visas and residence · Last reviewed: 2026-10-10

The window moves

The right question is: how many days have I been in the area during the last 180 days, including today? If the sum exceeds 90, the rule is broken. The window advances one day at a time, so a plan that worked yesterday may not work today — and the reverse also holds: a balance that looked spent reopens as old days drop out of the window. The counter resets neither at New Year nor on a new entry.

Which days count

• •The day of entry is a whole day, whatever the hour.
• •The day of exit is a whole day too; entering and leaving on the same date spends one day.
• •Every day in between counts by presence in the common area, not only in Bulgaria.
• •Days spent in other countries of the same area come off the same balance.
• •Transit may count from the moment you enter the area; airport-transit exceptions are narrow and conditional.

Which days fall outside this window

The rule measures short stays. Days spent under a valid residence permit or a long-stay visa are assessed outside this window, because those statuses carry their own durations and conditions. For EU, EEA and Swiss citizens the count does not apply at all, since their right flows from free movement. If you are unsure which category a period falls into, verify before you calculate rather than after.

The calculation, step by step

1. 1

   Fix a reference date

   Usually today or the day you plan to leave. The sum is always taken on a specific date; there is no general answer.
2. 2

   Go back 179 days

   Mark the 180-day span that includes the reference date. Days outside it play no part.
3. 3

   Add up the days of stay inside the span

   Write each entry-exit pair as a number of days and total them, counting both end days as whole days.
4. 4

   Subtract from 90

   The difference is the maximum available on that date. On later dates the number will be different.
5. 5

   Repeat for the planned exit date

   For a longer stay, run the calculation for the day you intend to leave as well; because the window moves, the two results can differ.

Verifying the result

The most reliable method is a chronological list of all your entry and exit dates, with each trip counted separately. The European Commission publishes an official short-stay calculator; comparing your figure against it catches the drift that creeps into manual arithmetic. Save the output before you travel — in a dispute at the border, a list of dates is worth far more than memory.

Preparing for a discussion at the border

• •Keep your list of dates accessible, on paper or on your phone.
• •Keep flight and coach tickets and accommodation bookings for the whole trip.
• •Do not spend the balance down to the last day; leave room for delays.
• •If in doubt, ask an official source before travelling rather than at the checkpoint.

Rules of the official calculator and the limits of the area

The points below were read on 10 October 2026 on the European Commission's short-stay calculator page, on the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa page and in the text of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806.

• •The calculator counts back 180 days from each day of the stay and checks that the total does not exceed 90; Article 4(1) of the regulation sets the same limit (at most 90 days in any 180-day period) for visa-free stays.
• •If the authorised stay printed on the visa sticker is shorter than 90 days, the calculator is not used; the period on the sticker governs.
• •Periods spent on an EU residence permit or a long-stay (type D) visa are not entered in the calculator; the page says such long stays are not subject to the 90/180 rule.
• •The Schengen area consists of 29 countries: 25 EU Member States plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Cyprus and Ireland are outside it.
• •In passport-stamp mode, entries are typed with a plus sign and exits with a minus sign, each followed by a six-digit date: +010124 is an entry stamp of 1 January 2024 and -010224 an exit stamp of 1 February 2024.
• •Bulgaria has issued uniform (Schengen) visas since 31 March 2024; the count of the 90-day short stay starts from entry into Schengen, including into Bulgaria. Checks at the land borders with Romania ended on 1 January 2025.

Frequently asked questions

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