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EUROPEAN UNION

Your key questions answered about the Schengen area’s 90-day rule

The EU/Schengen area's '90-day' rule is a complicated one that causes much confusion for travellers - here we answer some of the most common questions from readers of The Local.

Your key questions answered about the Schengen area's 90-day rule
Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

The Schengen ’90-day’ rule applies to non-EU/EEA citizens, including Britons, and limits access to the EU’s Schengen zone to 90 days in every 180 day period. Anyone who wants to stay longer than this will need to apply for a national visa of the country they are visiting. 

Not all citizens of non-EU/EEA countries benefit from the visa-free 90 days. Some nationalities must apply for a visa for any visit to an EU country, even just a one-week holiday. But non-EU citizens including the British, Americans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders do benefit from it.

The limit of 90 days in every 180 gives you a total of six months per year within the Schengen zone, so for tourists or people who want to visit family or friends its perfectly adequate – the people who tend to have problems with it are second-home owners and those who work on short-term contracts in the EU.

The Schengen area currently includes all EU states apart from Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus although the latter three states intend to join. It also includes the non-EU states Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland (EFTA). Croatia was allowed to join the Schengen area late last year.

You can find a full explanation of how the rule works HERE, and answers to some of the most commonly-asked questions from readers of The Local below.

Does the limit apply to the whole Schengen area?

This is one aspect that frequently catches people out – the 90-day limit refers to the entire Schengen area. So if, for example, you spend 88 days at your second home in Spain you won’t have enough time allocation left for a long-weekend in Paris.

What counts as a ‘day’?

Any time spent in EU/Schengen territory counts as a single day, technically even a couple of minutes. So if you take the Eurostar from London to Paris and then go straight to the airport for a flight to New York, that counts as one day from your allowance.

Do I have to spend 90 days outside the Schengen?

Exactly how to calculate the 90 days causes problems for many. The 90 days can be taken as either one long visit or multiple short ones, and are calculated as a rolling clock.

You can find a full explanation of how to calculate the allowance HERE – but the short version is that at any time of the year, you need to be able to count back 180 days, and within those 180 days not have spent more than 90 of them in the EU/Schengen area.

You may have heard that once you reach 90 you must leave the EU and cannot return for 90 days.

READ ALSO: How to calculate your Schengen 90-day allowance

This is in fact only the case if you actually reach your 90-day limit. So those that stay for a full 90 days consecutively would then have to leave the Schengen area for 90 days, before they can return.

Most people who make multiple short visits find it best not to go above 85 or so days, meaning that they have a couple of days ‘in hand’ for emergencies. They do not then have to spend 90 days outside the EU to “reset the clock”, but can return once they have enough days within the previous 180 period.

What if there’s a strike and I can’t leave in time?

Transport strikes are not unusual in Europe, especially France, but if your plane, train or ferry is cancelled it could lead to you overstaying your 90 days.

The best advice is to keep a couple of days in hand, just in case.

If you do end up accidentally overstaying, then the ‘force majeur‘ rule applies – essentially, you need to be able to prove that it was impossible for you to leave the country on time, which might be difficult as even during a strike period there is usually some transport running, even if it is complicated and expensive to change your travel plans.

What if I live in the EU?

If you are a non-EU/EEA national and your are resident in an EU country – with a visa or residency permit – then clearly the 90-day rule does not apply to your country of residence.

It does, however, apply once you travel to another EU country. So if you live in France and like to spend long holidays in Spain and Italy, then you need to keep track of your 90 days.

In practice, there is usually little in the way of border controls when you are travelling within the EU so it’s unlikely that your passport will be stamped or even checked. However, technically the rules does apply.

What are the penalties for over staying?

If you have over-stayed your 90 days you can be fined, deported and banned from re-entry to the EU.

In practice, enforcement varies between countries and most countries keep the toughest penalties for people who have overstayed for many months or even years, or who are working illegally.

READ ALSO What happens if you overstay your 90-day limit?

The most likely scenario for people who have over-stayed for a short time is a fine – French authorities have been issuing €198 fines to over-stayers – and a stamp in the passport flagging the person as an over-stayer. This stamp will likely lead to added complications on future trips, and can make getting a visa more difficult.

What if I get a visa?

People who want to spend more than 90 days in every 180 in the EU/Schengen area will need to get a visa.

However, there is no such thing as an ‘EU visa’ that allows you unlimited access to the bloc. You will need to get a national visa for the country where you spend the most time.

You can then continue to use your 90-day limit to visit other countries within the EU.

All countries have different rules on visas, but for most people who want to spend long periods in the EU without actually moving there, a short-stay visitor visa is the best option.

What if I’m married to an EU citizen? 

Citizens of EU and Schengen zone countries benefit from EU freedom of movement, so are not constrained by the 90-day rule. This, however, does not extend to non-EU spouses.

If you want to spend more than 90 days in the Schengen zone, you will still need a visa (or look to obtain EU citizenship through marriage).

What if I get a new passport?

People travelling under the 90-day rule usually have their passports stamped on entry and exit, in order to keep track of their 90 days.

However passports are also scanned on entry and exit, so a record exists beyond the passport page with its stamp. Therefore getting a new passport does not restart your 90 days, no matter that all the pages are lovely and blank.

What will EES and ETIAS change?

This brings us onto EES, the EU’s new system of border control which involves extra checks at the border – including fingerprints and facial scans – and automatic scanning of passports.

The implementation date has been postponed several times – it’s now due in 2024 – but this will make it harder for over-stayers to slip through the net.

Find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Could this change for second-home owners?

Definitely the most-asked question at The Local is whether some kind of special deal may be forthcoming for second-home owners.

All we can say for certain is that there are no plans currently in place, and as the 90-day rule is an EU one it would have to be discussed at an EU level.

Individual countries could choose to introduce a special visa for second-home owners, but this still wouldn’t be the same as the paperwork free stays that EU citizens enjoy.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Why are flights to and from Switzerland so expensive this summer?

Airline activity to and from Switzerland has almost fully recovered after travel bans during the pandemic, yet prices are soaring. Here’s why.

Why are flights to and from Switzerland so expensive this summer?

If you’ve been searching for flights to or from Switzerland during the summer, you may have noticed that prices are higher compared to previous years. Flight prices have in fact risen by 36 percent compared to pre-pandemic times, according to estimates. 

This trend of soaring prices is not limited to Switzerland alone; it is happening across Europe.

In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel announced that there would be no last-minute offers this summer and that the days of cheap flights are over.

Ebel explained that travellers’ booking habits – namely booking tickets shortly before departure – are likely to lead to a further rise in ticket prices. “Spontaneous bargains will be the absolute exception,” he said.

Ryanair Austria head Andreas Gruber issued similar sentiments, stating that the days of flying almost for free are over. “There will be no more 10-euro tickets,” he said in September 2022. Currently, the cheapest ticket you can book with Ryanair costs 25 euros.

Unfortunately, airfare inflation has continued to rise.

The average price for a Ryanair flight will rise from 40 to 50 euros in the future. Still, the Irish airline expects the number of passengers to grow in the coming months as people start looking for cheaper transportation with the rising cost of living.

Rush to travel

Several factors contribute to these price hikes. The unexpected rush to travel after the pandemic caught the industry off guard and led to chaos at some European airports last summer due to staffing shortages.

Despite the return of passengers, business travellers have not returned in the same numbers as before, partly due to the newfound convenience of virtual meetings. In addition, the slow recovery has impacted the profitability of specific flights, prompting some airlines to discontinue routes altogether.

Fuel costs, which account for approximately one-third of ticket prices, are often cited as a reason for the price increase, even though the price of oil per barrel is falling. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) attributes the price hikes to the rising cost of kerosene, explaining that “high fuel prices, as well as other inflationary cost increases, can impact ticket prices if airlines are unable to absorb or avoid these costs.”

Johan Lundgren, CEO of EasyJet, noted that the ban on flying over Russia has increased travel time by one to two hours for certain Asian destinations, adding to the costs of long-haul flights, according to airlines.

Commercial planes of Swiss air lines, Lufthansa and Spanish low-cost airline Vueling parked on the tarmac of Geneva Airport on May 4th, 2023. (

Commercial planes of Swiss air lines, Lufthansa and Spanish low-cost airline Vueling parked on the tarmac of Geneva Airport on May 4th, 2023. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

SWISS prices set to soar

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) announced upcoming summer increases in a Blick interview last year. CEO Dieter Vranckx said that the airline’s sustainability efforts, among other things, are behind the price surge.

Meanwhile, aviation expert Andreas Wittmer from the University of St. Gallen told SRF that “in order to achieve the climate targets set by 2050, the aviation industry must invest – especially in so-called sustainable fuels”.

These investments will then likely result in higher ticket prices.

In line with that, SWISS announced that it has embarked on a pioneering new partnership with luxury Swiss hotel Gstaad Palace earlier this month which will see the latter procure sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for all its business travel on SWISS.

Moreover, SWISS said that it will continue to offer customers very attractive and competitive prices, though it noted that prices in aviation are more dynamic than in most other industries and that the increase in pricing has to do with supply and demand.

To compare: an Economy Light return ticket for a flight leaving Zurich Airport for London Heathrow (LHR) on July 21st (until July 24th) will set you back an average 350 francs and from Geneva Airport to LHR around 240 francs.

Travelling from Zurich (Geneva) to London Gatwick on the same days via easyJet with only hand luggage in tow will still cost you 206 (134) francs.

Though Basel is not serviced by SWISS, you can head to London Gatwick for a cool 158 francs over the same time period.

READ MORE: How SWISS is expanding flight connections this year

But the higher prices are unlikely to put passengers off their summer vacation entirely.

SWISS stated that it still expects to report total available seat-kilometres (ASK) production for 2023 that is as high as 85 per cent of its 2019 level and expects to raise this further in 2024.

SWISS (excluding Edelweiss Air) transported over three million passengers in Q1 of 2023, an increase of over 70 percent on the prior-year period. It also performed more than 27,000 flights, around 47 per cent more than in the first quarter of 2022.

Prices set to relax in 2024

According to Wittmer, the increase in pricing has now seen its peak and prices should begin to relax in 2024 – if only momentarily.

This, he said, is due to several reasons. For one, SWISS is expanding its international long-haul flights this winter from both Zurich and Geneva Airport. The destinations due to see more frequent traffic are Miami (USA), Shanghai (China), Singapore (Singapore) and Cairo (Egypt).

Other airlines are also gradually bringing back their mothballed aircraft, while Airbus and Boeing will also be delivering new aircraft after production problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The IATA even expects overall traveller numbers to reach 4 billion in 2024 (counting multi-sector connecting trips as one passenger) and exceed pre-pandemic levels (103 per cent of the 2019 total).

How can I avoid spending too much money on summer travelling?

Although flights may not be as cheap as before, there are still strategies to keep costs down:

– Booking flights well in advance tends to result in cheaper tickets, as prices increase closer to the flight date. Therefore, if you still need to book your flight, now is the time to do so.

– Avoiding the peak holiday season in July and August can help save money. Instead, consider taking an early summer vacation in June or a later one in late August or early September.

– Check websites like Skyscanner and Google Flights for the cheapest airline options. These platforms can also find cheaper tickets if you’re open to making stopovers instead of flying direct.

– Be flexible with your travel dates. For example, look for midweek departures or consider departing from secondary airports, which may offer lower prices compared to major airports.

– If you’re travelling within Europe, consider rail travel as an alternative to flying. The Austrian train system, operated mainly by state-owned company ÖBB, is known for its efficiency and relatively affordable prices, and is highly regarded in many countries.

By employing these strategies, you can still find ways to manage costs and make your travel plans more affordable despite the current trend of rising airfare prices.

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