At a glance
- The test
- No more than 90 days of stay in any 180-day period, counting the 180 days before each day of stay (Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Art. 6(1)).
- Period
- A rolling 180-day window, checked for every day of the stay.
- What counts as a day
- The entry date is the first day of stay and the exit date is the last day (Art. 6(2)).
The rule
This is an immigration rule. It decides how long some travellers may stay without a visa or permit. It does not decide tax residence.
Article 6(1) of the Schengen Borders Code sets the entry condition for third-country nationals: an intended stay of no more than 90 days in any 180-day period, which means looking at the 180 days before each day of stay. Days in all the Schengen states are added together as one period for states using the Entry/Exit System (Art. 6(1a)).
Article 6(2): the date of entry is the first day of stay and the date of exit is the last day. Periods of stay under a residence permit or a long-stay visa are not counted.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, and others with free movement rights, are outside this rule. The European Commission's short-stay calculator works on the same basis.
How Atrium counts it
Atrium counts each calendar date once for the whole Schengen area. Two Schengen countries on the same date count as one day. Entry and exit dates both count, as Art. 6(2) says.
It looks at the 180 days ending today and on each later date up to your last recorded day, so recorded future trips count. It shows the busiest window and how many days are left before 90 is reached.
A stay marked as transit counts as zero days. Atrium cannot tell airside from landside, so a landside connection marked as transit is left out, which is more lenient than the Code. Atrium counts only recorded dates, while the Code counts the whole period from entry to exit. Monaco days are not added.
What catches people out
- All Schengen countries share one 90 days. Switching country does not reset the count.
- The window moves every day. Days leave the count 180 days after they were spent, not on a fixed date.
- Entry and exit days each count as a day.
- Time under a residence permit or long-stay visa is not counted, and the days from a short visit do not become long-stay days.
- Not every European country is in the area. Atrium counts only Schengen states.
Cases
Worked example (illustrative): two trips, then waiting
Maria, a made-up traveller from a visa-exempt country, visits Schengen states from 15 January to 28 February 2026 (45 days), then from 10 April to 24 May 2026 (45 days). On 24 May the 180 days back to 26 November 2025 contain 90 days of stay, so there are 0 days left. 15 January leaves the window on 14 July, when the window starts on 16 January. The count that day is 89, so there is 1 day left, and one more day each day after that.
The count depends on the dates in the last 180 days, not on the calendar year. Days come back one at a time as old days leave the window.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Schengen Borders Code, consolidated text of 10 July 2024 (EUR-Lex)
- Short-stay calculator (European Commission)
Based on the sources above, last reviewed on 2026-10-04. Educational content, not tax advice. Atrium counts days; whether those days make you resident is for you and your adviser to decide.