Holy Crap, are we out of Schengen time?
So what’s the deal with Schengen’s 90 out of 180 day stay requirement? The Schengen countries of Europe, which currently (09/2024) number 27 impose a tourist visa restriction by country to their tourist stay time. We are from the USA, and the automatic tourist visa extended by the Schengen zone to our country is 90 days out of every 180 days. Sounds easy, until you try to figure it out.
For a typical American traveler in Europe 90 days is beyond what a traveler would expect to spend in the Schengen zone. But to expats, retirees and slow travelers it easy to run out the clock on the 90 out of 180 day Schengen rule.
How is the Schengen 90 out of 180 day rule calculated?
Great question but, even though the few word explanation seems easy, it is tough to calculate. It is calculated based on the last date of occupancy in a zone country. It is then back calculated based on the previous 180 day window. The number of days remaining to be allowed in the Schengen is how many of 90-current days -180 previous days). Wow, that seems had to figure out. But, YEAH, there is an App for that!!!!
An App to automatically calculate your Schengen stay and days left.
Yes, there is an App for that. Head over to https://visa-calculator.com and go directly to https://www.visa-calculator.com/en/signup (for English speakers, it will be different for different language) but go ahead and register on the site. That way when you enter information it is retained for you rather that having to enter it every time you login.
Then, all you have to do is put in your beginning dates and ending dates of your stays, and hit “Calculate” and the App will show you how much time you have left, and what date you can leave and some other useful information with dates about your stay in the Schengen zone.
This tool can also be used for any other country with a 90 out of 180 day visa rule, like Montenegro, you just have to login with a different email address.
Nicke and I have used this tool effectively to keep our visas on the “Good” side of the Schengen rules.
Good luck,
Thomas
