Bilateral agreements: how some passports stay longer than 90 days
Before the Schengen Area existed, many European countries signed visa-waiver agreements with countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Some are still honoured. They can let you stay extra time in that one country — never in Schengen as a whole.
Facts checked 28 September 2026. These agreements are applied differently by each country and some have quietly stopped working. Only agreements confirmed by an official source are listed below. Confirm with that country's embassy before you plan around one.
How they fit with the 90/180 rule
The Schengen Convention lets a country extend a visa-free stay in its own territory beyond 90 days when a bilateral agreement allows it. The EU publishes the agreements countries have notified. The last consolidated list dates from 2019 and does not say how each country applies them today.
So an agreement is an exception granted by one country for time in that country. Your Schengen-wide count keeps running, and the Entry/Exit System still counts 90 days in 180 across the whole area.
Source: EU list of bilateral visa waiver agreements (OJ C 130, 2019)
Agreements confirmed by an official source
| Country | Passports | What it allows | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | US, New Zealand | Up to 3 months in Denmark from first entry into Denmark, regardless of earlier time elsewhere in Schengen. Earlier time in Denmark in the previous 6 months is deducted. | Danish Immigration Service |
| Denmark | Canada, Australia | Up to 3 months from first entry into Denmark or another Nordic country. Earlier time in Denmark or other Nordic countries in the previous 6 months is deducted. | Danish Immigration Service |
| Switzerland | New Zealand | Up to 90 days in Switzerland irrespective of earlier Schengen time. You must then leave Schengen directly from Switzerland. | Swiss Embassy in New Zealand |
| Germany | New Zealand | Up to 90 days in Germany; time in other Schengen countries does not count. Germany only. | German Embassy Wellington |
| 10 countries | Australia | Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. You can use one, on top of your 90 Schengen days. | Smartraveller |
UK citizens have no such agreements. The UK government's advice is that to stay longer you need the country's own visa or permit.
Conditions that come up again and again
- One country only. The extra time is for the country that signed the agreement. Travelling on to another Schengen country during it is usually not allowed.
- Leave directly. Switzerland, for example, requires you to exit the Schengen Area from a Swiss external border.
- Use it last. The Australian government says most countries expect you to use the agreement at the end of your Schengen travel, and that you can use only one.
- Say so at the border. Australia advises telling the border guard at your first Schengen entry that you plan to use an agreement.
- Carry proof. Keep evidence of when you entered and stayed in that country — tickets, accommodation receipts, bank slips. Switzerland asks for exactly this.
- No work. The agreements cover visits, not employment.
Why they are easy to get wrong
Blog lists of “countries that give extra days” are often out of date. The US–Poland agreement is the clearest example: widely recommended online, it is reported to no longer be applied since EES started on 12 October 2025. Travel blogs also list France and Italy for Australians; neither is on the Australian government's list.
The Entry/Exit System now counts your Schengen days automatically. If you rely on an agreement the border officer does not accept, you may be recorded as an overstayer — with the consequences that brings.
Before you rely on one, get it in writing from that country's embassy or immigration authority, and plan your route so the extra time is spent there and you leave Schengen from there.
Your 90 days still matter
Every agreement sits on top of the normal count. You still need to know exactly when your 90 Schengen days run out — that is the day the agreement has to take over.
Find the day your 90 run out
Add your past stays. Stay180 shows your days used in the last 180 and the last day you can stay under the standard rule.
Common questions
- Can a bilateral agreement give me more than 90 days in Schengen?
- Sometimes, but only in the one country that signed it, and only on that country's conditions. It never adds days you can spend in the rest of Schengen, and you usually have to leave Schengen directly from that country.
- Do UK citizens have any bilateral agreements?
- No. The UK government's advice for individual Schengen countries says that to stay longer you must meet that country's visa or permit rules, and Denmark's list of bilateral partners does not include the UK.
- Does the US–Poland agreement still work?
- Do not rely on it. Since EES started on 12 October 2025, Poland is reported to no longer apply the 1991 agreement at its border, so US citizens are held to the normal 90 days in 180.
- Will EES flag me as an overstayer if I use an agreement?
- EES counts 90 days in 180 across Schengen, so your extra time depends on the country accepting its agreement. Tell the border guard, keep proof of when you entered that country, and get confirmation from its authorities first.